The President's Daily Brief - February 16th, 2024: Russian-Collusion Revelations, Putin’s Presidential Pick, & Iran on Ice

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We uncover a new angle on the 2016 Russian-collusion investigation with insights from independent journalists. We discuss the Israeli government's stance on Palestinian statehood and its implications for future peace. Vladimir Putin announces his preferred candidate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, stirring international debate. Our 'Back of the Brief' segment examines Iran's audacious claim over the South Pole. 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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It's Friday, 16 February. 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 start today's show with a potential bombshell from a pair of independent journalists that's offering new insight into how the 2016 Russia collusion investigation into the Trump campaign may have begun. Later, the Israeli government is again defying its Western allies, rejecting the idea of Palestinian statehood as part of any post-war plan. Plus, for the first time, Russian President Vladimir Putin is weighing in on the

2024 presidential election, declaring his preference for who he'd like to see in the White House next November. And in today's back of the brief, we'll take a look at the latest saber-rattling from Iranian officials who are declaring ownership over a surprising piece of territory. Apparently, the Mullahs think they've got dibs on the South Pole. But first up, the PDB Spotlight. We begin with an eye-opening report from independent journalists Michael Schellenberger and Matt Taibi, published on Schellenberger's substack. Their investigative work casts new light on the already discredited narrative of Trump's collusion with Russia. The report cites multiple unnamed sources, including ones that are close to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,

and claims that the U.S. intelligence community asked foreign spy agencies to surveil multiple advisors to Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election. According to Schellenberger and Taibi, this is ultimately what triggered the allegations that the former president's campaign had been colluding with Russia. Now, if true, this blows a massive hole in the official story of how the FBI's investigation began. Up until now, the FBI has maintained that the investigation was triggered by a tip from Australian intelligence officials. The story goes that the Australians told U.S. officials that George Papadopoulos, who was then a foreign policy advisor to Trump, had told an Australian diplomat that Russia was in possession of political dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The information was reportedly volunteered by Papadopoulos over a few glasses of wine, at the Kensington wine rooms in London. Now, a trivia note, there's actually a plaque mounted on the wall of the bar that reads, Donald Trump got into trouble here when a chat over wine turned to Russian hacking. That's a typically British plaque, isn't it? However, it turns out the plaque may be missing a few key details. According to sources close to the investigations, the probe began sometime before that fateful night, when President Barack Obama's CIA director, John Brennan, asked the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance

to surveil Trump's associates and to share the intelligence they acquired with U.S. agencies. Now, we've spoken about the Five Eyes on the PDB before, but to refresh your memory, this is the Intelligence Sharing Alliance made up of the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Schellenberger and Taibi write that Brennan had given. given the five eyes a total of 26 Trump associates to target. One of their sources confirmed that the IC had, quote, identified them as people to bump.

Now, in spy lingo, and I always try to use the word lingo as many times as possible, bumping someone typically means to make direct contact with them, get them talking, and even develop a relationship with them. The goal is to assess the individual, gather insight into their activities, their plans, motivations, intentions, and possibly target them for recruitment. Now, if this is proven to be true, it would mean that the U.S. intelligence community actually initiated the Russian collusion hoax, and in doing so may have broken some serious laws in the process. It's important to note here

that the reporting from Schellenberger and Taibi needs to be verified or corroborated in order to confirm its accuracy. Now, the best way for that to happen would be for enterprising, journalists to carry out further investigative work, to pressure the government for clarification and to pursue other sources. I would add that Congress should also investigate, but frankly, Washington, D.C. and Capitol Hill is where all investigations go to die. However, the story is a critical reminder that it is of the utmost importance that the nation's intelligence organizations be apolitical. If the CIA director at the time passed the Five Eyes services, those 26 names with a tasking request due to political considerations and with no legitimate

intelligence and national security basis. Well, this would be the story of the year and possibly the decade. All right, coming up next. We return to Israel, where top officials and Prime Minister Netanyahu's government are rejecting the idea of Palestinian statehood as part of their post-war plan. Then later, Russian President Vladimir Putin offers some comments on the 2024 presidential election. Oh, and that's just what this week was missing, Putin's political punditry. Say that three times fast. We'll have those stories after the break. 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. Just tell the manager you'll sue.

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Welcome back. Israeli leaders made it clear on Thursday in no uncertain terms that they fundamentally reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, calling the idea, quote, a prize for those who planned and orchestrated the October 7 massacre. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and a cohort of top ministers responded to a report in the Washington Post, detailing a plan by the Biden administration and a small group of Middle East partners to unveil a peace proposal in March that includes a timeline for establishing a Palestinian state, and that's according to a Reuters report. Avi Hyman, a spokesman for the office of Netanyahu, blasted the report on Thursday, saying, quote, now is not the time to be speaking about gifts for the last. the Palestinian people. Netanyahu privately told U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blankin that any direct or indirect recognition of a Palestinian state would be tantamount to rewarding

Hamas for their slaughter of Israelis on 7 October. The proposal, which the U.S. has reportedly been advancing in conversations with Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, allegedly will call for Israel's withdrawal from West Bank settlements, the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, and the rebuilding of Gaza under a unified Palestinian government. The Israeli finance minister did not mince words following the report saying, quote, we will in no way agree to this plan, which says Palestinians deserve a prize for the terrible massacre they carried out against us. A Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. A Palestinian state is an existential threat to the state of Israel, as was proven on October 7th.

end quote. Now, a group of top Israeli ministers echoed the finance minister's rejection of Palestinian statehood, including the national security minister, the diaspora affairs minister, and education minister. In a show of Israeli resolve on this particular issue, a member of the National Unity Party, led by a Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz, also condemned the idea. The national security minister, Ben Gvier, issued perhaps the most scathing rebuke of this proposal, saying, quote, the intention of the United States, together with other Arab countries, to establish a terrorist state alongside the state of Israel, is delusional and part of the mistaken idea that there is a partner for peace on the other side, end quote.

We should note that over the decades, Palestinian leaders have been presented with several opportunities to pursue a two-state solution, but the process has repeatedly been derailed by Palestinian and Arab hardliners who fundamentally reject Israel's right to exist. The latest statehood proposal is reportedly tied to the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, which seek at least a six-week pause in fighting to facilitate the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. If a ceasefire materializes, the U.S. and Arab partners reportedly plan to use the pause to publicly present the statehood plan. Insiders, familiar with the discussions, say they hope to reach an agreement on the matter before Ramadan begins on March 10th.

All right, I want to shift our focus to Russia, where President Vladimir Putin recently expressed his preference in the U.S. elections for President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump. The remarks which came during an interview Wednesday with Russian state television were Putin's first public comments regarding the upcoming 2024 presidential election in the U.S. When asked which candidate was better for Russian interests, Putin quickly said Biden, saying he is, quote, a more experienced, predictable person. He's a politician of the old school, end quote. Despite a stated preference for Biden, Putin claimed that Russia will be happy to work with whoever the American people ultimately choose in November. Oh, that's nice. In the interview,

Putin also casually addressed concerns around Biden's mental capacity. Putin elaborated, saying, quote, when I met with Biden several years ago, they were already saying that he was incapacitated. I didn't see anything like that. Yes, he looked down at his papers. To be honest, Putin said, I did the same. It means nothing. And as for bumping his head getting out of a helicopter on one occasion, well, who can say they've never bumped their head? End quote. Isn't that Putin fellow magnanimous? Former President Donald Trump was quick to jump on Putin's remarks at a campaign rally on Wednesday evening in South Carolina. Trump implied that Putin's remarks on Biden were a reflection of the current president's weakness on the foreign stage. Trump said,

quote, he doesn't want to have me, meaning Trump. He wants to have Biden because he's going to be given everything he wants, including Ukraine. That's a gift. He's got a gift. He's going to have his dream of getting Ukraine because of Biden, end quote. Trump went on to claim that Putin would never have thought of invading Ukraine if he were still president. Meanwhile, officials for the Biden White House responded by telling Putin to stay out of American elections. Yeah, that should do it. Coming up in the back of the brief, Iran claims property rights over Antarctica, unveiling plans to build a military base in the region. Seriously. I'll be right back. Padiday presents.

In the red corner, the undisputed, undefeated weed whacker guys. Champion of hurling grass and pollen everywhere. And in the blue corner, the challenger, extra strength, Hannity! Eye drops and work all day to prevent the release of histamines that cause itchy allergy eyes. And the winner, by knockout, is Padaday. At a day. Bring it on. In today's back of the brief, Iran has made some pretty strange announcements since the mulles took power in the late 70s, but now this one, this one might be the strangest. The commander of Iran's Navy announced in a televised broadcast last fall that the regime owns Antarctica and will build a military operation in the South Pole.

Now, I was going to insert a joke here about this, but after a while, I was going to insert a joke here about this, but after a while, I realized there's really nothing funnier than what the Iranian commander's actual announcement was. Now, the announcement came this past September, and we're only just getting our hands on the translation. So I honestly don't know how much their plans for the South Pole have changed in the intervening months. According to a translation provided by Washington-based media research institute, Iranian Navy commander Rear Admiral Shahram Iranian said, quote, We have property rights in the South Pole. We have a plan to raise our flag. there and carry out military and scientific work."

Oh. For the record, the South Pole is not owned by any single country. The continent is governed by an international agreement known as the Antarctic Treaty, which was signed in 1959 and came into force in 1961. The treaty allows for the use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only and specifically prohibits any military activity, including the establishment of military bases. the carrying out of military maneuvers and the testing of any type of weapons. It's worth noting that Iran is not one of the signatories of that treaty.

And in case you're wondering, the U.S. State Department has confirmed that Iran will not be allowed to use any of the $6 billion in unfrozen assets to build a military base at the South Pole. And you see what I did there. The PDB, bringing you the finest in wordplay. And that, my friends, is the President's Day. daily brief for Friday, 16 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin.

Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.