The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 12th, 2024: Iran's Retaliation, FISA Controversy & The FBI's Chilling Warning To America

Episode Date: April 12, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    Israeli officials said they are preparing for a retaliatory attack from Iran inside their borders, in southern or northern Israel, as soon as Friday or Saturday. We'll also bring you an update on the growing debate around the controversial surveillance law known as FISA, as Congress moves one step closer to reauthorization. FBI Director Christopher Wray has issued a chilling warning to America regarding the threat of domestic terrorism, as we are learning that an Afghan migrant on the terror watchlist is free inside America after being released by Border Patrol. 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 PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world. stage. Let's get briefed. First, I want to bring you updates to two stories we covered this week, the anticipated Iranian retaliation against Israel, and the fate of a critical intelligence tool that has divided Republicans in Congress. Also, FBI director Christopher Ray has issued a chilling warning to America regarding the threat of terrorism, as we're learning that an Afghan migrant on the terror watch list is free inside America after being released by the Border Patrol.

But first, our afternoon spotlight. I want to return to our coverage of the anticipated Iranian retaliation against Israel over an air strike in Syria that took out several high-ranking members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. While it's been nearly two weeks since the suspected Israeli strikes in Damascus, which leveled part of Iran's consulate, Tehran has yet to make a move either directly or through their regional proxies, despite near-daily threats from the regime's leadership that Israel will be punished. As we discussed earlier today on the BDB, U.S. officials have been warning Israel since last

week that a response is imminent, though it's been unclear what that response might look like. Now, according to an exclusive report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Israeli officials said that they are preparing for an attack inside their borders in southern or northern Israel as soon as Friday or Saturday. With the risk of an imminent attack, the American embassy in Israel moved on Thursday to restrict any personal travel outside of Central Israel, Jerusalem, and Bersheba for U.S. government employees and family members. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that the military is prepared to respond directly against any attack on Israel. Netanyahu said Thursday, quote, whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security

needs of the state of Israel, both defensively and offensively. End quote. We should note that, according to the journal report, a person briefed by the Iranian leadership says no final decision has been made regarding a retaliation. Iran's IRGC reportedly presented Iranian leaders with a number of scenarios earlier this week, including a direct attack on Israel with sophisticated medium-range missiles. Social media posts on Friday linked to the IRGC reportedly show their military conducting simulated missile attacks on Israel's Haifa airport

and its nuclear facility in Demona. Israel has vowed to strike directly at Iranian nuclear facilities if their territory is attacked by Iran. Now, a retaliatory attack by one of Iran's proxies, while obviously directed by Iran and really carrying only the thinnest veil of deniability could allow for both sides to draw a line under the situation, avoiding escalation into direct conflict between Iran and Israel. However, if the Iranian regime decides, for whatever reason, that the retaliatory strike needs to come directly from them, well, then they obviously opened themselves up to direct conflict with Israel, and in all likelihood, a supporting role from the U.S. Targets would include Iranian nuclear facilities, refineries, and refineries, and

and key military installations. Now, current practical assessments, well, they weigh in favor of the Iranian regime being unwilling, at least at this time, to risk such losses. As the world stands by, anticipating further turmoil and violence in the Middle East, I also want to return to the battle in Congress over reauthorizing the controversial surveillance law known as FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of members of his own party on Wednesday when he tried to pass a version of the surveillance law that would reauthorize Pfizer for five years and impose a series of reforms. Now, 19 Republicans at that time jumped ship and joined the Democrat caucus to sink the bill, citing concerns about warrantless access

to Americans' data. But in a surprising turn of events, it appears that Johnson has managed to salvage the legislation. In a preliminary party line vote, of 213 to 208, the House passed an amended version of the legislation on Friday morning, clearing the way for a debate Friday on proposed amendments to the bill before a final vote on passage, and that's according to the New York Times. Johnson won over hard-lined Republicans by shortening the extension of Pfizer from five years to two years. Conservative GOP members credited the House Freedom Caucus with moving the needle with Johnson, saying the two-year extension struck the perfect balance, giving the next Congress the opportunity to review possible reforms

without tying the hands of the intelligence community in the interim. As a reminder, the current FISA law, which intelligence officials say is a critical tool for rapidly addressing threats and keeping the homeland safe, well, it's set to expire on April 19th. At issue is Section 702 of FISA, which empowers the government to collect the communications of foreign targets outside the U.S. without a war, even if their communications are with an American citizen. An amendment has been proposed that would add additional warrant requirements. However, analysts have warned that it would essentially defang the law and severely hamper the efforts of the intelligence community.

Coming up after the break, we'll discuss a chilling warning to America from FBI Director Christopher Ray regarding threats to the homeland, as we're learning that an Afghan migrant on the terror watch list is free inside America after being released by the Border Patrol. You're free to go. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here.

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FBI director Christopher Ray continues to sound the alarm over the ever-increasing threat of terrorism, particularly as the U.S. border remains vulnerable to infiltration. Speaking to the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, Ray warned that the FBI is increasingly concerned about the possibility of an organized terrorist attack inside the U.S., similar to the massacre carried out by ISIS at a Russian concert hall last month that left scores dead, according to a Reuters' report. The message that Ray delivered to Congress echoed a speech that he gave earlier this week, where he also underscored the growing possibility of a large-scale attack inside America.

Now, his urgency in getting this message out suggests that the risk of an attack is high, particularly as tensions remain inflamed in parts of the Islamic community due to the ongoing war in Gaza. Ray told the committee, quote, as I look back over my career in law enforcement, I would be hard-pressed to think of a time where so many threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once, but that is the case as I sit here today, end quote. Ray also used the hearing to underscore the importance of the FISA law, imploring members of Congress to reauthorize the controversial surveillance tool without added restrictions, saying it is, quote,

critical in securing our nation, and now we are in crunch time, end quote. He noted that the array of threats remains vast, and intelligence agencies need every tool at their disposal at this time of global instability. As of the end of 2023 fiscal year, Ray said the FBI had some 4,000 active international terrorism investigations open, 4,000. His warning comes as we're learning of another person on the terrorism watch list that has managed to slip through the U.S. border and remains free inside America. And by using the word slipped, I don't mean to mean that it had to be that stealthy, apparently.

He was picked up, released, picked up, released. A report from NBC News revealed an Afghan migrant on the watch list was released last month on bond after being arrested for a second time by immigration authorities. He had previously spent nearly a year inside the U.S. after being arrested and released by Border Patrol agents in early 2023. The presiding immigration judge was reportedly not told that the man posed a national security threat, and we forgot. The man's immigration hearing in Texas is not scheduled until 2020. and there are no restrictions on his movements within the U.S. as he waits. So he's on the watch list, but he's free to tour America until he supposedly shows up for an immigration hearing in 2025.

It does make you wonder why do authorities even bother maintaining terror watch lists? As I noted, the CBB has said they're encountering a growing number of individuals on the FBI's terrorist watch list, trying to enter the country via the southern border. According to government data, agents stopped 169 people whose names matched those on the watch list in fiscal year 2023. That was compared with just 98 in 2022 and 15 in 2021. In 2020, it was even less. The number was only 10.

The Border Patrol has caught at least 60 individuals on the terror watch list crossing between ports of entry since October. of just this past year. That, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 12 April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirstTV.com. And be sure to check out our new premium membership at PDB Premium.com.

I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back on Monday. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wire

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