The President's Daily Brief - November 21st, 2023: Another Hospital Siege, Adams Investigated, & Biden Dodges a Bullet

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   The IDF initiate a siege on yet another medical facility in Gaza, sparking heated debate among Democrats about stipulations on aid to Israel.   We delve into the uproar following the arrest of an NBC journalist by Israel on charges of inciting terrorism.   We also examine New York City Mayor Eric Adams' ties with Turkey and the implications for his administration.   In the Back of the Brief, we analyze how President Joe Biden seems to have narrowly avoided repercussions in the controversy over his handling of classified documents.   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

It's Tuesday, November 21st. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. In today's PDB, Israeli defense forces lay siege to another Gaza hospital as Democrats clash over adding conditions to Israeli aid. Later, controversy flares as Israel arrests an NBC freelance journalist, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, relationship with the nation of Turkey comes under closer scrutiny. And finally, in the back of the brief, President Joe Biden appears to dodge the proverbial Department of Justice bullet over his mishandling of classified documents. But first up, the PDB spotlight. The Israeli military has now turned its attention to yet another hospital in northern Gaza. According to reports, Israeli tanks have encircled Gaza's Indonesian hospital.

According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, an Israeli shell hit the hospital's second floor, resulting in the death of at least 12 individuals, including a health care worker. It should be noted that this is from Hamas, so information does need to be verified. Unfortunately, it looks like this standoff is setting the stage for yet another prolonged siege, like we saw with Gaza's Al-Sheifa Hospital over the past couple of weeks. The IDF has yet to comment on the siege, but earlier claimed that they were targeting terrorists that had opened fire at them from within the complex.

Of course, the latest attacks have already drawn condemnation from the international community. The World Health Organization's director has voiced his shock in a social media statement declaring that the WHO is, quote, appalled at the unfolding events. Now, you know what else is appalling? Just recently, the WHO added North Korea at the behest of Russia to the executive board or leadership committee of the WHO. Meanwhile, the reports of civilian casualties coming out of Gaza continue to take their toll on the resolve of lawmakers here at home, and today there's a growing movement within the Democrat Party

advocating for conditions to be placed on any further aid to Israel. The proposed measures seek to ensure future military support is tethered to clear expectations regarding Israel's engagement inside Gaza, and specifically, and with the Palestinian people more broadly. Under a proposal from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the U.S. would withhold further aid to Israel unless there is, quote, a fundamental change in their military and political positions. Well, that's going to sit well with the IDF because, I mean, whenever I'm engaged in a major military conflict, I always turn to Bernie Sanders for all my tactical advice. Perhaps Rashida Talib could also weigh in with her vast experience in planning military operations

and combating terrorism. Now, Senator Sanders said, quote, while Israel has the right to go after Hamas, Netanyahu's right-wing extremist government does not have the right to wage almost total warfare against the Palestinian people. And that is a perfect example of a Washington, D.C. politician talking out of both sides of his mouth and taking both sides simultaneously. He went on to call Israel's actions, quote, morally unacceptable and in violation of international law. The Senator's conditions for Israel include a significant reduction in military activities, an end to any potential long-term reoccupation or blockade of Gaza,

an end to settler violence in the West Bank and, quote, broad peace talks for a two-state solution in the wake of the war. Now, it's worth noting that this isn't the first time Sanders has demanded conditions for Israeli military aid. Back in February of this year, the Vermont Senator made similar demands. criticizing the Israeli government as racist and accusing them of using American tax dollars to commit atrocities. When we come back, an NBC news reporter is arrested by the Israeli government, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams launches a legal defense fund as the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office

continue their corruption investigation into his 2021 campaign. I'll be right back. Welcome back, a freelance journalist working for NBC News was arrested last Thursday by police in Jerusalem over alleged social media posts that reportedly were inciting terrorism and identifying with a terrorist organization. Marwatt al-Aza, a 45-year-old freelance journalist based in East Jerusalem, reportedly praised the 7 October attacks by Hamas in a series of recent posts to her Facebook page. It's unclear what she specifically wrote in these posts, which are currently unavailable. A representative for the Jerusalem magistrate court

said that Al-Aza's posts constitute a, quote, very serious offense during a time of declared war, alleging that her statements, quote, in sight and glorify the horrible acts committed against civilians. Now, Al-Aza began working for NBC News around October 21st, according to reporting by the New York Post. Representatives for NBC said Monday they had severed all ties with Al-Alazah. adding that they were not aware of the social media posts that triggered her arrest. They stressed that none of her reporting for NBC, which included reports on the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, were related to the charges that she now faces. A defense attorney for Al-Aza noted that she freely admitted to authorities that the Facebook

posts in question were hers and has fully cooperated with police regarding their investigation. Her attorney told the Jerusalem Post that Al-Aza is, quote, an ordinary woman who works as a journalist and whose work is important to us all. Okay, but she just happens to support Hamas. The arrest of Al-Aza comes as U.S. mainstream media outlets have faced intense criticism over their ties to a number of freelance journalists and photographers who accompanied Hamas terrorists in Gaza during the 7 October attacks. As we recently discussed on the PDB, a media watchdog group called Honest Reporting question how these journalists actually came to be embedded with Hamas and if they had any foreknowledge of the savage attacks. The backlash was swift, particularly from Israeli officials,

who accused the journalists and photographers of complicity in crimes against humanity. In the aftermath of the reporting, the New York Times, AP, Reuters, and CNN, cut ties with the journalists and the freelance photographers and issued statements denying any advanced knowledge of the 7 October attacks. All right. Let's turn our attention stateside to the growing scandal swirling around New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He's still facing allegations that his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to accept illegal foreign donations. Now it looks like pressure on Adams is mounting, and so at the same time are the legal bills. In recent days, he's established a legal defense fund related to the investigation, and it's been creatively named the Eric Adams Legal

Defense Trust. Officials with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York are currently engaged in a large-scale investigation of Adams' 2021 campaign for mayor. They're reportedly focused on alleged illegal contributions, favors, and potential foreign interference in the election by the Turkish government. Now, this all began earlier this month when agents with the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a 25-year-old who served as a key fundraiser for Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign. Since then, the net appears to have widened considerably. Authorities have searched the homes of Chenk Ocho, a member of Adam.

Transition Team, who previously worked as a pilot for Turkish Airlines, and Rana Absova, a staffer, who previously worked as a liaison for Adams to the Turkish community in New York City. Both Ocho and Absova have alleged ties with the Turkish government. A report by the New York Post revealed last week that Abysova was suspended from her position after, quote, acting improperly during a meeting with investigators. In addition to allegations that his campaign accepted foreign donations, authorities are examining whether Adams improperly pressured officials to ignore safety concerns and to greenlight a new high-rise Turkish consulate in the city. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for that building was attended

by Turkish President Erdogan in September of 2021. Now Adams has maintained his innocence, and he says he's fully cooperating with the investigation. A recent review, of public documents by Politico, however, has put a spotlight on the mayor's unusually close relationship with the Turkish government. So over the past eight years, Adams has allegedly attended some 80 events celebrating Turkey, including a 2018 charity ball and a virtual conference with the Turkish consul in 2020. He has also regularly traveled to Turkey, making at least six trips while serving in his previous role as Brooklyn Borough President. All right.

Coming up in the back of the brief, it looks like President Biden is going to get a free pass on his mishandling of classified materials. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, President Joe Byte appears to be out of hot water as reports from CNN and the Wall Street Journal indicate no charges will be filed over his handling of classified materials,

or, we should say, actually, mishandling of classified materials. Special Counsel Robert Herr, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in January, has been investigating the matter since the discovery of the documents. Now, to bring you up to speed in case you haven't been following, Biden's personal attorneys unearthed classified documents earlier this year in an office that was once used by him following his stint as VP. Approximately 10 documents, some bearing the top secret label, and containing information about the U.K., Ukraine, and Iran were found.

Now, more classified papers later surfaced in the garage of Biden's Wilmington home, located in boxes beside his vintage 1967 Corvette. All of the documents in question spanned Biden's tenure as vice president under the Obama administration, as well as his earlier years in the U.S. Senate. Now, since launching the investigation in January, Special Counsel Robert Hurd has conducted interviews with, with around 100 individuals linked to Biden, including family members, and notably his son Hunter, and even sat down for a two-day session with the president himself last month.

Her's team is now finalizing a report on the month's long investigation. The report is expected to cast a harsh light on the 81-year-old president and his staff for their mishandling of sensitive materials. However, it's anticipated that no charges will be brought forward. As you would expect, that's not sitting well with congressional Republicans. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner slammed Biden as a, quote, serial classified documents hoarder. He warned that absolving the president of charges would deliver a devastating blow

to the integrity of classified information handling. All right, look, now setting aside the fact that every president, going back to, I believe it was probably Millard Fillmore, has left office with some classified documents, the reality is, if it was you or me, we'd already be doing time. Look, I spent a long time in the CIA dealing with classified material, and honestly, it just wasn't difficult to not mishandle it. I mean, I never thought to myself, maybe just a box or two of my favorite classified documents as I'm leaving the agency won't hurt. And, you know, it was because we knew that consequences would be swift and severe.

But, obviously, it's a different game for presidents. The trouble here is, we've got dueling classified document hoarders, and while the two cases, meaning Trump and Biden, have differences, that's not going to matter to their base supporters. Biden acolytes will say, See, Joe's honest as the day is long. No trouble, nothing to see here, while Trump supporters will point to what they see as a two-tier justice system.

And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief. for Tuesday, 21 November. 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.