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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Thursday, March 14, 2019 8:01 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for
Thursday, March 14, 2019


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=001-52d&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Thursday, March 14, 2019 8:00 AM EDT*
Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• Coons: Biden Has Said He’s “All But Certain” To Enter 2020 Presidential
Race. <#S1>

• NBC News: Biden, Trump Both Have “Strong Support Among White, Blue-Collar
Voters.” <#S2>

• Nate Silver: Biden’s, Sanders’ Polling Numbers Not Simply A Product Of
Name Recognition. <#S3>

• AP: Biden’s History Of Bipartisanship May Be A Drawback In Democratic
Race. <#S4>

• The Guardian: Fundraising, Ties To Financial Industry Pose Challenge For
Biden. <#S5>

• Daily Beast Casts Biden As Only Democratic Contender Not To Applaud Death
Penalty Moratorium. <#S6>

• Jamal Simmons: Biden “Could Make A Great President,” But Faces Hurdles.
<#S7>

• Politico: Warren Breaks “Sharply” With Biden In Declaring Pence “Not An
Honorable Person.” <#S8>

• Rosie O’Donnell, Ken Olin Say Biden “Too Old” To Run For President. <#S9>

• In Tweet, Biden Remembers Late Amtrak Chief Boardman. <#S10>

• O’Rourke Announces Presidential Bid. <#S11>

• Reuters Analysis: Centrists May Reject Democrats Who Support
“Medicare-For-All.” <#S12>

• CNN: Sanders’ 2016 Bid Helped Boost Democratic Socialists Groups In US.
<#S13>

• Warren Has “Zero” Sympathy For Parents Ensnared In College Cheating
Scandal. <#S14>

• In Miami Speech, Schultz Blasts Both Parties, Preaches Bipartisanship.
<#S15>

• Trump Campaign Plans Early Focus On Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.
<#S16>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• Following Other Nations’ Leads, Trump Grounds Boeing 737 Max Models.
<#S17>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Senate Approves Measure To Force Yemen Withdrawal Despite Trump Veto
Threat. <#S18>

• British Parliament Votes Against No-Deal Brexit, Setting Up Possible
Delay Of EU Departure. <#S19>

• State Department Report Describes Golan Heights As “Israeli-Controlled.”
<#S20>

• Afghan Leaders Claim Exclusion From US, Taliban Talks. <#S21>

• State Department Report Faults Saudi Government In Khashoggi Murder.
<#S22>

• State Department Report Denounces China’s Treatment Of Muslim Minorities.
<#S23>

• State’s Hook: Reimposed Sanctions Have Cost Iran $10B In Oil Revenue.
<#S24>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Senate Appears Set To Pass Resolution Opposing Border Emergency
Declaration. <#S25>

• Trump Says He Has Not “Given A Thought” To Pardon As Manafort Sentenced
To More Jail Time. <#S26>

• Trump Says He Appreciates Pelosi’s “Statement Against Impeachment.” <#S27>

• Cummings Satisfied For Now With Cohen’s Answer On Pardon. <#S28>

• Trump: “Much More To Come” In Page Revelations. <#S29>

• Navarro Defends Trump Trade Policies. <#S30>

• Trump Praises Shanahan, Refers To Mattis As “Previous Person.” <#S31>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• FDA Issues Policy To Restrict Sales Of Flavored E-Cigarettes. <#S32>

• Jury Orders Johnson & Johnson To Pay $29 Million Over Woman’s Cancer Tied
To Baby Powder Use. <#S33>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S34>

• Washington Post. <#S35>
Biden in the News
Coons: Biden Has Said He’s “All But Certain” To Enter 2020 Presidential
Race.

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=002-583&t=c>
(3/13, Saenz) reported that during a Wednesday appearance on CNN, Sen.
Chris Coons (D-DE) said that former Vice President Joe Biden “has indicated
it is ‘all but certain’ he’ll run in 2020.” Coons, “one of Biden’s closest
allies,” is quoted as saying, “I’m optimistic he’s going to run for
president. I’m actually confident he’s going to run for president. He’s 95%
there and everything that needs to be in place for him to have a strong and
successful launch is being put together.” Coons added, “He’s told me that
he is all but certain he is going to run. He hasn’t made that last
decision.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=003-f85&t=c>
(3/13, Frazin) quoted Coons as telling CNN that Biden is “feeling very
optimistic about the prospects and is preparing for a run, but has not made
that final decision. I expect that soon.” The Delaware News Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=004-9b6&t=c>
(3/13, Newman) reports that Coons also said that Biden’s Tuesday address at
the International Firefighters Association “convention sheds some light on
the kind of campaign the former veep will run. ‘Those are the kinds of
folks Joe Biden has fought for his entire life,’ Coons said. ‘He gets in
his gut what America’s middle class needs and wants in order to move
forward. He knows and understands the complexity of American
society.’” The Washington
Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=005-1bd&t=c>
(3/13, Kasperowicz) and Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=006-212&t=c>
(3/13, Baker) similarly reported on Coons’ remarks.
NBC News: Biden, Trump Both Have “Strong Support Among White, Blue-Collar
Voters.”

On NBC’s Today[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=007-09c&t=c>
(3/13), Peter Alexander reported that former Vice President Joe Biden’s
“allies” maintain that he “has the name recognition, the experience, and,
importantly, strong support among white, blue-collar voters – the same
demographic that propelled President Trump to the White House.” If Biden
runs, said Alexander, “polls show he would immediately become a front
runner,” but his “challenge” will be “building support as a familiar
establishment face in a party increasingly driven by young progressive
voices.”
Nate Silver: Biden’s, Sanders’ Polling Numbers Not Simply A Product Of Name
Recognition.

Writing at FiveThirtyEight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=008-af4&t=c>
(3/13), Nate Silver said that polling showing former Vice President Joe
Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) atop the 2020 Democratic presidential
field is not simply a product of the candidates’ name recognition. Silver
said, “If you think of a mental scale that spans the categories ‘bad,’
‘meh,’ ‘pretty good,’ ‘good’ and ‘great,’ Biden’s polling qualifies as good
even if you do count for name recognition, and Sanders’s as pretty good
(inching toward good in the most recent polls). [Sen. Kamala] Harris also
belongs in the pretty good category on the basis of her strong favorability
ratings, even though she doesn’t have as much first-choice support.
Otherwise, the candidates’ polling is pretty underwhelming.” Silver added
that Biden’s and Sanders’ “positions aren’t spectacular, but most
candidates would gladly give up their own path to the nomination for one of
theirs.”
AP: Biden’s History Of Bipartisanship May Be A Drawback In Democratic Race.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=009-063&t=c>
(3/13) reports, “Still stung by President Barack Obama’s fierce battles
with Republicans and at odds with nearly every policy the GOP has pursued
during the Trump administration, some Democrats say they have little
interest in talk of” bipartisanship from the field of 2020 Democratic
presidential hopefuls. Said ex-Obama adviser David Axelrod, “There are some
very angry people who have watched the events of the last 10 years and
watched Donald Trump and their attitude is ‘hell no.’” The AP adds, “That
new reality poses a dilemma for White House hopefuls like Joe Biden,
who...has worked closely with scores of Republicans during more than four
decades in politics, was Obama’s point man in numerous negotiations with
congressional Republicans and will likely make that experience a
cornerstone of a 2020 campaign.”
The Guardian: Fundraising, Ties To Financial Industry Pose Challenge For
Biden.

The Guardian (UK)
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=00a-8b1&t=c>
(3/14, Helmore) reports that ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden’s
expected 2020 bid for president, “some are already warning that” his “ties
to the business community and Wall Street could serve to undermine his
avuncular reputation as ‘middle-class Joe’ within a party increasingly
dominated by progressive politics on social and economic issues. Moreover,
Biden has not run a campaign in his own right since...2008, a lifetime ago
in political terms and an era dominated by big-money political action
committees (Pacs) and wealthy backers now considered problematic to
candidates who must display grassroots, small-dollar donor support as proof
of their viability.” That could leave Biden, “a candidate known for
disliking the grind of fundraising,” facing the challenge of needing to
raise “millions of dollars to compete in what is likely to the most
expensive presidential campaign in US history.”
Daily Beast Casts Biden As Only Democratic Contender Not To Applaud Death
Penalty Moratorium.

Under the headline “The 2020 Democratic Field, Minus Joe Biden, Embraces A
Death Penalty Moratorium,” the Daily Beast
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=00b-c88&t=c>
(3/14, Resnick) reports that a host of 2020 Democratic hopefuls “are
rushing to cheer” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for having “signed an executive
order to halt further executions in his state.” The article says “a general
opposition to the death penalty...is shared by much of the current
Democratic field,” though “there is one likely candidate who has previously
taken a different path. As a US senator, Joe Biden helped write the 1994
crime bill that expanded the application of the death penalty, saying at
one point that ‘we have predators on our streets’ who are ‘beyond the
pale.’ [Sen. Bernie] Sanders voted for it too, though he framed it as a
compromise measure.”
Jamal Simmons: Biden “Could Make A Great President,” But Faces Hurdles.

In his column for The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=00c-6fd&t=c>
(3/13), Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said that former Vice President
Joe Biden “could make a great president, but he’d have to defy history to
do it.” Simmons said that “it’s sobering to remember no current or former
Democratic vice president (who was not elevated by death of the president)
has ever won the White House in the history of the modern Democratic
Party.” If Biden is to win, added Simmons, he will need to appeal to a
Democratic base that his grown younger and more diverse, promoting policies
desired by progressives “that would positively impact women, rural
Americans, people of color and religious minorities,” and “not couch
positions in code words meant to make unreachable conservative voters feel
more comfortable.”

*GOP Consultant: Biden’s Strengths May Outweigh His Weaknesses In
Quest For Nomination. *Writing at The Bulwark
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=00d-ace&t=c>
(3/13), GOP consultant Liz Mair said that while some think Biden is “too
centrist” and “too old” to win the Democratic primary, “it’s easy to see
how” he “could get the nomination anyway – if he makes a run and gives 100
percent effort to it.” Mair said that Biden’s strong “name ID,” his history
as former President Barack Obama’s vice president, and his “ability to”
appeal to “blue-collar, white working-class voters” could help Biden
overcome the drawbacks he’d bring to a campaign.

*Harper’s Magazine Offers Critical Look At Biden’s “Disastrous
Legislative Legacy.” *Under the heading “No Joe! Joe Biden’s Disastrous
Legislative Legacy,” Andrew Cockburn writes in a negative piece for the
March issue of Harper’s Magazine
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=00e-49f&t=c>
(3/13) about Biden’s lengthy record in the Senate, highlighting his past
opposition to busing and his support for the 1994 crime bill. Among other
things, Cockburn also criticizes Biden’s embrace of bipartisanship, saying,
“It was bipartisan accord...that brought us the permanent war economy, the
war on drugs, the mass incarceration of black people, 1990s welfare
‘reform,’ Wall Street deregulation and the consequent $16 trillion in bank
bailouts, the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, and other
atrocities too numerous to mention.”

*Polman: Biden’s “Time May Have Passed.” *In his online column for
WHYY-TV
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=00f-33f&t=c>
Philadelphia (3/13), Dick Polman said that early polls show Biden leading,
but those surveys “do not measure what may well happen when a 76-year-old
white guy tries to woo a party that’s being energized by young non-white
progressives.” Polman asserts that Biden’s “long season of tortured
indecision” on the 2020 race “can be traced to his reasonable suspicion
that time may have passed him by. He failed as a national candidate in 1988
and 2008 – indeed, he has never won a race on his own outside tiny Delaware
– so why should he, or we, believe that he can succeed in an era when
racial and #MeToo sensitivities are so acute?” Polman goes on to highlight
Biden’s past opposition to busing and his support for the 1994 crime bill,
among other potentially damaging aspects of Biden’s “long track record in
Washington.”

*WPost’s Waldman Lists Questions A Biden Bid Would Help
Answer. *Writing
on the website of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=010-569&t=c>
(3/13), Paul Waldman said that if Biden enters the race for president,
“here are some of the questions his candidacy would help us answer.” The
questions listed by Waldman are: “How do Democratic voters feel about
electing an old white guy?”; “Is there really a moderate ‘lane,’ and is
that where you’d want to be?”; “How ready are voters to forgive the sins of
a candidate’s past,” such as Biden’s “opposition to school busing in the
1970s” and “his work on the notorious 1994 crime bill,” among other
things?; and “Do gaffes matter?” Waldman added, “My own unscientific
reading of Democrats tells me that while a lot of them like Biden, there
aren’t that many who love Biden.”
Politico: Warren Breaks “Sharply” With Biden In Declaring Pence “Not An
Honorable Person.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=011-f11&t=c>
(3/13, Morin) reported that during a Wednesday appearance on MSNBC, Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said that Vice President Mike Pence “is ‘not an
honorable person,’ a sharply different characterization than the one former
Vice President Joe Biden offered last month.” Warren replied “with a flat
‘no’ when asked whether she believed Pence is an honorable man, slamming
his historic opposition to same-sex marriage and other gay rights issues.”
Said Warren, “Anyone who engages in the kind of homophobia and attacks on
people who are different from himself is not an honorable person.” Politico
added that Biden “called Pence a ‘decent guy’ while speaking last month at
the Forum in Global Leadership at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.”

Meanwhile, BuzzFeed News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=012-35e&t=c>
(3/13, Berman) reported that South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D),
“who is running for president, understands how...Biden might think...Pence
is a ‘decent guy.’ But he believes that Pence’s demeanor is covering up
something else. ‘I mean to your face, if he were sitting right here, you’d
think that this guy is very polite,’ Buttigieg told BuzzFeed News...after
being asked about Biden’s comments in an interview filmed from SXSW last
weekend. ‘But that masks this absolutely fanatical view about how the world
works or how the universe works that has led to these incredibly hurtful,
dangerous, and harmful policies, and that’s what we have now in the White
House. And I think it chills a lot of us, especially in the LGBTQ
community, to see that somebody like that can be in that kind of position
of power.’”
Rosie O’Donnell, Ken Olin Say Biden “Too Old” To Run For President.

In continuing coverage, USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=013-d7c&t=c>
(3/13, Cummings) reports that “there is a steady chorus of concern from
some liberals who aren’t convinced former Vice President Joe Biden should
be their party’s nominee in 2020.” The article highlights Rosie O’Donnell’s
Tuesday tweet asserting, “Joe Biden is too old to for president. Period.”
USA Today says “O’Donnell is not the only liberal celebrity expressing
concerns about Biden’s age. Ken Olin, the executive producer of ‘This is
Us,’” similarly asserted on Twitter last week that Biden “is ‘too old.’”
USA Today adds, “From his vote authorizing President George W. Bush to take
military action in Iraq, to his tough talk in support of the 1994 crime
bill and his opposition to school busing in the 1970s, Biden’s long career
could provide a lot of ammunition for liberal candidates to attack him from
the left.”

Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=014-662&t=c>
(3/13, Huston) reported that O’Donnell “joins a growing number of left-wing
voices attempting to discourage Biden from jumping into the 2020 race.
Huffington Post, for instance, published a long piece tearing Biden down
and pegging him as a ‘supporter of the corporate elite,’ while New York
magazine as much as called Biden a racist. As for O’Donnell, she has
already announced her support for California Senator Kamala Harris for the
Democrat nomination for 2020.”
In Tweet, Biden Remembers Late Amtrak Chief Boardman.

Progressive Railroading
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=015-111&t=c>
(3/13) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden, “a longtime rider and
fan of Amtrak, offered his thoughts this week on former Amtrak President
and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman, who died in Florida last week
at the age of 70.” Biden is quoted as saying in a tweet, “Joe Boardman led
Amtrak through difficult times, taking over during the worst economic
crisis since the Depression, and starting a modernization that will help
deliver the 21st century rail system America deserves. My thoughts are with
his wife Joanne and their family.”
O’Rourke Announces Presidential Bid.

The El Paso (TX) Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=016-792&t=c>
(3/14, Kolenc, Mekelburg) reports that ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) on
Thursday morning “officially entered the 2020 presidential race.” Speaking
with the Times ahead of the announcement, O’Rourke said, “I want to be
president because I feel that we can bring this country together. We can
unify around our ambitions, our aspirations, the big things that we know we
are capable of when all of us have the opportunity to contribute.” He
added, “I just want to serve this country so badly to the highest of my
ability, and I believe that is serving as president of the United States.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=017-376&t=c>
(3/14, Flegenheimer, Martin) reports that O’Rourke is “betting that voters
will prize his message of national unity and generational change in a 2020
primary teeming with committed progressives. His decision jolts an early
election season already stuffed with contenders, adding to the mix a
relentless campaigner with a small-dollar fund-raising army.” However,
O’Rourke “also comes to the 2020 race with few notable legislative
accomplishments after three terms in the House” and “without a signature
proposal that might serve as the ideological anchor of his bid.”

The Houston Chronicle
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=018-e20&t=c>
(3/14, Diaz) reports, “The long-anticipated announcement adds O’Rourke to a
crowded field of Democrats vying to take on President Donald Trump, with
whom he has repeatedly clashed over the administration’s hardline policies
on border security, asylum, and immigration. Running on his identity as a
lifelong resident of Texas’ heavily Hispanic border region,” O’Rourke
“could be a leading Democratic voice on immigration, an issue that Trump
made the centerpiece of his 2016 campaign with his promise to build a wall
spanning the US border with Mexico.”

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=019-3c4&t=c>
(3/14, House, Epstein) reports that O’Rourke “announced his run via a video
announcement
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=01a-4d3&t=c>,
skipping the traditional set piece speech in his home state and
foreshadowing an unconventional approach to the campaign. He headed
directly to Iowa for a three-day trip to meet with voters who’ll be taking
part in the state’s caucuses next February, the first official contest in
the nomination race.” In an online article, NBC News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=01b-ed7&t=c>
(3/14, Seitz-Wald) reports, “In a video announcing his decision.” O’Rourke
said, “This is a defining moment of truth for this country, and for every
single one of us. The challenges that we face right now; the interconnected
crises in our economy, our democracy, and our climate have never been
greater. And they will either consume us, or they will afford us the
greatest opportunity to unleash the genius of the United States of
America.”

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=01c-09a&t=c>
(3/13, Ernst) reports that O’Rourke “told
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=01d-5ff&t=c>
told Vanity Fair for its April cover story that a 2020 presidential
campaign may be in the making, although being ‘white’ poses a problem for
him within the party. ‘You can probably tell that I want to run,’ he told
writer Joe Hagan. ‘I do. I think I’d be good at it. This is the fight of
our lives. ... Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I
humanly can for this country at this moment.” O’Rourke added, “The
government at all levels is overly represented by white men. That’s part of
the problem, and I’m a white man. So if I were to run, I think it’s just so
important that those who would comprise my team looked like this country.
If I were to run, if I were to win, that my administration looks like this
country.”

*O’Rourke’s 2018 Donors May Not Back His Presidential Campaign. *The
Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=01e-497&t=c>
(3/13, McLaughlin) reports that O’Rourke “deployed astonishing fundraising
skills” in his unsuccessful 2018 challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX),
collecting “$80 million even as he fell short in the race.” The Times says
that $37 million of that total “came from small donors who gave $200 or
less. The rest came from larger-dollar donors, according to the Center for
Responsive Politics.” However, “some of the donors contacted by The
Washington Times said they shouldn’t be taken for granted” to support him
in a presidential bid.

*O’Rourke Says Biden Camp Didn’t Ask Him About Being A Running
Mate. *Meanwhile, the El Paso (TX) Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=01f-eef&t=c>
(3/14, Kolenc) says, “Published reports said former Vice President Joe
Biden’s camp contacted O’Rourke to see if he’d be interested in being
Biden’s running mate if Biden runs for president. But O’Rourke said the
conversation never happened.” In an interview, O’Rourke said, “I have not
spoken to the vice president since he left office. And I’ve not spoken to
anyone on his team. No one on his team has reached out to me. So, that’s
one of many stories floating around. I don’t know the provenance. But
there’s no truth to it.”
Reuters Analysis: Centrists May Reject Democrats Who Support
“Medicare-For-All.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=020-9b8&t=c>
(3/13, Becker, Gibson) reports in an analysis that “five of the US senators
seeking the Democratic presidential nomination...back a Medicare-for-all
bill that would replace the current mix of private and government coverage
with a plan provided solely by the government.” Democrats “have long pushed
for some type of universal healthcare,” but “the Medicare-for-all proposal
has met resistance from more centrist party members concerned about the
hefty price tag and disrupting voters’ current coverage.” Reuters says
Medicare “will likely remain an issue for the general election in November
2020, with Democrats already criticizing President Donald Trump’s proposal
on Monday to slash $845 billion from the program’s budget over the next
decade.”
CNN: Sanders’ 2016 Bid Helped Boost Democratic Socialists Groups In US.

In an online article, CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=021-359&t=c>
(3/13, Krieg) reported on how the 2016 bid of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a
self-described democratic socialist, has boosted the groups The Democratic
Socialists of America and the Young Democratic Socialists of America. CNN
said that the Young Democratic Socialists of America co-hosted a Sanders
rally in Iowa last week and the Democratic Socialists of America” has grown
more than tenfold since the 2016 election, when its membership hovered
around 5,000.”

*After 2016 Drubbing In SC, Sanders Hoping For Stronger Showing
This Time Around. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=022-927&t=c>
(3/13, Kinnard) reports that while Sanders in 2016 received “the cold
shoulder” from South Carolina, he’s now hoping “the state is ready to warm
to him.” Sanders “has spent months working to deepen his ties with the
black community in South Carolina, where minority voters make up the
majority of the Democratic primary electorate. He returns to South
Carolina” today, “eager to prove that those efforts put him in a more
competitive position in a state he lost by a staggering 47 points” to
Hillary Clinton.
Warren Has “Zero” Sympathy For Parents Ensnared In College Cheating Scandal.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=023-99a&t=c>
(3/13, Boyer) reports that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), “accused of
exaggerating American Indian ancestry to further her career, said Wednesday
she has ‘zero’ sympathy for parents caught in a college cheating scandal.”
Appearing on MSNBC, Warren “was asked, ‘As a parent, how much sympathy
would you have for these parents who are embroiled in this alleged cheating
scandal?’ Zero,’ the senator replied.” Warren, “who took a DNA test showing
that she is 1/1024th Indian, has been dogged by accusations that she
claimed minority status at Harvard University and on a state bar
application to gain an advantage in her career.”

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=024-44b&t=c>
(3/13, Frazin) reported that RNC chief Ronna McDaniel “called Warren’s
comment ‘ironic.’ ‘It’s ironic that she’s so offended given that she lied
about being a minority to climb the Ivy League ladder,’ McDaniel tweeted.”
The Hill added that Donald Trump Jr. “similarly criticized Warren,” saying
in a tweet, “LOL, Yea it’s almost like they faked minority status to get
into school and future tenured jobs in academia.” Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=025-c42&t=c>
(3/13, Key) also reported on the story.

*AP: Warren Banking On Her Policy Proposals To Gain Traction In
Democratic Race. *Meanwhile, the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=026-b0c&t=c>
(3/13, Schor) reports that Warren “has laid down significant markers in a
half-dozen different policy areas since the year began.” However, her
“approach is built on a risky bet: that voters will respond to her
detail-driven effort when other Democrats are appealing to hearts as much
as their minds and after a 2016 presidential campaign in which Hillary
Clinton’s policy portfolio wilted in the face of Donald Trump’s personal
attacks.” The AP adds that “it’s clear that Warren is angling to be known
as the idea woman in the field.”
In Miami Speech, Schultz Blasts Both Parties, Preaches Bipartisanship.

The Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=027-e35&t=c>
(3/13, Smiley) reports that during a Wednesday speech in Miami, Florida,
ex-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz – mulling an independent White House run –
“lauded South Florida’s Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan exiles and then
criticized the Democratic Party for embracing socialism and jeopardizing
free trade.” Said Schultz, “Our free enterprise system is under attack.
Several Democratic presidential candidates espouse policies that amount to
thinly veiled levels of socialism. Democrats in Congress are full partners
of this left-wing tilt, with unrealistic plans like the Green New Deal and
false promises like government-paid healthcare, free college and jobs for
all.” Schultz also “called Donald Trump a symptom of a country divided by
extremes.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=028-aaa&t=c>
(3/13, Scherer) reports that Schultz said in his speech that “he would
establish an informal partisan veto in Congress if he is elected president,
pledging to refuse to sign any bill unless it is supported by members of
both parties.” Schultz said, “I would not sign any legislation – none –
into law that does not have bipartisan support. ... We need to be candid
with the American people and admit, yes, that both sides have good ideas if
we work together.” The Post says Schultz’s proposal “risks grinding
Congress to a halt if Democrats or Republicans are united in opposition to
a bill.” Wednesday’s speech “was the first of a series of policy addresses
Schultz plans to make in coming weeks to lay out his vision of a
post-partisan presidential campaign.” In a Miami Herald
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=029-2f6&t=c>
(3/13) op-ed, Schultz also pitched his message of bipartisan cooperation,
blasting both President Trump and what he described as “Trumpism by
Democrats,” saying both have led to “extremism.”

*WPost: Project Where Schultz Grew Up Much Nicer Than He Describes.
*Meanwhile, with Democrats expressing concern that an independent Schultz
bid could help Trump win reelection, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=02a-b13&t=c>
(3/13, Fisher) takes aim at the ex-Starbucks CEO, who touts himself as “a
poor kid who escaped from the chaos and cacophony of a Brooklyn housing
project to become the architect of a global coffee behemoth.” However, the
Post says “Schultz’s depiction of Bayview as a rough, low-income community
is inconsistent with the city’s definition of the project, the requirements
for tenants to get into the buildings, and the experience of others who
lived there.” The Post quotes Barnard College sociologist Jonathan Rieder
as saying, “Bayview was a heavily Jewish, solidly middle-income place. It
was an oasis, a sanctuary.”
Trump Campaign Plans Early Focus On Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.

Citing “two campaign advisers,” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=02b-7e7&t=c>
(3/13, Holland) reports that President Trump’s re-election campaign is
“preparing an early focus on Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, states
that were instrumental to his improbable 2016 victory but where his support
has softened.” Reuters calls the decision “to accelerate campaign
organizing and eventually get” Trump “to make trips” to the states a
“recognition that” his “path to re-election in 2020 will need to repeat
some of the successes he had in 2016.” Trump advisers “also see a need to
bolster” his “support in Florida, a battleground state he considers his
second home but where opinion polls show him struggling.” However, his
advisers “see an opportunity for gains in Minnesota and Colorado, two
states Trump narrowly lost.”

*AP Analysis: Trump Eager To Exploit Omar’s Views On Israel. *An AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=02c-3d4&t=c>
(3/13, Miller) analysis says Trump “can’t get enough of” Rep. Ilhan Omar
(D-MN), and “as Democrats try to turn the page after the freshman
lawmaker’s remarks, criticized by some as anti-Semitic, ignited an
embarrassing intra-party fight,” Trump is “trying to prolong and weaponize
the issue for his 2020 campaign, asserting during a private weekend
fundraiser that Democrats ‘hate’ Jews.” Trump’s “rhetorical escalation also
is designed to unsettle the Democratic primary debate, exploit an issue
that can energize his supporters and move past his own history of toying in
anti-Semitic motifs.”
Leading the News
Following Other Nations’ Leads, Trump Grounds Boeing 737 Max Models.

President Trump’s grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the
wake of the Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crash, a step that media
consistently said that other countries already had taken, received heavy
coverage in major outlets and led all three major network newscasts.

In its lead segment, the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=02d-ef0&t=c>
(3/13, lead story, 3:10, Glor) reported, “The US was the latest and last”
country to ground the planes “after new satellite information emerged
following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302.” President Trump was
shown saying: “Boeing is an incredible company. They are working very, very
hard right now. And hopefully they’ll very quickly come up with the answer,
but until they do, the planes are grounded.” CBS (Van Cleave) added, “With
pressure from the public and politicians increasing, the President made the
announcement this afternoon.” Van Cleave said, “Satellite data showed the
flight track of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 on Sunday was very similar to
that of the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashed in October.” Meanwhile,
“investigators still don’t have any information from the crash plane’s
black boxes, even though they were recovered several days ago.” Also in its
lead segment, ABC World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=02e-5a6&t=c>
(3/13, lead story, 3:40, Muir) reported, “Trump announcing the decision
from the FAA, citing new evidence.” Trump was shown saying: “We’re going to
be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the
737 Max 8 and the 737 Max 9. The safety of the American people and all
people is our paramount concern.” ABC (Kerley) added, “The federal
government was under public pressure for days, having watched China, Europe
and today, Canada, ground aircraft.”

In its lead segment, NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=02f-bd6&t=c>
(3/13, lead story, 4:00, Holt) reported Trump’s “decision came hours after
Canada grounded the planes, leaving the US virtually alone in standing by
them.” NBC (Costello) added, “US pilots have raised concerns about the 737
Max and its flight manual, submitting anonymous concerns to a federal
database.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=030-949&t=c>
(3/13, Austen, Gebrekidan) says the FAA “had for days resisted calls to
ground the plane even as safety regulators in some 42 countries had banned
flights by the jets,” and “as recently as Tuesday, the agency said it had
seen ‘no systemic performance issues’ that would prompt it to halt flights
of the jet.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=031-d30&t=c>
(3/13, Meseret, Gillies) reports that President Trump, “had received
assurances Monday from Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg that the Max aircraft
was sound.” Jonathan Karl reported on ABC World News Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=032-98d&t=c>
(3/13, story 2, 1:00, Muir) that “a senior White House official” said “the
decision was initially made this morning not to ground the planes because
there was no information suggesting any fundamental problem with the Boeing
737 Max. That changed mid-day,” and “the FAA and the Department of
Transportation made a recommendation to ground them. The Secretary of
Transportation called the President, and he accepted that recommendation.”
The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=033-4e8&t=c>
(3/13, Miller) reports Trump “said the decision to ground the aircraft
‘didn’t have to be made, but we thought it was the right decision.’”

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=034-421&t=c>
(3/13, Levin, Epstein) reports, “The move is a major blow to Boeing, which
has lost billions of dollars in value this week as nation after nation
announced they were barring the aircraft from flying.” However, “The impact
on U.S. travelers should be limited because there are only 72 Boeing 737
Max aircraft at three U.S. carriers,” amounting to “only about 3 percent of
the mainline fleet at those carriers.” In contrast, NBC Nightly News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=035-46e&t=c>
(3/13, story 2, 1:40, Holt) reported, “Airlines that operate the Max jets
are scrambling to update their flight schedules and minimize the impact
from today’s grounding.” Similarly, the Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=036-587&t=c>
(3/13, Bierman) reports Trump’s move is “expected to spark sizable travel
disruptions because there are about 74 737 Max aircraft used by three U.S.
carriers – Southwest, American and United.” Boeing said it had “full
confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX” but “has determined – out of an
abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the
aircraft’s safety – to recommend to the FAA the temporary suspension of
operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=037-3a4&t=c>
(3/13, Schemm) reports that Trump’s announcement “followed one by Canada’s
transportation minister grounding all the jets, saying a review of
satellite-tracking data by his country’s experts found similarities between
Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet and an October Lion Air crash.” USA
Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=038-d99&t=c>
(3/13, Fritze, Jackson) reports Canada’s announcement had left the US “the
only nation still flying the Boeing 737 planes.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=039-20c&t=c>
(3/13, Wolfe, Oprysko) reports that it was “rare” for other countries to
not “follow the lead of the Federal Aviation Administration in dealing with
the safety of a U.S.-made aircraft,” and, “even more strikingly, the U.S.
bowed to the pressure, even after Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg assured
Trump in a phone conversation Tuesday that the aircraft is safe.” Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=03a-164&t=c>,
“Now it’s Congress’s job to figure out what went wrong here, and why this
decision took so long, to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” adding,
“Nothing should come before the safety and security of the American people
– especially not corporate profits or political favors.” CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=03b-5f2&t=c>
(3/13, Bennett) reports, “Democrats who control the House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee said they would be investigating not only the
administration’s handling of the crash, but its decision to let the planes
into the air to begin with.”

Former NTSB Managing Director Peter Goelz said on CNN’s The Lead[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=03c-ce8&t=c>
(3/13), “I think there is going to be a call for an independent panel to
review not only these accidents, but to review the whole certification
process and whether Boeing was too close to the FAA, whether the FAA was
doing the kind of rigorous oversight that is required.” Asked if the
President’s eagerness to praise Boeing makes him uncomfortable, Goelz said,
“It does. The idea of aviation being a nonpartisan, nonpolitical industry
that is driven by safety, his kind of ham-handed praising of Boeing is
really I think uncalled for.” Fox News contributor Morgan Ortagus said on Fox
News Special Report[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=03d-33a&t=c>
(3/13), “I think the FAA has some culpability” in addition to Boeing. “The
acting Administrator said yesterday that they weren’t prepared to down the
airliner and today we got a completely different story. We need to know
what happened from yesterday to today.”

In an editorial, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=03e-002&t=c>
(3/13) agrees that grounding the Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft was
the right move, but President Trump’s process in getting there “was
erratic.” Trump “had no business thrusting himself personally into a safety
decision that other presidents normally, and wisely, have left to
professionals.” Instead, he commented on Twitter about “about purported
technological excesses of contemporary aircraft” and took a call from
Boeing CEO on the issue. As a result, during “one of the most critical
moments for commercial aviation safety of the 21st century,” the US was
unable to “inspire other countries with confidence” and instead “found
itself following their lead.” The Post concludes with a call for the FAA
and Congress to investigate the matter and that the Senate assure itself
that any nominee for FAA Administrator “has drawn appropriate lessons from
this troubling episode and is capable of standing up for reasoned safety
decision-making, regardless of corporate or presidential pressure.”

Ahead of Trump’s announcement, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=03f-4f4&t=c>
(3/13), in an editorial, called for the planes to be grounded as the “jet
hasn’t been proved safe to fly.” The Times laments that “the airlines had a
cozy relationship with the F.A.A. for years” and that Boeing “has always
been close with Republican administrations.”

Also covering this story Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=040-bca&t=c>
(3/13, Gemechu, Ljunggren), the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=041-9c1&t=c>
(3/13, Tangel, Wall, Leary), the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=042-2cf&t=c>
(3/13, Boyer, Howell), the Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=043-3a4&t=c>
(3/13, Enjeti), and the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=044-1a7&t=c>
(3/13, Nelson).

*WPost Analysis: Administration Response Highlights Its Ties To
Boeing, Difficulty Asserting Itself. *In an analysis, the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=045-b04&t=c>
(3/13, Dawsey) reports that the “harried” three days before the US followed
the rest of the world in responding to the Ethiopian Airlines crash
emphasized “the Trump administration’s close ties to Boeing and its
difficulty asserting itself as a global leader in the wake of a tragedy.”
The Post adds, “throughout the process, Trump played the role of aviation
expert, despite having no formal training in aeronautics,” and White House
and transportation officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said
that in consultations with Administration officials on the issue Trump said
the planes “sucked” and, in the Post’s words, “paled in comparison to the
Boeing 757,” one of which he owns. Despite agreeing “with his aides that
the Federal Aviation Administration, as the industry regulator, should
formally announce the decision to ground the 737 Max planes, according to
two White House officials,” he made the announcement himself.
Foreign Policy
Senate Approves Measure To Force Yemen Withdrawal Despite Trump Veto Threat.

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=046-ef2&t=c>
(3/13, Shesgreen) reports, “Despite a veto threat from the president, the
Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would force the Trump
administration to end its military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.”
The 54-46 vote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=047-926&t=c>
“served as a bipartisan rebuke” to President Trump and to Saudi leaders,
and “also highlighted lawmakers’ growing unease with America’s role in that
grisly conflict, which has left more than 50,000 civilians dead and
millions of Yemenis on the brink of starvation.” The measure “is expected
to pass the House in the coming weeks.” The Trump Administration has “said
the measure was ‘flawed’ and would impinge on the president’s
constitutional powers as America’s commander in chief,” and also “said it
would also ‘harm bilateral relationships’ in the Middle East and hurt
America’s efforts to stamp out violent extremist organizations such as
ISIS.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=048-404&t=c>
(3/13, Demirjian) reports it is unlikely “that either chamber would have
the votes necessary to resuscitate the measure if President Trump vetoes
it,” as “only seven Senate Republicans joined Democrats...to back the
vote.”
British Parliament Votes Against No-Deal Brexit, Setting Up Possible Delay
Of EU Departure.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=049-527&t=c>
(3/13) reports the British Parliament “voted Wednesday to block the country
from leaving the European Union without a divorce agreement, triggering an
attempt to delay that departure, currently due to take place on March 29.”
Next, UK lawmakers are “scheduled to decide Thursday whether to put the
brakes on Brexit” and request an extension from the EU. The AP says,
“Parliament likely will agree to delay Brexit, but it would need EU
approval. The bloc – openly exasperated by Britain’s continuing Brexit
crisis – warned that the UK would need to present a strong reason for any
extension.”

Bloomberg
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=04a-2d2&t=c>
(3/13) reports that Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, “said
postponing Brexit...won’t be straightforward.” According to Bloomberg,
Barnier “said that as far as he’s concerned, the Brexit negotiations are
over and that the withdrawal deal is the only way to limit the consequences
of the UK’s departure for both sides.” However, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=04b-36b&t=c>
(3/13, James, Maclellan) reports, “positive comments from Germany and
Ireland suggested that EU members at last saw a prospect that a viable deal
would be found, and were inclined to help.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=04c-5fd&t=c>
(3/13, Adam) says “the length of the extension sought is not yet clear, but
[British Prime Minister Theresa] May has suggested the delay should be
short...in order not to interfere with upcoming elections to the European
Union parliament.” According to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=04d-fa9&t=c>
(3/13, Castle), the EU “would have no practical objections to a two-month
delay, except that it could be too little to accomplish anything. A longer
delay would give more time for a change of direction from Britain – perhaps
a general election or a second referendum – but would cause big legal and
political complications.” However, “one complicating factor is the May 24
start date for elections to the European Parliament.” Neither of Britain’s
“main political parties wants to contest these elections,” but “as a matter
of law, all member countries are required to participate. So, were Britain
to sit out the elections while remaining a European Union member for any
period of time, that could open the decisions of the European Parliament to
legal challenge.”
State Department Report Describes Golan Heights As “Israeli-Controlled.”

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=04e-fa1&t=c>
(3/13, Heller, Wroughton) reports the State Department, in its most recent
human rights report, “changed its usual description of the Golan Heights
from ‘Israeli-occupied’ to ‘Israeli-controlled.’” The change comes “amid
intensified efforts by Israel to win US recognition of its claim to
sovereignty over the strategic plateau it captured from Syria in the 1967
Middle East war and effectively annexed in 1981, a step not recognized
internationally.”

According to Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=04f-f2e&t=c>
(3/13, Toosi), the “linguistic change” is “sure to fuel criticism that the
Trump administration is bucking global consensus on Israel’s reach.”
However, Ambassador Michael Kozak “briefed reporters Wednesday on the human
rights report” and “said the new language did not reflect a change in US
policy toward the region. Rather, he said, it was about keeping the annual
report more neutral.” Kozak said the phrase “occupied territory” has a
specific legal meaning, “adding that the department is trying to stick with
‘just a geographic description.’ He added the report avoided the word
‘occupied’ because it is ‘not a human rights term and it was distracting.’”

*Scholars: Administration’s Secrecy On Mideast Peace Plan Could
Work To Its Benefit. *In a Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=050-e1c&t=c>
(3/13) op-ed titled “Trump’s Subtlety Could Yield Middle East Peace,”
Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Vice President Jonathan
Schanzer and Washington Institute for Near East Policy senior fellow Ghaith
al-Omari say the Administration’s secrecy regarding its Mideast peace deal,
and its generally avoidance of fanfare in the peacemaking process, could
give President Trump an advantage compared to previous presidents. The
authors advise the Administration to take preemptive steps to ensure that
the peace plan’s rollout prioritizes communication, diplomacy, and
security.
Afghan Leaders Claim Exclusion From US, Taliban Talks.

The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=051-8fc&t=c>
(3/13, Wolfgang, Muñoz) reports, “Current and former high-level Afghan
officials on Wednesday slammed the Trump administration’s push to reach a
peace deal with the Taliban, saying the escalating talks were tantamount to
a ‘back-door deal’ between Washington and the terror group at the expense
of an elected government in Kabul.” The Times states that “the harsh
rhetoric from Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib and Amrullah
Saleh, the country’s former interior minister, came as US diplomats and
senior Taliban leaders have just concluded the longest face-to-face talks
on a peace deal in Doha, Qatar, talks from which the Afghan government has
been excluded.” Mohib “told a UN Security Council meeting Monday that the
peace process could not work if were just a ‘deal made between elites.’”

*WPost Examines Taliban Attitudes Toward Afghan Women. *The Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=052-58d&t=c>
(3/12, Constable) writes that recent reports from Afghanistan “suggest that
the Taliban, which controls more than half of all Afghan districts, is not
always as rigid as when it held power in the late 1990s.” The Post states,
“While reports have surfaced of the Taliban lashing and stoning women for
illicit sex in remote provinces, other accounts describe insurgents
compromising on female access to school or health care and promoting
sensible reforms such as banning extravagant dowries.” Some Afghan
officials and community leaders say the insurgents’ behavior “differed
according to region, urban or rural setting, and whether the Taliban forces
were local or from other regions.”
State Department Report Faults Saudi Government In Khashoggi Murder.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=053-368&t=c>
(3/13, Lee) reports the Administration used the State Department’s annual
human rights report “to call out Saudi Arabia on Wednesday over the October
killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” While the report “drew
no conclusion as to who was responsible” for the murder, it “said The
Washington Post columnist was killed by agents of the kingdom...while he
was inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.” The report “cited a range of
other human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia” and said Khashoggi’s killing
“was one of several instances in which ‘the government or its agents
engaged in arbitrary or unlawful killings’ and contributed to ‘an
environment of impunity’ in the country.”

USA Today
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(3/13, Shesgreen) reports Ambassador Michael Kozak “declined to say what
role, if any, the CIA’s assessment of the case played in the account of
Khashoggi’s death,” and “said he would not discuss what intelligence
information he and other officials reviewed” for the report. However, Kozak
conceded the Department “seek[s] all relevant sources of information,
including US intelligence information,” when compiling its annual report,
but said the “effort is fact-driven rather than opinion-driven.”

*WPost: Saudi Female Activists Deserve Freedom, Not Just Fair
Prosecution. *In an editorial, the Washington Post
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(3/13) criticizes Saudi Arabia’s treatment of a group of Saudi female
activists who were detained last year, saying “most or all of them were
initially held incommunicado in a secret prison. ... Even after they were
transferred to conventional prisons, the women were denied legal
representation and were not informed of the charges against them – while
state media slandered them as traitors.” Given that “dismal context, it
might be counted as progress that 10 women were brought to a court in
Riyadh on Wednesday and formally charged.” However, the Post asserts “the
women remain unjustly imprisoned, and those who tortured them have gone
unpunished. For that reason, Western governments must keep up the pressure
on a regime that persisted in a pattern of criminal behavior.”
State Department Report Denounces China’s Treatment Of Muslim Minorities.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=056-acd&t=c>
(3/13, Wroughton, Brunnstrom) reports the State Department, in its annual
human rights report released Wednesday, “slammed” China for human rights
violations, “saying the sort of abuses it had inflicted on its Muslim
minorities had not been seen ‘since the 1930s.’” According to Reuters,
Secretary of State Pompeo “told reporters that China was ‘in a league of
its own when it comes to human rights violations.’” Likewise, Ambassador
Michael Kozak, “referring to abuses of China’s Muslim minority in the
Xinjiang region,” said, “For me, you haven’t seen things like this since
the 1930s. ... Rounding up, in some estimations...in the millions of
people, putting them into camps, and torturing them, abusing them, and
trying to basically erase their culture and their religion. ... It’s just
remarkably awful.”

The New York Times
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(3/13, Sanger) reports the comments by Pompeo and Kozak together “amounted
to the most direct condemnation the United States has made to the roundup
of millions of Uighurs and other minorities,” one that “is bound to inflame
the government in Beijing at a moment of high tension in trade talks and
the standoff over Huawei.”

*Chinese Officials Propose Eliminating Family-Size Limits. *The New
York Times
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(3/13, Myers, Fu) reports that “China’s annual legislative session – the
National People’s Congress – is typically a staid affair to aggrandize
Communist Party rule, but this year it has produced a flurry of proposals
to address what experts and officials now acknowledge is a looming
demographic crisis caused by the country’s sharply declining birthrate.”
According to the Times, “The ideas now being floated by regional officials,
businesspeople and others reflect the depth of the concern over the issue
but also the fact that there is not yet a clear consensus on what the
government should do about it.” The Times says “one deputy, Huang Xihua,
went so far as to propose amending the Constitution to remove all limits on
family planning.”
State’s Hook: Reimposed Sanctions Have Cost Iran $10B In Oil Revenue.

Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2019031401biden&r=email-c78b&l=059-582&t=c>
(3/13, Tan) reports that Brian Hook, the State Department’s special
representative on Iran, speaking today at the CERAWeek energy conference,
said Iran has “lost $10 billion in revenue since U.S. sanctions in November
have removed about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude from
global markets.” According to Reuters, Hook also said that “due to a global
oil surplus – in part due to record U.S. production – the United States is
accelerating its plan of bringing Iranian crude exports to zero.” Reuters
says US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, “two of the largest oil producers
in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and production
cuts by OPEC and Russia have boosted global oil prices to near four-month
highs.”

*Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Welcomes Rouhani. *The Washington Post
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(3/13, Salim, El-Ghobashy) reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
“capped his state visit to Iraq on Wednesday by meeting the country’s most
respected religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani – a sit-down
that has eluded previous Iranian presidents and American leaders alike.”
The Post states, “The meeting signals to Washington that the religious,
cultural and economic bonds that tie Iran and Iraq will not be undermined
by a focused US effort to isolate Tehran.” Rouhani and Iraqi Prime Minister
Adel Abdul Mahdi also “announced agreements to boost trade, establish a
rail link between the two countries and take steps to remove travel
restrictions for tourists and investors.” One analyst is quoted as saying,
“Washington has to acknowledge that Tehran has soft-power advantages that
the US lacks,” he added. “If it wants to curb Iranian influence, instead of
countering Tehran, it should compete with Tehran’s soft power and economic
outreach by helping Baghdad become more self-reliant.”

*Top Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Sentenced To 38 Years In Prison,
148 Lashes. *The New York Times
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(3/13, Magra) reports that Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of the Iran’s “most
prominent human rights lawyers,” who has been “detained for eight months,”
has been “sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison and 148 lashes,
according to her husband.” The Times reports that when Sotoudeh was
arrested, she was “defending women who had been arrested after removing
their hijabs, or head scarves, in public protests.” The Times notes that
Sotoudeh “received the European Union’s most prestigious human rights
award, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, in 2012, while serving a
previous prison sentence.” The Times says “a state-funded news outlet, the
Iranian Students’ News Agency, quoted a hard-line judge, Mohammad Moghiseh,
as saying that he had sentenced Ms. Sotoudeh to a total of seven years in
prison and mentioning two charges, of taking part in an illegal assembly
and collusion against the state.”

*NYTimes Decries Sentencing Of Sotoudeh, Other Iranian Human Rights
Lawyers. *In an editorial, the New York Times
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