The President's Daily Brief - July 18th, 2024: Local Police Blast Secret Service, Hamas Dissension, & Ukraine’s Olive Branch

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Butler County police are firing back at the Secret Service for their attempt to shift blame for this weekend’s attempted assassination of President Trump. Evidence of growing dissension within Hamas, as CIA Director Bill Burns reveals that the terror group's leader, Yahya Sinwar, is facing increasing pressure from his own commanders to bring the Gaza war to an end. Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky extends an invitation to Russia to attend peace talks, with a new poll showing growing support for negotiations among the Ukrainian people. A former White House official is accused of acting as a secret agent for the South Korean government. In today’s Back of the Brief, President Biden faces two major political setbacks. A new poll shows all his potential replacements outperforming him, and one of America’s most prominent Democrats is calling on him to pass the torch. 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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I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start things off today with an update on Saturday's assassination attempt, with the Secret Service and local police trading blame for the security failures, and by all accounts, there's a significant amount of blame to be doled out. Then in today's spotlight, evidence of growing dissension within Hamas, CIA director Bill Burns, revealed at a closed-door conference that the terror group's leader, Yaya Sinwar, is facing increasing pressure from his own commanders to bring the Gaza's. war to an end. Later in the show, Ukrainian President Zelensky extends an invitation to Russia to attend peace talks as a new poll shows growing support for negotiations within the Ukrainian population. Plus, espionage and intrigue, as a former White House official, is accused of acting as a recruited asset for the South Korean government. And in today's back of the brief, President Biden faces

two major political setbacks. A new poll shows all his potential replacements outperforming him, and one of America's most prominent Democrats is calling on him to pass the torch. Oh, oh, look, wait, there's a third setback. Biden has just tested positive for COVID. He'll reportedly be self-isolating at a speech home in Delaware, and we wish him a speedy recovery. But first, an update on our ongoing coverage of the attempted assassination of President Trump. A third authorities in Butler County are pushing back against Secret Service efforts to shift the blame for this weekend's security failures onto local police. According to a report in the Washington Post, local police informed the Secret Service ahead of the event that they would be unable to secure

the building, which ended up being used by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks to fire multiple shots towards the stage. In a recent interview with ABC News, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheedle claimed that local police were inside the building and had been tasked with securing the building's outer perimeter. However, Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger is now contradicting Cheeto's claims, telling the post that the Secret Service was informed that the local police department lacked the manpower to assist with securing the building. Now, this is the same building that Cheathel now infamously said couldn't be secured because of its sluble. roof. Oh my God, there's got to be at least a 10-degree angle on that roof. Keep people off.

Secret Service Management is doing themselves, frankly, and the country, a complete disservice by not immediately being available and transparent in their after-action reporting. Look, it should be as simple as reviewing the event's security plans, which theoretically would include all the advanced planning, deployment of resources, tasking assignments, communications, planning, timeline for the event, assigned personnel, and the other relevant details. Planning for an event like this is something that the Secret Service has done countless times, obviously. Now, it's hard work to be sure and requires attention to detail, meticulousness, thorough coordination with local and state authorities and campaign staff, but it's not rocket science, and it follows a

defined methodology, and part of that is having the planning down to the last detail and readily available for review by those in charge. Based on what we know so far, and the breakdown in communications, coordination, and liaison between the elements on site, clearly those plans weren't thoroughly reviewed prior to the event. And now, to make matters worse for the Secret Service, there are reports that agents on the ground and local police could have been aware of a suspicious person in the event area as much as three hours prior to Trump taking the stage. Now, the fact that there was an awareness of a possible security issue, and the former president was still allowed up on the stage. Well, let's just say

that Director Cheeto has an enormous amount of explaining to do. All communications that took place on site in the hours leading up to the start of the rally and appearance of Trump need to be secured and provided to the Congressional Committee investigating this matter prior to Cheatel showing up on Monday to face the committee. That should not be a difficult task. All right, now on to today's spotlight. Turning to the war in Gaza, it appears Hamas' leader is starting to lose the support of his own commanders. A CIA assessment shared at a closed-door conference by agency director Bill Burns on Saturday, reveals that Yaya Sinwar, Hamas's chief in Gaza, is facing intensifying pressure from within the militant group's own ranks

to accept a ceasefire agreement with Israel and formally end the war, and that's according to an exclusive report by CNN. As a reminder, Sinwar was one of the key masterminds of the barbaric 7 October attacks on Israel and has since evaded justice by hiding in Hamas' expansive tunnel networks underneath Gaza. The CIA still believes that Sinwar is the key decision maker for Hamas when it comes to a potential ceasefire. Burns reportedly said that while Sinwar himself is not, quote, concerned with his mortality, I mean, except for the fact that he's hiding like a rat in the tunnels while he exposes the Palestinian residents above to the cost of the conflict that Hamas started, well, he is

increasingly being blamed by senior commanders and the local population for the scale of death and destruction seen in Gaza since Hamas's attack on Israel. Director Burns, who's been working round the clock with negotiators in Egypt and Qatar to secure a truce, argued it was incumbent upon the U.S. and Israel to seize on this moment of vulnerability to reach a deal. The CIA assessment aligns with recently leaked communications from Hamas, where senior leaders urge external figures of the militant group to accept the current ceasefire proposal, citing heavy losses to their battalions.

As to those losses, the IDF said Tuesday that they have eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas' military wing and killed or wounded some 14,000 members of the militant group. One of those leaders, Hamas' military chief, Mohammed Dief is suspected to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, although still waiting for final confirmation. An unnamed source told CNN that Burns noted that this is the first time that they have intelligence pointing to significant internal discord within the militant group. Sinwar senior commanders are reportedly tired of fighting, particularly now that the local population

has started to voice their displeasure with the group's leadership. As you may recall, Sinwar told mediators in Egypt and Qatar last month that he felt Hamas had the upper hand on Israel, particularly due to the level of civilian deaths, which he brushed off as, quote, necessary sacrifices. Yeah, necessary sacrifices. Well, that was the calculation that Sinwar and his band of terrorists made when plotting these 7 October attacks. They knew that they were condemning many Palestinians to death, and they were okay with that. Those comments from Sinwar came as Paul. showing showed eroding support for Hamas among at least some of the civilian population with Gaza, though the shifts were quite marginal. The poll found that support among Gazans for

Hamas to remain as a governing body of Gaza had fallen over the past three months from 52% to roughly 46%. As far as a ceasefire goes, negotiations remain ongoing, but appear promising. Burns since Saturday that there is now a, quote, fragile possibility before us, end quote, to achieve a lasting truce. Officials are also hopeful that these negotiations will help calm tension along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where intense fighting continues. Hezbollah leadership has indicated that they will stop their attacks if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. Sinwa, reportedly, no longer wants to rule in Gaza, and as we reported late last week, both Israel and Hamas have tentatively agreed to an interim governing structure for Gaza,

That would be run by approximately 2,500 supporters of the Palestinian Authority. That would come into play if both sides can reach the second phase of the proposed ceasefire. Now, Hamas has also abandoned their demand that Israel commit up front to a complete end to the war, instead agreeing to rely on written guarantees that Israel will continue to negotiate a permanent ceasefire deal once the first phase goes into effect. The first phase would involve an exchange of a limited number of hostages and a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The remaining hostages, while they would be freed in the second stage, which would also see a full withdrawal of Israeli troops. Still, gaps do remain, as you can imagine.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would not deviate from the original proposal. He did note that Hamas has requested as many as 29 changes to the framework, none that are workable for Israel. A source familiar with the negotiations, said Wednesday, quote, there's still a long time to go. All right, coming up next. Ukrainian President Zelensky invites Russia to attend peace talks as a new poll reveals growing support for negotiations among Ukrainians.

And a former White House official faces accusations of acting as a secret agent for the South Korean government. We'll have those stories when we come back. Welcome back to the PDB. Shifting gears to the war in Eastern Europe. Though the possibility of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine still feels remote, Ukrainian President Zelensky just extended an olive branch of sorts to the Kremlin. On Monday, Zelensky called on the Putin regime to send representatives to a planned peace summit in November.

The first time the leader has signaled he's open to direct talks, leaders in Moscow about how to bring Russia's war of aggression to an end. It's the second planned peace summit this year, after the first was held last month in Switzerland, though Russian officials were not invited to that conference. Now, both sides have avoided direct peace talks ever since negotiations soured in the early weeks of Putin's invasion back in February of 2022. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, following his U.S. visit for last week's NATO summit, Zelensky declared, quote, I believe that representatives of Russia should be present at the second peace summit. Now, the two countries are obviously still miles apart when it comes to their respective demands,

and officials from the Kremlin made that clear on Tuesday in a chilly response to Zelensky. They were skeptical, let's say it that way, to say the least. Kremlin's spokesman Dimitri Peskov said, quote, the first peace summit was not a peace summit at all, so perhaps it's necessary to first understand what he, meaning Zelensky, means. As a reminder, Russian President Putin outlined his conditions for peace in early June, just as leaders were gathering for the initial peace summit in Switzerland, and his conditions were widely derided by Western officials.

Putin referred to his demands as, quote, simple. Oh, they were simple. And what would those be, you ask? Well, only that leaders in Kiev abandoned their bid to join NATO, hand over the entirety of four Ukrainian provinces to Moscow, and unconditionally withdraw all troops from their front lines. Putin also said he wants a pony. Officials in Kiev called it absurd, except for the pony part, and a calculated attempt to undermine the summit. Just days later, 80 nations and representatives, including Ukraine, signed a communique,

reaffirming their commitment to the country's independence and territorial integrity. Ukraine is seeking the restoration of their territory, including Crimea, and are committed to plans to one day join the NATO alliance. in Kiev also want reparations from Russia and for leaders in Moscow to be held accountable for alleged war crimes. Not that we expect Putin will ever agree to such terms. In fact, the chances that Putin will agree to those terms are as slim as Secret Service Director Cheedel deciding that she should resign since supposedly, according to her, the buck stops with her. Really, does anybody know where the buck actually stops? The olive branch from Zelensky

comes as public polling shows growing support for direct negotiation with Russia, with about 44% of Ukrainians backing the efforts. Observers say it reflects growing concerns within Ukraine about their ability to defeat Putin on the battlefield. And that is a major problem, because the only way to get major concessions from Putin is to have the upper hand, to make him feel as if he's losing or could lose. Okay. I want to shift our focus back to the U.S. where a former CIA employee and senior official at the White House National Security Council, the NSC, Sue Me Terry, has been charged with acting as an agent for South Korea's intelligence service. Terry is accused of receiving luxury goods and other gifts in exchange for disclosing non-public U.S. government information.

Terry's career in the U.S. government spanned from 2001 to 2011. She began as a CIA analyst and later as the Deputy National Intelligence Officer for East Asia at the NSC, serving under President's George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Following her government service, she continued to influence public policy as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, becoming a prominent voice on foreign affairs. The indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan, a legislature operated as an unregistered agent, beginning in 2013, and continued for a decade. Despite an FBI warning in 2014 about potential covert payments to her from South Korea's National Intelligence Service, Terry allegedly maintained her role. Seriously, does anybody suffer

any consequences for anything in Washington, D.C.? She advocated South Korean policy positions during media appearances, shared non-public information, and even facilitated access to U.S. officials in exchange for receiving high-end luxury clothing, Michelin-starred restaurant dinners, and over $37,000. $37,000. Ooh, she should have talked to Senator Menendez, gold-border. Bob. That dude was making way more acting as a foreign agent. In the indictment, Terry admitted to the FBI that she passed handwritten notes from a June 22 meeting with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about U.S. policy toward North Korea to South Korean intelligence officers. In 2023, she allegedly published opinion pieces at the command of South Korean officials, including a paid article praising

a summit between President's Biden and Yun Sokol Yul, the President of South Korea. During a voluntary FBI interview in the same year, Terry acknowledged being a, quote, source for South Korea's National Intelligence Service. Terry did not immediately respond to the charges, but her lawyer, Lee Woloski dismissed the allegations as, quote, unfounded, except she admitted to it, emphasizing her independence and critical stance towards the South Korean government during the period in question. The Council on Foreign Relations has placed Terry on unpaid administrative leave pending the investigation. South Korea itself is not implicated as a defendant in the indictment, and its Washington Embassy, National Intelligence Service, and Foreign Ministry have declined to comment

in detail, citing the ongoing traditional proceedings in the U.S. and the fact that it's just all a little bit embarrassing and awkward. As the investigation unfolds, further insights into the extent of Terry's alleged activities and their implications for U.S. national security will undoubtedly emerge and we'll provide you with additional details. Coming up in the back of the brief, setbacks to President Biden's efforts to hang on. I'm not going anywhere, as a new poll shows he's being outperformed by all of his potential replacements. And a prominent Democrat calls for him to pass the torch. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount. Safe driver discount. New vehicle discount. Storage discount. Storage

How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply. In today's back of the brief, a recent polling memo from Blue Labs Analytics is causing a significant stir among Democrats, many of whom hope to convince President Biden to step aside in favor of a more viable candidate for the upcoming election. The memo derived from interviews with over 15,000 voters across seven battleground states

indicates that alternative Democratic candidates are polling some three points ahead of Biden. This data suggests that other Democrats, including his own Vice President Kamala Harris, perform better, though Harris trails behind the average alternative, which I guess makes her less than average, with some candidates even drawing support away from former President Trump. Now the memo reveals voters favor new faces over those closely tied to the current administration. The strongest potential Democratic candidates from the data include Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Maryland Governor Westmore, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, all of whom outpaced Biden by five points in battleground states. This revelation

has deepened Democrats' concerns. They fear that Biden's insistence on seeking a second term could lead to a historic loss against Trump. In a massive defection from the Biden camp on Wednesday, Representative Adam Schiff, currently running for U.S. Senate in California, became the highest-profile Democrat to call for the president to drop his reelection bid. In an exclusive statement to the Los Angeles Times, Schiff cited concerns about the president's age and mental fitness, urging him to, quote, pass the torch to another Democrat. Schiff, you remember him, he of the Russia collusion caper that ran for a couple of years during Trump's tenure, is close to senior Democrat icon Nancy Planned.

Pelosi, which makes one wonder if Schiff conferred with Pelosi and got her tacit approval to come out against Biden. Fellow Democrats echoed Schiff's sentiment amid growing concern about Biden's reelection hopes. They said the president's declining approval ratings and his administrations perceived shortcomings make him a less competitive candidate. Now Biden's determination to run for re-election, coupled with internal divisions and strategic disagreements, well, that leaves the party in a less than cohesive state as they prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. And that, my friends, is the president's

daily brief for Thursday, 18 July. If you have any questions or comments, please, reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. The PDB staff, including our crack team of interns, love to receive your emails, your texts, your faxes, your care packages, and even large wire transfers. So, listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdb premium.com, and remember, the PDB is available on all podcast platforms and our YouTube channel at Presidents Daily Brief, where you can also watch our weekend show, the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.