The President's Daily Brief - January 25th, 2023. Another Intel Scandal... And Why These Classified Documents Matter.

Episode Date: January 25, 2023

It’s January 25th. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got four briefs for you this morning that are shaping America — and the world. First, we’ve got an update on America’s intel scandal. This time it’s not Joe Biden. A new politician says that he too had classified material at his home.  Second, we’ve got an update on Ukraine, with how global powers are doubling down on their investments in the war — with your money. Third, the country of Norway just announced a major commitment to oil and gas exploration. Environmentalists are outraged.  Fourth, we’ve got a poll showing where South Africans would rather live — either the US, Russia, or China. The results tell us a lot about / not just South Africa, but why the US is still a pretty exceptional place. Later, we close out the podcast with a personal observation about the US Treasury Secretary’s visit to Africa. She’s making a lot of promises for aid. But I’ve got a story from my time in southern Africa that suggest maybe we should proceed with caution when it comes to foreign aid. ----- 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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I'm your host and former CIA officer Brian Dean Wright. Your morning Intel starts now. A good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I've got four briefs for you this morning that are shaping America and the world. First, we've got an update on America's Intel scandal. This time, it's not Joe Biden. A new politician says that he, too, had classified material at his home. Second, we've got an update on Ukraine with how global power

are doubling down on their investments in the war using your money. Third, the country of Norway just announced a major commitment to oil and gas exploration. Environmentalists, as you would probably guess, are outraged. Fourth, we've got a poll showing where South Africans would rather live, either in the United States, Russia, or China. The results tell us, I think, a lot, not just about South Africa, but why the U.S. is still a pretty exceptional place. Later, we close out the podcast with a personal observation about the U.S. Treasury Secretary's visit to Africa. She's making a lot of promises for aid, but I've got a story

from my time in Southern Africa that suggests maybe we should proceed with some caution when it comes to foreign aid. But before we get to that, we got to get started with this. We've got an update on the Intel scandal, but did you notice? I didn't say the Biden. Intel scandal. That's because we have a new character in the mix. Former Vice President Mike Pence has acknowledged that he too possessed classified information kept at his home. It's a, quote, small number of documents, his attorney said, no information on the level of classification and any of that material. So the backstory to this is that apparently Mr. Pence hired an attorney to search his home on January 16th out of what he said was a, quote, abundance of caution,

end quote, following, of course, the scandal that is now dogging Joe Biden. Well, this attorney searched Mr. Pence's house and apparently found a couple of boxes anyway of trinkets and documents from when Mr. Pence left office just a couple years ago. And that in those boxes and such is where the classified material was found, which, as ever, had been sitting in his home unsecured for at least two years. So that's all we know this morning. I'm pretty eager to learn some additional details. I'll provide you those as soon as I get them.

But in the meantime, I want to offer you a personal opinion based on my professional career. Because some of you might be wondering why we should care about this story, or that of Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump, or, well, the Hillary Clinton email server too. You might recall that one. she was sending and receiving classified information on her private server, I think in the basement. Who knows? Well, let me explain why we should still care about this issue, but in a way that's a little bit different than I've offered to date. And probably you haven't heard before.

I want to take you all inside the world of espionage. And I want you to imagine that you are a foreign national, say someone from Ukraine. And you have access to secrets. very important secrets that say your president is a crook or there's corruption going on and you decide to work with me, Brian, a CIA officer because you want to tell me the truth about what's going on rather than what the Ukrainian government is saying is going on. So let's imagine we're sitting down face to face and you're worried. You are worried that you will be discovered for being a spy and probably killed. So you ask me, Brian, how can you keep me safe? How will you protect my identity?

Because there are only two people who know what I know, me and the president of Ukraine. Well, as we start that conversation, and I tell you about, say, my training or my experience and the secret ways that will keep you safe, you say to me, you know, Brian, I keep reading that your politicians are leaking or taking classified material, storing it in their basis. or next to the Corvettes. So tell me, how can we work together if I have to keep worrying about, well, me and my information ending up in, say, the careless hands of Joe Biden or his son Hunter or Hillary Clinton's server, or now Mike Pence's home? And you know what, folks, I can't promise you that as a Ukrainian spy, you and your information will remain safe from these politicians doing this outrageous stuff. I just can't promise you that.

And so as a smart person, you, the Ukrainian spy, you're probably going to back out of this relationship. You're going to say, forget it. If you can't keep me safe, I'm out. And you know what? I wouldn't blame you. Or them at all. That outcome is the very real result of these shenanigans

and this lawlessness of our politicians. They're not taking their job seriously and protecting this material. And when that happens, Ultimately, America is made weaker. We lose informants or assets. We lose collection platforms. And that means that we make decisions with less information.

And that leads to mistakes, mistakes that cost America money and lives. Sometimes we even end up starting wars. So that's why this matters. It affects the willingness of some very brave people abroad, potential informants who say, no, thanks. if you all don't take my security seriously, I am out of here. And that is, in fact, what's happening this morning all around the world.

I can guarantee from my personal experience that our officers are scrambling out there to reassure agents because now they're all afraid. All because our leaders, to be blunt, are just a bunch of reckless morons. And that, folks, is why this issue matters, no matter who the politician might be. With that, ladies and gentlemen, let's actually take a quick break. Let my blood pressure drop. And when we come back, I've got three more critical pieces of news for you. So hang tight, and we'll be right back. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile,

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Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. Welcome back to the PDB. I've got three more critical pieces of news for you this morning. First up, some big developments in Ukraine. And to tell this one best, I want us to remind ourselves of the brief that I gave you all on the boxing match analogy that we discussed on August 20th. So if you remember in one corner of our boxing match was Ukraine, and then the other, of course, was Russia. Now, Ukraine had its coaches and supporters, namely America and Europe. Russia, on the other hand, had more quiet partners like China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Well, we've got updates to talk about regarding those coaches and supporters this morning. Let's start with Russia's main supporter. That, of course, would be China. We now have reporting from three different media outlets, including Bloomberg News, CNN, and CBS News, that the Chinese government has been secretly providing, quote, non-lethal military and economic assistance, end quote. All right, so what does that mean? Well, it likely includes things like intelligence or electronic equipment or even modest military gear like flack jackets or night vision goggles. And as for this economic assistance, PDB listeners know all about. that, China has dramatically increased its imports of Russian oil, gas, and coal all over the past

year. In fact, imports are up 50% year over year. Now, what's very interesting about this allegation of China secretly helping Russia is that the firms involved in this secret trade are government-owned, meaning that President Xi of China likely signed off on his companies making these trades. And that would make sense. China has long said that it prior to meritizes its relationship with Russia over the West, even though it technically says that it likes everybody and is neutral in the war in Ukraine. It's actually been pretty careful not to give Russia too much war material that might violate sanctions. All right, so that's one corner of this boxing match. In the other corner, we've got Ukraine's partners. And there have been some major updates over the past week.

And you might want to grab a map for this next part, because when you see the number of nations involved, it's quite something. So first, nine European nations announced last Thursday, a coordinated release of weaponry to Ukraine. Let me just give you some of those examples. The country of Denmark said that they would provide weaponry and training. The Czech Republic offered more ammunition, artillery, and maintenance. Estonia gave much the same as the Czech Republic,

but also hundreds of anti-tank grenade launchers. Next, the country of Latvia ponied up some Stinger missiles, some helicopters, machine guns, and some spare parts too. So the list just keeps going on and on here. Lithuania drones, the United Kingdom tanks, Slovakia, guns. But the biggest of all is the United States and Germany, according to the Wall Street Journal and the German outlet Der Spiegel. There's a deal for these nations to give some of their most advanced tanks to Ukraine.

Now, the U.S. is apparently going to offer a substantial number of M1 Abrams tanks, not sure how many exactly. Meanwhile, Germany is offering up at least 14 of what is, I think, 340 Leopard 2 tanks. Now, those deals will probably be announced today or tomorrow at some point, but regardless, it's pretty important. These tanks are arguably the most advanced, most offensive piece of weaponry given to Ukraine so far. But the question remains, how effective will these tanks actually be? Because, for instance, the U.S. Department of Defense is saying,

that these Abrams tanks, well, they're frankly a terrible fit for the Ukrainians. And that's because they require special fuel to operate, basically a jet fuel. And it requires, in fact, three gallons of that specialized stuff for every mile the tank travels. And that means that the Pentagon is either going to have to find some sort of way to build or support a supply line to get jet fuel deep into Ukrainian territory. Otherwise, these tanks are going to become, well, museum pieces, basically. sitting in the more peaceful areas of Western Ukraine. Plus, the Abrams tanks are really heavy, about 70 tons in all,

which is far more than what most Ukrainian bridges and roads can handle. Finally, the Abrams tanks require a fair amount of advanced training, so even if these things end up in Ukrainian soil over the next couple of weeks, nobody's capable of actually using them, unless we send in secret crews from America to drive them. Meanwhile, the German Leopard 2 tank. Now, that one is much easier to operate fuel and train on.

Plus, there are many more available in not only Germany, which is probably got around 340 or so, but also in countries like Poland, which actually wants to offer up their stock of these Leopard 2s. They're just waiting on final approval from Berlin to do so. One last thing to note about one of the main fighters in this boxing match. The Ukrainian government, they do. just fired over a dozen senior officials who were allegedly involved in corruption. Some were stealing, others were misusing the military or humanitarian aid provided by, well, you and other Western countries. No surprise there, though, Ukraine is one of the most corrupt

countries in the world, has been for decades. So there's the latest on the boxing match, as it were, between Ukraine and Russia. I'll give you more details on those critical updates as I learned them, which I suspect will be later this week as we learn more about those tanks. All right, let's move on to another European country this morning who just made a major announcement about oil and gas exploration, leaving environmentalists there absolutely outraged. The Scandinavian country of Norway announced yesterday that they would offer a record number of gas and oil exploration blocks in the Arctic Sea, 92 in all, including an unprecedented and 78 in the area of the Barron Sea and the far north.

Now, this is a pretty important development for a couple of reasons. First, Norway is Europe's primary natural gas supplier and a major oil producer. So both of those things have become quite important now that Russia is no longer providing much of the energy to Europe that they once did following, of course, their invasion of Ukraine. So the more oil and natural gas that Norway can create and produce, well, that could help settle some of the energy crisis that we've seen over the past year. Now, the second reason that this is notable is because so much of Europe, and especially Norway, well, they just clamor about climate change and they tell the world to embrace solar and wind, plus buy those electric vehicles, they say.

In fact, two weeks ago, I told you that 80% of Norway's new vehicle sales were electric. And at the time, they said, there's no excuse to avoid transitioning. away from traditional energy. And yet, here we are. The Norwegian government is making a pretty substantial investment in the oil and gas industry. As you would expect, reactions in Norway have been split. Leftist parties, including the party called the Socialist Left, they expressed outrage at this announcement.

They said that actually they had a deal with the government to forbid further exploration for oil and gas. Well, the government said, yeah, well, that is true. but we said only after the year 2025 would we shut down exploration. And since it's only 2023, we're going to get this one done just under the wire. Meanwhile, the conservatives of Norway are a little bit suspicious of this announcement. They're saying that this might just be a bargaining chip

to be used with the socialists down the road. In other words, maybe the current government eventually gives up some or all of those exploration blocks in exchange for political support down the road. the road. Well, we shall see. Either way, I will keep you posted. Finally, this morning, a quick update on our friends in South Africa, which, by the way, I know that I have some listeners down there, Jade in the Western Cape, I believe, Hendrick and David out in Cape Town. I hope you all are doing well. At any rate, over the last week or so, I've spoken how the government of South Africa is

dominated by socialists and communists, especially and specifically the ruling party called the African National Congress or ANC. And I've shared how that party and their affiliation with the radical left helps explain why they're so close to Russia and China and frankly, why they hate America so much. Well, maybe you've wondered, what about the common man and woman of South Africa? What do they think of America and Russia and China? Well, yesterday we got a pretty good sense of that. The Social Research Foundation released a poll of 3,200 registered voters in South Africa.

and asked them where they would like to live and raise their families if they could immigrate. About 35% said the United States. In second place was the United Kingdom at 22%. Germany came in at third at 11%. Only 1.4% chose Russia and less than 1% chose China. The polls showed that these results were true across party affiliation, race, and income level. So I'm bringing you this, I think, for two reasons. First, there is obviously a profound mismatch between the good people of South Africa and the government that, frankly,

they are yoked to. What it shows me, actually haven't spent some time in South Africa, is that the greatness of that nation, it's still there. It's inside the people. And we see that. We see that they would prefer their country have what we have here in America, not socialism or communism. But if their government can't deliver, they want to be here in a country that's incredible, a country that is the envy of the world. And that's actually the second reason that I bring this to you. So many people in America trashed the United States for being bad and irredeemable and racist and bigoted. And yet for whatever problems we may have, so many people from all around the world of all races and ethnicities, they see something different. They see a good people striving to make a great

country and even more perfect union. And I think that's something to celebrate and to remember. Folks, we are still that shining city on a hill that people want to be a part of. You know what? It's nice to be reminded of that. So to the 3200 South Africans out there, I hear you and I thank you. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we conclude your morning brief. But I've got one more thing before I let you go. We will be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right. So I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong.

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Awkward becomes electric. When Bose sound fills the room, you don't just hear the music. You feel it. Your life deserves music. Your music deserves Bose. Find your perfect product at Bose.com. Welcome back to the PDB folks. I've got one more thing before I let you go. All this week, the U.S. Treasury Secretary is in Southern Africa, heading to South Africa next after her current trip to Zambia. Well, a major goal of her trip is trying to bring African nations into closer partnership with the United States. And part of that sort of charm offensive is offering up benefits of all kinds to these countries, like solar panels and isolated villages or digging wells to bring people drinking water. Today I want to offer up a personal story on one of these aid projects that was actually built years ago in Zambia.

And I think it offers a cautionary tale as we engage with these nations and, in fact, all nations when we dangle out foreign aid. About 15 years ago, there was a series of fishing ponds that the U.S. government helped build in Zambia through the U.S. Agency for International Development, or U.S. AID. The idea was that it was better to help rural Zambians grow their own sources of food rather than just keep giving them food aid. In other words, handouts. So we spent some notable amount of U.S. taxpayer money into building these fish ponds. And we stocked them full of fish. We gave them fish food.

And we taught the villagers how to properly care for the fish. Now, there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony, lots of celebration for what a great project this was. It's the kind of stuff that you're seeing now. with U.S. Secretary Yellen going around these various countries talking about aid. Well, after the ribbons were cut and the backs were slapped, everybody went home. Well, about six months later, the folks at USAID conducted a site visit to see, well, how the fish are doing. I don't have any guesses for what they found. Yep, all the fish were dead.

The ponds were dry. When the worker for USAID asked what happened, the villagers were pretty, well, matter of fact, in saying, well, look, there was another aid organization, and they came in with semi-trucks full of food. And so either we could work out in the sun to tend to fish, or we could just eat the free food and enjoy life. So we ate the free food and we enjoyed life. The aid worker then returned to the embassy and spoke with that other aid organization about the semi-trucks and such, and that group said, oh, yes, sorry. about that. We had already ordered the food and honestly we have another mission. We just provide food.

We don't teach people how to grow it. So that was the end of the fish ponds and a continuation of the food trucks. So look, I don't know what's going to become of our foreign aid in Africa, especially as Secretary Yellen is promising more. Plus, we had Joe Biden who promised $55 billion back in December. All that was supposed to fund African health care initiatives, plus build some sort of solar and wind farms, mostly. But I must say, I'm a little bit suspicious of all of it, because when governments and aid organizations set up these programs, they usually fall short, such as they forget to coordinate with other aid organizations with semi-trucks of food. Or just fundamentally, we forget about human nature. We forget that people of all races and ethnicities like to do the

least amount of work with the greatest reward. And that's most especially true if you're giving an endless supply of handouts. It creates a perverse incentive for people to become lazy. Again, no matter your nationality or race. And there's perhaps nothing worse than turning otherwise industrious and productive people into just groups of lazy slugs. And if there were any doubt about that, well, I've got some empty fish ponds in Zambia to show you. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes your morning brief. As always, we close out the show, reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world.

It's the creed of every good spy and every smart American. It's from John, chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Good day.