The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 26th, 2024: Constitutional Crisis In Texas & Ceasefire Rejected In Gaza Genocide Case

Episode Date: January 26, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     A constitutional crisis is brewing at the border as Republican governors from around the country rallied around Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday to support his defiance of the Biden administration regarding the border crisis. The International Court of Justice or ICJ rejected demands on Friday for Israel to cease military operations in Gaza as it continues to weigh South Africa’s claims that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. 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

This podcast is sponsored by Blackout Coffee. Start your morning off the way I do. With a cup of American-made Blackout Coffee, it'll kick-start your day. I guarantee it. Family-owned, premium coffee, fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB for 20% off your first purchase. It's Friday, 26th January. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin.

I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world state. Let's get briefed. First, a constitutional crisis is brewing at the border as Republican governors from around the country rallied around Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday to support his defiance of the Biden administration regarding the border crisis. Also, we'll discuss today's much-anticipated provisional ruling from the International Court of Justice related to South Africa's allegations that Israel is committing genocide against

Palestinians. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We start in Texas, where there's a tense standoff between the Biden administration and officials in Texas over the border crisis. As we discussed on the PDB yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott rebuked the Biden administration on Wednesday, saying he would continue to use his authority to defend the state against what he describes as a migrant invasion. This, despite a Supreme Court ruling on Monday, that granted U.S. Border Patrol agents the authority to remove razor wire fencing that Texas installed along their border with Mexico. Notably, that ruling was issued without any additional explanation, leaving quite a bit in question. Abbott had said Wednesday that the state's right

to defend itself is, quote, the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. On Thursday, amid calls by Democrats for Biden to federalize the Texas National Guard, Republican governors united behind Abbott and issued a joint statement supporting his defiance of the Biden administration and Texas's constitutional right to self-defense. All told, 25 Republican governors signed the joint statement, which said they, quote, because the Biden administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation, end quote. The statement from the Republican Governors Association said,

instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country. We stand in solidarity with our fellow governor, Greg Abbott, and the state of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor-wire fences to secure the border. Now, like Abbott, the governors cited both Article 4, Section 4 of the Constitution, which states the federal government shall protect each state against invasion, as well as Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3, which acknowledges the state's sovereign interest in protecting their borders.

Now, never one to miss an opportunity. Former President Donald Trump also entered the fray on Thursday, saying, quote, Biden is unbelievably fighting to tie the hands of Governor Abbott and the state of Texas, so that the invasion continues unchecked. Texas has rightly invoked the invasion clause of the Constitution and must be given full support to repel the invasion, end quote. The escalating spat over the border promises a direct confrontation, between Texas and the Biden administration. Now, it's anyone's guess what comes next. However, the escalation came as former top officials with the FBI sent a letter to Congress expressing their alarm regarding the crisis. These officials, some of whom oversaw the FBI's intelligence,

counterterrorism, criminal, and training operations echoed the language of Governor Abbott in their letter. They said, quote, in its modern history, the U.S. has never suffered an invasion of the homeland, and yet one is unfolding now. It would be difficult to overstate the danger represented by the presence inside our borders of what is comparatively a multi-division army of young single-adult males from hostile nations and regions

whose background, intent, or allegiance is completely unknown, end quote. The White House's handling of this situation is puzzling, to say the least, setting aside the fact that the administration's in attention or disinterest in border security over the past three years created this current mess, you would think that the Biden team would understand that immigration and border security

have now become top-of-mind concerns for voters from both parties as the presidential election year unfolds. So rather than defaulting to simply blaming Republicans were now bizarrely getting into a battle with Texas as the state attempts to shore up their border security, the logical political, pragmatic move, you would think, would be to attack the problem in a big way, demonstrate to the voters

that the White House understands the seriousness of the matter and is taking visible proactive steps to reverse the situation. Instead, we may well get footage of Biden's

federal authorities tearing down fencing and essentially opening the border to more illegal migrants. And that's a visual that the Republicans would gladly turn

into an election year campaign ad. Regardless, the border problem perfectly encapsulates the dysfunctional nature of politics in Washington, D.C. Both parties are in general agreement that the current situation is unsustainable and needs to be resolved. Hundreds of thousands of known encounters each month at the southern border and federal state and city resources straining to pay for the housing, the feeding, health, and education of new arrivals. but both sides sit in their respective trenches, tossing blame grenades at each other, and election your politics, of course, only makes it worse. All right, coming up after the break, we'll discuss

today's provisional ruling from the International Court of Justice relating to South Africa's allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. The International Court of Justice, or ICJ, rejected demands on Friday for Israel to cease military operations in Gaza as it continues to weigh South Africa's claims that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. During the hearing at the Hague in the Netherlands, members of the body took a series of nearly unanimous votes ordering Israel to, quote, take all measures to prevent genocide, ensure that the Israeli military stays in line with the genocide convention, take measures to punish those attempting to

incite genocide and update the Hague on their compliance. That's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Additionally, they called on Israel to ensure that humanitarian aid can freely flow to the people in Gaza. Notably, the World Court also called for the immediate and unconditional release of the more than 130 hostages who remain held by Hamas in Gaza. The court did agree with South Africa that there was a reasonable basis to proceed with the case regarding allegations that Israel is committing genocide and said its emergency orders today were necessary, arguing, quote, the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further before the court renders its final judgment, end quote.

The decision fell short of South Africa's request for the court to order an immediate halt to Israel's operations in Gaza. The court will continue to deliberate on the allegation of genocide, but a full ruling on that charge is expected to take years. Now, as we've mentioned previously, the ICJ, the judicial arm of the United Nations, has no mechanism with which to enforce its rulings, and Israel had already said that they would not accept orders from the ICJ regarding their operations in Gaza. Despite skepticism of the ICJ, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the court's central rule, In a short statement, Netanyahu said, Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself.

The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected, end quote. Still, legal analysts said the court's findings that Israel is plausibly violating existing laws on genocide will damage Israel's standing in the international community. South African officials called the ruling a, quote, decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people. Now, while most of South Africa's initial requests to the court were met, they did express disappointment that the court stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

South Africa's foreign minister said, quote, in exercising the order, there would have to be a ceasefire. Without it, the order doesn't actually work. Israel had aggressively defended their position before the court, recently declassifying over 30 secret orders from its government and military leaders that illustrated efforts by Israel to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza. Finally, the decision comes amid negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of the approximately 130 hostages still currently held in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire lasting possibly up to two months.

Now, there will likely be critical discussions over the next few days between U.S. officials, including CIA Director William Burns, and the Egyptian and Israeli intelligence chiefs, and the Qatari Prime Minister. And that, my friends, is the BDB afternoon bulletin for Friday 26th January. 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 on Monday. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th. The powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th.

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