The President's Daily Brief - August 29th, 2024: Iran's Destabilization Agenda, Ukraine Unleashes F-16s, & Biden's Amnesty Push Blocked

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     A look at Iran’s sprawling cyber operations, as officials warn their hacking efforts are intensifying ahead of the presidential election, and are linked to kidnapping and assassination plots. Ukraine has started using western supplied F-16 fighter jets to protect against Russia’s aerial bombardments, but officials say it is not enough to safeguard Ukraine from Putin’s superior missile arsenal. A Texas judge has dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s immigration agenda, temporarily blocking a proposal that critics characterized as a mass amnesty push. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, a report from South Korean intelligence officials estimates that North Korea has supplied their friends in Russia with at least 13,000 containers of assorted weaponry since the middle of 2022 for use on the battlefields of Ukraine. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.     Email: [e-mail] 🏅 Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll begin our coverage with a look at Iran's cyber shenanigans and hacking operations, as U.S. officials warned that the Islamic regime is intensifying their efforts to meddle, of course they are, in the upcoming presidential election, while also using stolen data to support kidnapping and assassination plots against Western leaders, including former President Trump. Now, I've said it before, and I'm a fairly certain, I'll say it again, the Iranian regime and the IRGC are responsible for a lot of the

instability and chaos happening in the world today. Just an observation. Later in the brief, Ukraine has started using Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to protect against Russia's aerial bombardments, but officials say it's not enough to safeguard Ukraine from Putin's superior arsenal. Plus, a Texas judge has dealt a blow to the Biden administration's immigration agenda, temporarily blocking a proposal that critics characterized as a mass amnesty push. And in today's back of the brief, a report from South Korean intelligence estimates that North Korea, get this, has supplied their friends in Russia with at least 13,000 containers of assorted weaponry since the middle of 2022 for use.

of course on the battlefields of Ukraine. I mean, what else are friends for? But first, today's PDB spotlight. I want to begin today with a look at Iran's sprawling cyber operations as officials warned that their hacking efforts are intensifying ahead of the presidential election and are linked to kidnapping and assassination plots. An exclusive report from CNN on Wednesday reveals new details about Tehran's multifaceted approach to infiltrating the inner circles of former President Trump, as well as the Biden administration. According to the report, a unit within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has led the multi-year operation to access sensitive data. As you're likely aware, they recently breached the Trump campaign

by hacking the email of longtime Republican operative and Trump ally, Roger Stone. One of their primary means of attack are the good old-fashioned fishing emails. encouraging targets to, of course, click a link containing malicious code that then grants the hackers' access to the victim's devices. Their operations cast a wide net targeting the email correspondence of journalists, former U.S. officials, and notable think-tank leaders, not just think-tank leaders, but notable ones. We've now learned that in June of 2022, two years before the hack on the Trump campaign, the IRGC unit targeted the email of a former administration official and confidant of John Bolton, who's been, of course, a prominent critic of Iran and who served as Trump's national security advisor. They used the

unnamed official's email account to send out harmless-looking requests, asking a group of fellow U.S.-based Iran Hawks to help review a book on the regime. In a nearly identical incident in April, CNN learned that IRGC hackers targeted a former Biden administration senior diplomat in the Middle East with a fishing scheme. The email was addressed to the former ambassador and politely, well, that's very important to be polite, asked if he could lend his expertise to a think tank they claimed was researching the, quote, evolving dynamics of the Israel-Palestinian situation. Now, it remains unclear if these hacks were successful, but anxieties within the intelligence community are high. If they were successful, officials say it's hard to know when and in what way Iran may use any of the information they collected, which could include leaking sensitive intelligence documents.

As I mentioned earlier, just two months after the cyber attack on the former Biden administration diplomat, the IRGC hackers would preach then the Trump campaign through the email of Roger Stone successfully stealing internal campaign documents that they subsequently distributed to American media outlets. It appears the Iranian regime is embracing the, quote, hack and leak playbook used by Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Cyber security firms and intelligence officials have warned in recent weeks that the Iranian regime's hacks are even overshadowing Russian cyber activities, and that's saying quite a bit. A senior U.S. official tracking the activity told CNN, quote, conducting a hack and leak clearly shows not just cyber means, but an intention to stoke societal divides and, use them against us, end quote. But fishing emails are just one aspect of the Islamic regime's cyber attacks, which are often unpredictable. Tehran was implicated in a cyber attack on Boston Children's Hospital back in 2021 and have repeatedly attempted to preach critical infrastructure installations across the country, particularly essential water and sewage systems. And seriously,

you have to ask yourself, how big of a douchebag do you have to be to conduct a cyber attack on a children's hospital. Even more sinister, according to the CNN report, the IRGC appears to have a broad mandate to collect data that could aid in kidnapping and assassination plots. The report notes that back in November of 2022, the head of the UK's MI5 spy agency said there were at least 10 active Iranian plots to kidnap or kill people in the UK, and that data collected by hackers had aided those efforts. Stateside, as I'm sure you're aware, news, broke in July that the U.S. is tracking an Iranian assassination plot against former President Trump. Now, he's being targeted over the killing of Iranian military commander Kassem Soleimani

by the U.S. in 2020. Former Trump administration officials also continue to face assassination threats over these Soleimani hit. The U.S. government has been providing around-the-clock security for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Trump's Special Envoy for Iran, Brian Hook. We know of at least one case regarding Bolton and Pompeo, where authorities disrupted an active plot to assassinate both men. Now regarding the upcoming election, the Iranians are eager to shape the outcome, which they think will be particularly consequential for their national security interests. With the election approaching, Republicans in Congress have upped the pressure

on the Biden administration to combat Iranian cyber activity. On Tuesday, House intelligence committee chairman Mike Turner sent a letter to the White House demanding action, calling the administration's response thus far, quote, dangerously insufficient. All right, coming up after the break, Ukraine has started using Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to protect against Russia's aerial bombardments, and a Texas judge has dealt a blow to the Biden administration's immigration agenda, temporarily blocking a proposal that critics characterized as a mass amnesty push. We'll have those stories when we come back. Choice Hotels gets you more of what you value.

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you understand what others miss. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Welcome back to the PDB. I want to move on to the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war, where Kiev confirmed its first use of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to intercept Russian drones and missiles, and that's a significant development as the country works to defend its territory with limited air defense systems and dwindling interceptor missile stockpiles. On Tuesday, Russia unleashed a barrage of 10 missiles and 81 Iranian-made drones on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine managed to shoot down half the missiles and 60 of the drones, utilizing the newly acquired F-16 jet fighters.

Despite these efforts, the toll on the ground was significant, with at least four civilians killed in the attacks, which struck multiple targets, including a hotel and an infrastructure facility in Kharkiv. Ukraine's air defense systems have been under immense pressure as Russia steps up its aerial bombardment. The latest attacks came on the heels of a larger Russian offensive on Monday, which caused significant damage to Ukraine's power,

infrastructure. Despite the recent arrival of F-16 fighters, a year after the Biden administration permitted European allies to supply them, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that these measures remain insufficient to safeguard Ukraine. Selensky emphasized the need for more robust defense capabilities from Western allies. Ukraine's air defenses rely heavily on Western supplies, but their diminished supply of interceptor missiles has become a critical issue. Despite receiving systems like the Patriot System, the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems, and Iris T's a medium-range infrared homing missile, Ukraine faces challenges in countering Russia's diverse missile, which includes ballistic and hypersonic weapons. Keeve has been pushing for more

advanced Western weapons, including long-range attack-ams missiles, though the Biden administration remains hesitant to allow the use of such weapons inside Russian territory, for fear, of course, of escalating the conflict. A new U.S. intelligence assessment suggests that the deployment of such missile systems might not have the impact Ukraine hopes for any way, as Russia has already repositioned 90 percent of its aircraft beyond the range of these missiles. Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmitro Kuleba, criticized Western allies on Wednesday for their hesitation in approving new policies to support Keeb, expressing concern that fear of escalation with Russia is stalling decisive action that could assist Ukraine. Kuleba said this fear has dominated the

decision-making processes of Western nations, preventing them from fully committing to the level of support Ukraine needs. In response to U.S. hesitancy, Ukraine has accelerated the development of its own weapons, including a domestically produced ballistic missile, as well as a drone missile, which was recently used against Russian forces. Okay, I want to return to our coverage of America's southern border, where Republican-led states are locked in a fierce legal battle with the Biden administration over a policy proposal they claim rewards illegal immigration. Earlier this week, in a blow to President Biden, a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the administration's plans to offer a pathway to citizenship for roughly half a million illegal

immigrants living in the U.S., provided that they're married to an American citizen. The decision stemmed from a lawsuit brought by 16 Republican-led states last Friday, which characterized the proposal as a mass amnesty push, and that's according to a report from the New York Times. Judge J. Campbell Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas said the Coalition of States, led by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, raised legitimate questions about whether the executive branch has the right to unilaterally set immigration policy by bypassing Congress. Judge Barker, a Trump-era appointee, said, quote,

the claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date. End quote. Under the Biden administration's proposal, those with eligibility would have up to three years to apply for permanent residency, which they can do without leaving the U.S. or facing the threat of deportation.

They would also receive a three-year work permit and once granted green cards would have the opportunity to apply for citizenship. The program, which started accepting applications last week, is now effectively frozen. While the administration is free to continue accepting applications, they're barred from approving them. And we should note, however, that those who already received approval, well, they're not impacted by the court's ruling. The initial suspension will stay in place until September 9th, but could be extended. Both parties will submit additional arguments regarding the case during this period. As a reminder, we've seen unprecedented levels of illegal

immigration under the past four years of President Biden's leadership. Roughly 360,000 migrants are entering the U.S. each year under the administration's mass parole program, which allows migrants from select countries who pass a background screening to fly directly to the U.S. and be released with war permits and authorization to remain in the country for two years. The administration has also quietly been dismissing asylum cases and deportation orders, allowing another 350,000 migrants to enter the U.S. since 2022. Then there's the Biden administration's controversial CBP-1 cell phone app that's allowed another 530,000 illegal immigrants to apply for asylum since January 23, from within their home countries before flying to the U.S. As a reminder, illegal border crossings have

have averaged roughly 2 million per year since 2021, the highest levels ever recorded. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, we're learning more about the scale of North Korea's military aid to Russia, with a recent intelligence report, estimating the Hermit Kingdom, has shipped at least 13,000 containers of weaponry to the Putin regime in support of their war on Ukraine. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon.

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Learn more at intuit.com slash ERP. In today's back of the brief, North Korea has reportedly sent their friends in Russia at least 13,000 shipping containers believed to be carrying weapons and munitions since the middle of 2022 to aid the Putin regime's war on Ukraine. The revelation, which came from a military intelligence report recently submitted to South Korean lawmakers sheds light on the growing military alliance between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Putin. According to the South Korean News Agency Yonhapp, the containers are believed to be filled with military supplies, including more than 6 million artillery shells. The report also

suggests that Kim's regime may be providing mortars and rockets crucial for Russia's ground operations in Ukraine. And as we've reported in the past, evidence suggests that some Russian's Russian missiles fired in Ukraine do bear similarities to North Korean manufacturing. The number of shipments represents a significant increase from previous estimates. In February, South Korea's defense ministry reported that North Korea had sent approximately 6,700 containers to Russia, and that a doubling of this number in just a few months shows the urgency with which Russia is seeking to bolster its munitions as their supplies wane. The Intelligence Report indicates that these arms delivery,

are also part of Putin's broader strategy to ensure a ready supply line of weapons in the event the war with Ukraine continues to drag on. The report follows the signing of a mutual defense agreement between Kim and Putin in June that appeared to formalize the role of North Korea as a crucial supply base or one-stop military hardware store for Russian military needs. The pact has led to fears that North Korea is receiving advanced military and satellite technology from the Putin regime in return. Yes, that's probably exactly what's happening, potentially accelerating Pyongyang's missile development programs.

And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Thursday, 29 August. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com, the entire PDB team, including our cracked team of interns, love getting your emails and your texts and your postcards and your Western Union telegrams.

And of course, as if you did, already know, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here from MintMobil, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments, but that's weird.

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