The President's Daily Brief - August 2nd, 2024: Iran's Links To Biden-Harris White House, Hamas Taps New Leader, & North Korea vs Trump

Episode Date: August 2, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     Congressional scrutiny is intensifying over the Biden administration’s handling of Iran-related affairs, as Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser comes under fire for his alleged ties to an Iranian influence network. In the wake of the assassination of Hamas’s political chief this week, we’ll look at the man reportedly being tapped to replace him as the face of the terror outfit. After a long wait, the first F-16 fighter jets from Kyiv’s western allies have arrived in Ukraine, significantly bolstering the country’s air defenses at a critical juncture in the war. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, a senior North Korean diplomat and recent defector has revealed that the Kim regime wants to reopen nuclear talks with the United States if former President Donald Trump wins the election in November. 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] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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premium coffee, fresh roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. They roast the beans, they put them in a package, they get them to your patio, you put them in your cup. Go to blackout coffee.com promo code PDB for 20% off your first time purchase. It's Friday to August. Welcome to the president's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get brief. First, congressional scrutiny is intensifying over the Biden administration's handling of Iran-related affairs as Vice President Kamala Harris' national security advisor comes under fire for his alleged ties to an Iranian influence network. Later in the show, in the wake of the assassination of Hamas' political chief this week, we'll take a look at the man reportedly being tapped to replace him as the face of the terror outfit.

Plus, after months of training and negotiations, the first F-16 fighter jets from Keeb's Western Allies have arrived in Ukraine significantly bolstering the country's air defenses at a critical juncture in the war. And in today's back of the brief, a senior North Korean diplomat and recent defector has revealed that the Kim regime wants to reopen nuclear talks with the U.S. if former President Trump wins the election in November. But first, today, today's PDB spotlight. I want to begin with the Biden administration's alleged ties to Iran, as Congress intensifies scrutiny on key players in the White House for their links to the Islamic regime, including a senior national security advisor to vice president and presumptive Democrat

nominee Kamala Harris. Our friends at the Washington Free Beacon exclusively reported this week that Republican Senator Tom Cotton and GOP Representative Ali Stefanik have launched a probe into Phil Gordon, who serves as Harris's national security advisor for, quote, blatantly promoting the Iranian regime's perspective and interests through his alleged connections to two Iranian influence operations, that's according to the report. Gordon, who previously served in the Obama White House, is associated with the National Iranian American Council, that's an Iranian influence organization, masquerading as an unofficial lobbying group that allegedly collaborates with Tehran. He spoke to the group in both 2014 and 2016 in between his time working on the Iran nuclear deal for the Obama

administration. But they are particularly concerned over his relationship with Aryan Tabatabai, a senior advisor at the Department of Defense, who has allegedly worked for years on behalf of a separate Iranian influence operation designed to expand Tehran's soft power within the U.S. The lawmakers sent an official letter to Harris on Wednesday, outlining their concerns, regarding Gordon and demanding answers as to why the administration has so many ties to quote Iran accommodators, appeasers, and accomplices. They note that Gordon co-authored at least three opinion pieces with Tabatabai over the past four years that argued against sanctions on the Iranian regime and that generally pushed a pro-Tekron narrative. As you may recall, Tabatabai was

outed last fall as the purported ringleader of the Iran Experts Initiative, or IEI, which has operated within the U.S. government and inside leading international thank tanks and academic institutions since 2014, shortly after the U.S. began negotiations with Iran for a nuclear deal. She is allegedly a co-founder of the group, which is funded and backed by an official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. Now, this official from the IRGC would liaise with members overseas to disseminate instructions on behalf of the Iranian government to help shape public opinion in an attempt to normalize the Islamic regime in the minds of Americans. Now, shockingly, at least three members of the IEI became top aides to Robert Malley,

the Biden administration's special envoy on Iran. You may recall that Malley was placed on leave in April of 2023 after his security clearance was suspended for allegedly mishandling classified information that somehow ended up in the hands of Iranian officials. He has since been under investigation by the FBI and State Department Office of Inspector General, though more than a year later, well, the details of his activity remain murky, and by murky, I mean, completely not transparent. That might be because the Biden administration doesn't want to talk about it, and the incurious and compliant media doesn't want to highlight it.

Representative Stefani told the New York Post, quote, Since last year, I have demanded accountability from the Department of Defense for allowing Iranian regime acolytes to infiltrate high-level government staff. The Biden-Harris administration policy of appeasing Iran and abandoning Israel will only worsen if Kamala Harris and her Iranian apologist's staff are elevated. Mysteriously, Tabatabai has somehow managed to avoid official scrutiny and retain her position and security clearance, despite Malley having his clearances suspended. She currently serves as chief of staff, to Christopher Mayer, the Pentagon's Assistant Secretary of Defense, for special operations and low-intensity conflict. Speaking of Robert Malley, members of the Senate Foreign

Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday threatened to subpoena the State Department for failing to provide transparent information regarding their investigation into his ties to Iran, and that's according to a report from the New York Post. In their letter, the committee members said, quote, Mr. Malley's alleged misconduct is serious, and the department's lack of transparency and blatant disregard for the urgency of our requests is unacceptable." Now, Malley, who's been comfortably teaching at Princeton University and Yale University while on suspension, was hired by the Biden administration in 2021 to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that he helped craft as a top negotiator working for the Obama administration. During the Trump

administration, Malley and Harris, advisor Phil Gordon, co-authored an op-ed, slamming Trump for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. While the apparent stonewalling continues from the Biden administration, it appears Congress is, frankly, done waiting. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee gave the State Department until Friday to respond to their demands or face subpoenas. Cotton and Stephanic, meanwhile, gave Harris a deadline of August 9th to answer their questions regarding her national security advisor. All right, coming up next, in the wake of the assassination of Hamas' political chief this week,

we'll look at the man reportedly being tapped to replace him as the face of the terror outfit. And you have to ask yourself if there are actually a lot of folks clamoring for that job. Plus, after months of training in negotiations, the first F-16 fighter jets from Kiev's Western allies have arrived in Ukraine, significantly bolstering the country's air defenses at a critical juncture in the war. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here.

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is reportedly being tapped as the new paramount leader of the terrorist. group. Mishawi places Ishmael Hanyi, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran early Wednesday. So, you ask yourself, who is he? Now, some of you may remember his name from his previous leadership of Hamas and a high-profile assassination attempt by Israeli agents back in 1997. Michelle served as the terrorist group's political leader in exile from 96 to 2017. He came under international attention in 1997 after surviving a botched assassination attempt by Israeli agents in Amman Jordan, ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Operating primarily from exile, Michel circumvented Israeli travel restrictions that hindered other Hamas officials. His position

allowed him to represent the Palestinian Islamist group in meetings with foreign governments worldwide. Michelle led Hamas, which is Sunni Muslim, while in exile in Damascus, Syria, until, until 2012. He fled Syria to Qatar due to President Assad's intense crackdown on a Sunni-led revolt. This sudden move weakened Michel's standing within Hamas, as his connections with Damascus and the terrorist group's paymasters in Tehran, crucial for the group's influence, were strained. In 2021, Michelle was elected to head the Hamas office for the Palestinian diaspora. He has since struggled with the strategic direction of Hamas, vacillating between calls for Israel's destruction and pragmatic approaches to Palestinian statehood.

He's rejected a permanent peace deal with Israel, but has expressed support for a long-term ceasefire in exchange for a Palestinian state. Michel praised the barbaric 7 October attacks by Hamas-led militants on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis, claiming that the attack brought the Palestinian cause back into global focus.

Yeah, nothing like brutally slaughtering 1,200 people and taking women, children, and elderly hostages, in an effort to get your narrative heard on the global stage. In addition, he's called for broader Arab and Muslim retribution against Israel. He insists that Palestinians will determine Gaza's future, opposing Israeli and U.S. efforts to exclude Hamas from post-war governance. Okay, I want to turn our attention to the war in Eastern Europe, as the first batch of long-awaited American-made F-16 fighter jets

reportedly arrive in Ukraine. While leaders in Kiev would neither confirm nor deny the arrival of the F-16s, Lithuania's foreign minister, a close ally of Kiev, appeared to spill the news in a celebratory post on X that said, quote, F-16s in Ukraine, another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible, end quote. Analysts say the advanced jets will significantly bolster Keeves' air defenses and their ability to repel Russian troop movements at a time when Moscow is once again gaining ground in the war that's according to a report from NPR.

As we've previously discussed on the PDB, the Biden administration was initially reluctant to send such sophisticated weapons to Ukraine in the early days of the war over concerns about costs and fears of escalation with Russia. But mounting pleas from leaders in Kiev, along with the Kremlin's continued aggression, changed the calculus within the White House.

In March of 2023, the administration partnered with the Netherlands and Denmark to begin training Ukrainian pilots to fight, the Western-made jets. Now, the first group of pilots reportedly finished their training in May. The administration has partnered with Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Norway to facilitate the transfers. Outside of the initial batch, more than 60 American-made F-16 fighter jets are expected to be sent to Ukraine in the coming months. The deal was first announced in early July at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., where U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Ukrainian

military would begin using the aircraft later this summer. They hope the advanced craft will help the Ukrainian military counter Putin's current strategy, which has focused on aerial bombardments of Ukrainian cities due to their lack of air defenses. The jets will allow Kiv to target incoming Russian missiles and drones, as well as to establish localized zones of air superiority to support offensive ground operations by Ukrainian troops. The jets can also be outfitted with air-to-air missiles, opening up the possibility that Kiev could leverage these fighters to strike targets inside Russian territory. On that front, we learned earlier this week that the Biden administration has approved plans to arm Ukraine's new F-16s with American-made missiles and other advanced weapons.

Where Ukraine would get the munitions for the jets had been left unresolved at the NATO summit, according to an exclusive report from the Wall Street Journal. The Pentagon will provide air-to-ground munitions, precision guidance kits for bombs, and advanced air-to-air missiles, despite the Pentagon's limited inventory. A Pentagon official told the journal, quote, we are confident that we will be able to supply all those weapons, at least the critical volumes that they need, end quote. The aircraft arrive at a critical time in the war, as Russia has made gradual territorial advances throughout July, capturing eight villages, across northeastern, eastern, and southern Ukraine. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, a senior North Korean diplomat and recent defector

has revealed that the Kim regime wants to reopen nuclear talks from the United States if former President Trump wins the election in November. More on that when we come back. In today's back of the brief, a senior North Korean diplomat who recently defected to the South has revealed that the North Koreans are willing to reach resume nuclear talks with the U.S., but only if former President Trump is re-elected later this year. As we reported on the BDB last month, the North Korean diplomat made global headlines when he

defected to South Korea from Cuba. In his first interview with international media, the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect since 2016 revealed that the DPRK's new negotiating strategy is, well, somewhat surprising. He disclosed that in the event of a Trump victory, Pyongyang is devising a strategy with the goals of lifting sanctions on its weapons programs, removing its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and securing economic aid. Publicly, North Korea continues to dismiss hopes of a potential dialogue with the U.S. and our regional allies, instead threatening armed confrontation. The diplomat criticized Kim Jong-un for relying on, quote,

inexperienced, clueless military commanders for nuclear diplomacy in the past, attributing the failure of the 2019 Hanoi summit with Trump in Vietnam to their incompetence. The summit was cut short due to North Korea's demand that the U.S. left all sanctions. This time, he believes that the foreign ministry would take a leading role, making it more challenging for Trump to negotiate without offering concessions. The diplomat emphasized that North Korea is prioritizing foreign relations with Russia, the U.S. and Japan. The Kim regime has bolster.

its ties with Russia over the past year with the Kremlin providing missile technology and economic support. This alliance has helped North Korea mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions, enhancing its bargaining power. As far as Japan goes, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed a desire to meet with Kim, though the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s remains a significant hurdle. The North Korean diplomat indicated that Kim might be willing to offer concessions this issue in exchange for economic assistance from Japan. The discussions, if they developed, could obviously have a significant impact on regional dynamics and the future of nuclear diplomacy in the region. Now, needless to say, there's a lot of ifs in that scenario. And that, my friends,

is the president's daily brief for Friday to August. If you have any questions, comments, jokes, limericks, or whatever, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirstt.com. To listen to the show AdFree, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com. It's very simple. And, well, look at that. It's Friday. I'm pretty sure it's Friday. So you know what that means.

Another episode of our extended weekend version of the PDB, the PDB Situation Report, drops this evening. That's drops. That's what the kids say. This evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. It's also available on all podcast platforms. and, of course, the juggernaut that is our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief. We've got great guests on this weekend's show. We're talking about the potential war that is building between Iran and Israel,

the chaos protests and violence in Venezuela following another stolen election by dictator Nicholas Maduro, and the long-awaited release of Evan Gushkovich, Paul Whelan, and other Americans from Putin's prisons. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the BDB, afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.