The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 23rd, 2025: Uprisings In Kyiv as Zelensky's Government Enters Crisis Mode & Beijing Bans US Federal Employee From Leaving China

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—Thousands of Ukrainians take to the streets in Kyiv to protest a controversial new law that guts the country's top two anti-corruption agencies. They are the first major anti-government demonstrations to hit Ukraine since Russia’s invasion more than three years ago. Later in the show—U.S.-China relations take another escalatory turn, as Beijing imposes exit bans on a U.S. government employee and a corporate executive, barring them from leaving the country. 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 Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit ⁠https://trybeef.com/pdb⁠ & get $10 off 20 Lbs Ground Beef Special Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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agencies. Now, they're the first major anti-government demonstrations to hit Ukraine since Russia's invasion more than three years ago and could jeopardize Zelensky's hopes to join the European Union. Later in the show, U.S.-China relations take yet another turn for the worse as Beijing imposes exit bans on a U.S. government employee and a corporate executive, both U.S. citizens, by the way, barring them from leaving the country. We'll have those details. But first, the afternoon spotlight. We'll begin today in Ukraine, where President Zelensky's government is under fire, over a controversial new law that critics are calling a legislative power grab. As we discussed earlier on the PDB,

Ukraine's parliament ran through a bill on Tuesday. They grants the country's prosecutor general broad new powers over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, known as the Nabu, and the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office, known as Sappho, two agencies once touted as pillars of democratic reforms. Despite public calls for a veto, Zeletsky hastily signed the measure into law on Tuesday evening, sparking massive unrest throughout the country.

Thousands of Ukrainians poured into the streets of Kiev and several other cities Tuesday night and a Wednesday to protest the law, marking the first major anti-government demonstrations since the war began. Protesters say the law will significantly weaken the independence of the country's anti-corruption infrastructure, giving Zelensky and his inner circle greater, influence over investigations. As a reminder, the new law will allow the prosecutor general, a Zelensky loyalist, by the way, to issue directives in Nabu investigations, reassigned cases of will, strip Sapo of its autonomy, and even shut down inquiries. The agencies impacted by the bill

warned that it marks the end of their independence and will effectively, quote, destroy Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure. Now, the public outrage is, well, difficult to overstate. with some protesters telling the Associated Press that the law represents a greater blow to morale than the Kremlin's nightly drone and missile attacks. One protester carried a sign reading, quote, destroy Russians, not democracy, while crowds chanted shame. Another protester told NBC News that the power grab is, quote, endangering the values of freedom and democracy in our country and the future of our children.

Veterans of the Ukrainian military were also in the crowds with one wounded soldier, telling the AP, quote, those who swore to protect the laws in the Constitution have instead chosen to shield their inner circle, even at the expense of Ukrainian democracy, end quote. Even high-ranking officials in Kiev are dissenting. While he did not directly criticize Zelensky, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence service issued a thinly veiled critique of the new law, saying, quote, Ukrainian history has taught us that a nation loses if it's torn apart by internal contradictions, end quote. The bill has also thrown Ukraine's long-running bid to join the European Union into question, as the EU has made it clear that Keeve must implement and uphold strong

anti-graph measures if they wish to become a member state. Now, Ukraine has long been considered one of the most corrupt countries in Europe, and members of Zelensky's inner circle have regularly faced allegations of misconduct. The EU's commissioner for enlargement chimed in, saying she was, quote, seriously concerned about the deliberate rollback of democratic reforms, calling it a, quote, serious step back for Ukraine. Facing an internal crisis that is overshadowing fresh peace talks being held today in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, Zeletsky has now gone into damage control mode. On Wednesday, he gathered the heads of the anti-corruption agencies, the prosecutor general, and law enforcement chiefs in an attempted show of unity.

Zelensky is trying to frame the move as a wartime cleanup, blaming Russian infiltration and slow-moving corruption cases for the intervention. But a major question remains, why gut the independence of the very agencies meant to hold power accountable? In a statement, Zelensky promised to strengthen the work of the anti-corruption agencies, saying, quote, we all hear what society is saying. He added, quote, we all share a common enemy, the Russian occupiers, and defending the Ukrainian state requires a strong enough law enforcement and anti-corruption system, one that ensures a real sense of justice, end quote. Later in the day, as the backlash grew, Zelenzky announced plans to introduce a new bill to Parliament to address public concerns, saying the protests were not falling on

deaf ears. While his language was vague, Zelensky said the new bill will, quote, ensure the strength of the rule of law system and include protections, ensuring the independence of the anti-corruption institutions. But the country remains skeptical. Just one day before enacting the controversial law, Ukrainian authorities raided both the Nabu and Sapo, arresting two employees on suspicion of links to Russia. Between the arrests and subsequent passage of the bill, critics for Zelensky is engaged in a brazen attempt to further concentrate power and shield Ukraine's most powerful figures from accountability. Given Russia's escalating aerial bombardments of Ukrainian cities and reports that they're gearing up for a broader assault. The domestic unrest, frankly, couldn't come

at a worse time for Zelensky. The crisis will not only serve as a potent propaganda tool for the Russians, but could jeopardize Western support for Keeves' leadership. Now, one person that is undoubtedly delighted by Zelensky's decision to sign the bill that removes the independence of these two anti-corruption agencies would be Vladimir Putin. This action feeds directly into Putin's long-running narrative that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader of Ukraine. He stated repeatedly that Zelensky should step down, obviously, because Putin wants a pro-Kremlin leader to replace him. Frankly, this decision by Zelensky to sign the law rather than to veto it will likely prove to be the worst decision he's made since becoming president. All right, up next, China's Communist Party

imposes an exit ban on a U.S. government employee and a U.S. corporate executive, barring them from leaving China. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, here's an important fact that you might have missed. July, and we are in July, is National Grilling Month. It's true. And Tritails beef is helping you celebrate it the American way over a fire with real beef raised by real ranchers. Tritails is a great company. It's a fifth generation family-run ranch in Texas, delivering pasture-raised, grazed, finished beef with zero shortcuts. I mean, there's no middlemen. This could not be simpler. It's simple. They deliver great tasting beef straight from their ranch to your home. And right now, you can get $10 off their 20-pound ground beef bundle

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and no more chat with Danny from accounts. Your life deserves music. Your music deserves Bose. Find your perfect product at Bose.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In another escalation of tensions with Washington, Beijing has imposed exit bans on a U.S. government employee and a U.S. corporate executive,

just weeks ahead of President Trump's August trade deadline with China. The State Department confirmed Monday that a U.S. patent and trademark office employee, traveling privately in China, was barred from leaving the country by Chinese authorities. For those unfamiliar, exit bans are a legal tool wielded by the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, to prevent individuals, often without charges or due process, from departing the country. According to a State Department cable obtained by the New York Times, the man, a U.S. citizen whose name has not been disclosed, has been barred from leaving since the 14th of April when police confiscated

his passport, his credit cards, phone, and iPad. Though his belongings were returned eight days later, Chinese officials reportedly told him he could not return home. The incident surfaced just as Beijing confirmed that Mao Chunnui, as Shanghai-born U.S. citizen and managing director at Wells Fargo, is also facing exit restrictions. Mao, who oversees the bank's international factoring business from Atlanta, has been hit with criminal charges and barred from leaving China. At a press briefing this week, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that Mao is, quote, involved in a criminal case currently being handled by Chinese law enforcement authorities and is, quote, subject to exit restrictions in accordance with the law. He added, quote, pursuant to Chinese laws,

with the case still under investigation, Ms. Mao cannot leave the country for the time being and has an obligation to cooperate. Wells Fargo told CBS News, it's, quote, closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the U.S. as soon as possible. The State Department, citing privacy concerns, declined to discuss Mao's status, but reiterated that, quote, the safety and security of American citizens remains its top priority. The latest bans come in a politically sensitive moment in U.S.-China relations. As we've discussed here on the PDB, President Trump has slapped tariffs of up to 145 percent on Chinese imports, and given Beijing a hard deadline of 12 August to finalize a new trade deal or face steeper penalties.

Though both sides reached a recent framework agreement to ease the steep tariffs, time is running out to nail down specifics. In the meantime, a 30% interim tariff remains in effect on China, intensifying economic pressure and heightening the risk for Americans operating or simply traveling to the country. The State Department has long warned that U.S. citizens, especially those of Chinese descent, are vulnerable to opaque and arbitrary enforcement of CCP laws, including exit bans. According to its travel advisory, Americans are often unaware of such restrictions until they attempt to leave, and there's typically no legal recourse within the Chinese court system. Now, whether these latest moves are retaliatory signals in response to Trump's

trade offensive or part of a CCP broader internal crackdown, well, that remains unclear. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday, the 23rd of July. 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, and you know you can do it simply. 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.

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