The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 28th, 2025: Why John Bolton May Be Screwed & China's Xi To Host Putin And Kim At Major Military Parade

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—it appears John Bolton could be in deeper legal trouble than previously known. We are learning that the probe into his alleged mishandling of classified information actually intensified under the Biden administration, when intelligence emerged suggesting unsecured emails sent by Bolton containing national security secrets ended up in the hands of an adversarial foreign spy service. Later in the show—Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing for a massive military parade next week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin set to attend. We’ll discuss the broader implications of this high profile gathering of the east’s major authoritarian powers. 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. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Don’t Settle for shrink-wrapped "steak" Visit https://trybeef.com/PDB to get the real stuff. Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold CBDistillery: Visit https://CBDistillery.com and use promo code PDB for 25% off your entire order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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unsecurity emails sent by Bolton containing national security secrets, ended up in the hands of an adversarial foreign spy service. Later in the show, Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing for a massive military parade next week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin set to attend as guests of honor. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We're beginning to learn more about the ongoing investigation into John Bolton and the details of the probe, well, don't bode well for the former White House National Security Advisor. As you may recall, Bolton had his Maryland home and his Washington, D.C. office

raided by the FBI last Friday, reportedly over allegations that Bolton once used a private email server to send highly sensitive government information to family members. That doesn't sound very bright, but critics pounced on the FBI raid as evidence that Trump is engaging in politically motivated retribution against his perceived enemies. Now, however, according to an exclusive report from the New York Times published Wednesday, the investigation into Bolton has been active for years and actually picked up steam during the Biden administration long before Trump's return to power. The case reportedly gathered momentum after U.S. intelligence officials collected information

showing not only that Bolton mishandled classified information, but that it ended up in the hands of an adversarial foreign spy service. Specifically, anonymous sources, close to the investigation, told the Times that during the Biden administration, U.S. intelligence agencies gathered data from the unnamed foreign government, which included emails with sensitive information that Bolton appeared to have sent to people close to him on an unclassified system while still working in the first Trump administration between 2018 and 2019. The sources said the emails contained information derived from classified documents that he had access to while serving his national security advisor. He apparently sent the

messages to his wife, daughter, and other people close to him that were helping compile material for his 2020 memoir, The Room Where It Happened, that sounds very dramatic. Now, that by itself is not entirely new information. As you may recall, shortly before the publication of Bolton's memoir, the first Trump administration took Bolton to court to delay its release. At the same time, Trump's DOJ opened a criminal investigation into whether Bolton's book improperly disclosed classified information. While a judge later concluded that memoir may have included national security secrets, the case largely stalled, that is, until U.S. intelligence officials, under the Biden administration, discovered Bolton's emails had been intercepted by a foreign adversary. As I mentioned, it remains

unclear what country obtained those emails, though, of course, Russia, China, and Iran, all would have had a keen interest in Bolton's private communications given his previous role under Trump. Iran in particular, as long had Bolton in their crosshairs over his involvement in the operation that killed former Goods Force commander Kassem Soleimani. Fast forward to the early weeks of Trump's second term in office, CIA director John Ratcliffe reportedly briefed FBI director, Cash Patel, on the interest intercepted intelligence related to Bolton. Intelligence officials assessed that the material Bolton had transcribed into his

unclassified and unsecured email server likely contained classified national security secrets, though they reportedly needed more proof. Patel ultimately secured warrants from two federal judges authorizing the searches of Bolton's home and office. According to the Times report, prosecutors would have had to convince the judges that they had reason to believe that Bolton possessed evidence of his mishandling of classified documents. While no charges have been filed against Bolton, the sources said that is likely because officials are now reviewing the collected evidence from the raids

to confirm whether it corroborates the assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies. If it does, they say this would confirm that the emails found in possession of a foreign adversary were indeed genuine. In a sign of the gravity of the situation, Bolton finds himself in now, he's reportedly in discussions to retain the Council of Abby Lowell, a high-profile criminal defense lawyer, who is also currently representing New York State Attorney General Leticia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Loll also previously represented Hunter Biden and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The stakes here are high for Bolton. He's reportedly being investigated under the 1917 Espionage Act. Neither the Department of Justice nor Bolton have commented on these latest

revelations. All right, up next, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to join Chinese President Xi Jinping at a major military parade in Tiananmen Square next week. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment of your time to talk about protecting your hard-earned assets. Now, you probably notice that out there in the big wide world, there's a little turmoil in the economy, right? I mean, we've got trade wars, tariffs back and forth. We've got a U.S. Federal Reserve that's a bit at odds with the White House, volatile stock market, well, you get the picture. And it's at times like these when it's important to think about your assets and how to protect them. And one way to do that is through diversification. And I'm here

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digress. The 3-September procession through Tiananmen Square marks the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, billed by the Chinese Communist Party as a commemoration, but make no mistake. The message is more than that. Hypersonic missiles, strategic rocket systems, swarms of drones, all proudly announced by the CCP as domestically built, will be in the procession, with new technology also set to make its public debut. Apparently there'll be no elephants. The rollout is a not-so-s subtle reminder of Xi's modernization of the People's Liberation Army, and it comes as the communist country grows ever more antagonistic toward Taiwan and other neighboring countries over long-standing territorial disputes.

The event will mark Kim Jong-un's first visit to China in five years in only his 11th trip abroad since 2011, and we'll see him stand in solidarity, of course, with Xi's global aims. The timing is notable, just days ago. President Trump said he would be open to meeting Kim this year, echoing the direct diplomacy of his first term, and it comes shortly after the first anniversary of Pyongyang's landmark defense pact with Moscow, which pledged mutual military backing if either country is attacked. Putin's attendance, meanwhile, underscores Beijing's role as Moscow's sugar daddy, even as Russia bleeds resources in Ukraine, with North Korea, of course, also dispatching troops and munitions

to buttress Kremlin front lines. For China, North Korea remains its only formal ally under a 1961 defense treaty. Yet, Xi is watching closely as Kim and Putin grow closer, forging a burgeoning bromance and trading friendship bracelets that could dilute China's influence in the region. Also making appearances at the parade, this is going to be quite the festive occasion, isn't it? Pakistan's Prime Minister Shabash Sharif and Kremlin allies, Alexander Vuchitsch of Serbia and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, among two dozen other heads of state. Notably absent, well, leaders from prominent Western capitals.

That's a pointed contrast, given that China was once a wartime ally, of course, of the United States and United Kingdom during Japan's occupation. Even neighboring Prime Minister Modi of India, who will be in China next week for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, but, well, he didn't receive an invitation, and that's a snub tied to Beijing's backing of Pakistan during their brief war earlier this year. So the choreography couldn't be clearer. She, Putin, and Kim will stand together atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace, doesn't that sound tranquil? Presenting themselves as architects of a rival world order, even as Trump's America First Strategy, is reconfiguring alliances to contain them. For Beijing, this parade is less about commemorating victory in World War II, then signaling that a block of authoritarian powers is prepared to

defy the West, whether on the battlefield or on the world stage. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, the 28th of August. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, you know you can do that. It's very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB Premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, let's be honest, right? Most of us on occasion, or maybe often, are tired, we're stressed, we're dealing with some kind of pain, maybe a workout pain. And what do we do? Well, typically, right, we power through it, because the last

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