The President's Daily Brief - September 5th, 2024: Russia’s Media Influencers, Gaza's Philadelphi Corridor, & Musk Backs Down

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: The Biden administration announced measures to counter Russia’s interference in the upcoming presidential election. The Justice Department unveils criminal charges, domain seizures, and sanctions to combat disinformation campaigns. The Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza remains a sticking point in the ongoing ceasefire talks. I’ll break down why this narrow strip of land is crucial to the negotiations. Reports out of North Korea indicate that Kim Jong Un has executed dozens of officials in response to floods and landslides that have caused 4,000 deaths. In today's Back of the Brief: Elon Musk has reversed course in his standoff with the Brazilian Supreme Court. Starlink will now comply with orders to block the social media platform X in Brazil. 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. Email: [e-mail] 🏅 Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Kicking things off, the Biden administration, or whomever's administration it is, announced a sweeping set of measures on Wednesday targeting Russia's efforts to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. Well, that's shocking. During a news conference, the Justice Department unveiled criminal charges, domain seizures,

and sanctions aimed at combating Russian disinformation campaigns. Later in the brief, the Philadelphia Corridor in Gaza, remains a major obstacle in the ceasefire negotiations for the ongoing Gaza war. I'll explain what the corridor is and why it's such a critical point of contention. Plus, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly executed dozens of officials in the aftermath of devastating floods and landslides that claimed 4,000 lives. And in today's back of the brief, it looks like Elon Musk has blinked in his standoff with the Brazilian Supreme Court. His satellite internet company Starlink has reversed its stance and will

now comply with the court's order to block his very own social media platform X in Brazil. But first, today's PDB spotlight. We'll begin with Russia's attempts to interfere in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Seriously, is there anyone not trying to interfere in the November elections at this point? The Biden administration has unveiled sweeping measures targeting the Putin regime's sprawling influence operations. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury announced parallel actions at a press conference on Wednesday that include sanctions, indictments, and the seizure of 32 web domains that are being leveraged by the Kremlin to spread propaganda about the war in Ukraine and other divisive issues ahead of the election,

that's according to a report from NBC News. U.S. officials said Russian President Putin directly ordered the government-sponsored attempts to manipulate U.S. public opinion, efforts which they warned are widespread. Now, all told, the Treasury issued sanctions against 10 people and two entities, including a pro-Russia hacktivist group, an agency that peddles fake news in the U.S. and Europe, and executives at the state-owned media outlet RT, formerly known as Russia Today. In a statement, officials with the U.S. Treasury said that in early 2024, R.T., quote, began an effort to covertly recruit unwitting American influencers.

RT used a front company to disguise its own involvement and the involvement of the Russian government, end quote. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday that the DOJ had filed a federal indictment against two executives at RT for conspiring to commit money laundering and for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Garland said the RT employees poured $10 million into a scheme involving a Tennessee-based company, tenant media, that published and disseminated content that was considered favorable to the Kremlin. To expand their reach, they contracted with notable U.S.-based social media influencers who they paid to boost the content across U.S. platforms. According to the indictment, the content was, quote, consistent with Russia's interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine.

End quote. Now, the company also reportedly produced hundreds of videos containing commentary on key election issues like immigration and inflation. In a statement on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olson said, quote, the Russian government has long sought to sow discord and chaos in the United States. RT employees exploited our free and open press and targeted millions of our own. Americans as unwitting victims of Russia's psychological warfare. Now, regarding the 32 seized web domains, the DOJ said in an affidavit filed Wednesday in a federal court in Pennsylvania that Kremlin-backed actors used the sites to engage in a foreign

malign influence campaign dubbed doppelganger. Doppelganger, that's a clever, catchy name, according to a CBS news report. The scheme involved using cyber-squatted domains, which are intended to impersonate legitimate news entities, tricking users into thinking that they're visiting a trusted outlet. Now, some of the sites copied the designs of outlets, such as the Washington Post and Fox News, to covertly spread Russian propaganda at the direction of Putin and his inner circle.

Specifically, the guerrilla media campaign seeks to reduce international support for Ukraine, leveraging notable influencers across the world, and paid social media advertisements to spread the narrative and maximize visibility. The DOJ said they also appear to be targeting conservative voters in critical swing states, attempting to play off anxieties concerning inflation, immigration, and overspending on foreign policy. The Russian-backed influence operations appear to favor a Trump presidency, standing in contrast to Putin's allies in Iran,

who the U.S. government have warned are engaged in their own influence operation to undermine Trump's candidacy. So you've got Putin and his minions pushing information favorable supposedly to Trump. You've got the Iranian regime and the IRGC pushing information supposedly favorable to the Harris campaign. And you've got the Chinese regime working both sides simply to create chaos. Now, as we discussed on yesterday's PDB, China is intensifying a propaganda push targeting U.S. voters. And they appear less interested in a specific outcome and more interested in leveraging the election to stoke domestic divisions. Taken together, the actions announced on Wednesday, Biden, Department of Justice and Treasury, represent the Biden administration's most comprehensive

response to date to try and counter Russia's brazen interference in U.S. politics. We should also note that Attorney General Garland stated that the investigation is ongoing, and more charges against those implicated in the various influence operations will likely follow. Now, whether it's Russia, Iran, or China, Garland said, quote, the Justice Department's message is clear, we have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic system of government. We will be relentlessly aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by Russia, Iran, as well as China or any other foreign maligned actor, to interfere in elections, end quote. Okay, look, I don't want to say that Elvis has left the building. but let's face it. These hostile regimes and their various nefarious players have been engaged in this activity for years. They've already created the environment that they want, hyper-partisan,

distrustful of the electoral process, intolerant of opposing ideas. It's a little late for the U.S. government to say they'll be relentlessly aggressive in countering their attempts. Now, it's fine to pursue sanctions and legal remedies, but maybe, just maybe, we need a new tact that aggressively goes after the sources of the problem. Unless they feel sufficient pain for their actions, nothing will change. And frankly, sanctions, federal indictments against individuals who will never face the charges, seizing web domains as if they won't just roll out dozens of new backstop domains, none of that will have any real meaningful impact. All right, coming up after the break, I'll explain while the Philadelphia corridor in Gaza is a critical obstacle in ceasefire negotiations.

And we'll turn to the hermit kingdom, where North Korea's Kim Jong-un reportedly executed dozens of officials following devastating floods. I'll have those stories when we come back. This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which means you're probably multitasking, maybe even scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving homes without expecting to get them.

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soysville tales.com welcome back to the bdb turning our attention to the war in gaza i want to take a moment to drill down on a key sticking point for israeli prime minister nettingahu regarding the ceasefire negotiations and that's the critical philadelphia corridor along the gaza-egyptian border as we've been discussing on the PDB. The question of who gets to control the border region between Gaza and Egypt has proved incredibly contentious, and, according to mediators, remains the main hurdle with Hamas to a truce and hostage exchange. While Netanyahu tentatively agreed to a U.S. bridging proposal on the 19th of August that Hamas has so far rejected, his vow to maintain control of the border region has caused some internal divisions among leaders in Jerusalem, and prompted criticism from President Biden on Monday,

that Netanyahu is not doing it enough to appease the interests of Hamas. That's what you want to do. You want to appease Hamas. So what is the Philadelphia corridor, and why is it proving so contentious? All right, the corridor is a narrow strip of land roughly 100 yards wide and just under nine miles in length that runs along Gaza's western border with Egypt. Now included in the corridor is the critical Rafa border crossing, which has been vital to getting supplies of food and medicine and other aid to Palestinian civilians, but which has also served as a very important smuggling route for Hamas to get weapons into the enclave, according to our report from NBC News. Originally established as a buffer zone as part of the 1978 Camp David Accords between Egypt and

Israel, the Philadelphia Corridor has long been used to control movement in and out of Gaza. The area was under Israeli control until the year 2005, following their unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the signing of the Philadelphia Accord with Egypt, which allowed the Egyptian government to then reoccupy and patrol the corridor's borders. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, following Hamas' brutal 7 October attacks that, of course, started this current war, seizing and maintaining control of the corridor has been a chief strategic priority for Israel. Their forces established tactical control of the corridor in May after launching their offensive into Rafah to root out Hamas's remaining battalions.

Since May, IDF forces have reported finding more than 150 tunnels along the corridor used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza, and this, of course, brings us to why Netanyahu is so reluctant to cede control of that area. While the IDF's campaign against Hamas has effectively degraded the terror outfit's capabilities and command structure, there are significant concerns that Hamas could reorganize and rearm if Israeli forces exit the corridor. As I mentioned, Israeli leadership is not of one mind on the issue. Netanyahu has faced intensifying criticism from the families of hostages that his hardline stance is jeopardizing a ceasefire deal. In the wake of the murder of six hostages by Hamas last weekend,

Defense Minister Yov Ghalent said Israel should reverse their demands regarding the Philadelphia corridor to prioritize the rescue of the remaining hostages. Gallant said Sunday, quote, It's too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood by Hamas. the abductees who remain in the captivity of the terrorist organization must be returned home, end quote. Okay, shifting over to North Korea, leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered the execution of up to 30 officials for their inability to manage severe flooding and landslides, which left thousands displaced and dead over the summer in one of the worst natural disasters North Korea

has faced in recent years. The July floods in the Chagong province near the border with China were triggered by unusually heavy rainfall. The destruction was widespread with approximately 4,000 people killed and 15,000 displaced. While North Korean state media initially downplayed the severity of the disaster, South Korean outlets suggested the death toll was actually much higher than what state media acknowledged. Kim was seen touring the affected areas in August, publicly expressing sympathy for the victims, yet refusing foreign aid. However, behind the scenes, South Korean media claimed that the North Korean leader's frustration with local officials was severe. Yeah, it sounds like it. In the aftermath of the floods,

Kim convened an emergency meeting with Chagong's provincial party's secretary, Kongbong Hun, and he was dismissed. Now, the North Korean leader reportedly called for some extreme punishments for those who had failed in their duties, stating there was no room for mercy. Reports from South Korean broadcaster TV Chosun indicated that 20 to 30 officials in Chagong province who were not publicly identified were sentenced to death late last month, quoting an unnamed North Korean official. The officials were accused of negligence, corruption, and dereliction of duty. TV Chosun reported these executions were carried out simultaneously as a display of Kim's authority. Independent verification of the executions is still pending.

Li Il-Kyu, a former North Korean diplomat, now living in South Korea, remarked that officials in the flood-affected province must have been, quote, so anxious that they don't know when their necks will fall off, referencing the fear that spreads through Pyongyang when mass purges are announced. While executions and other extreme punishments are not new under Kim's regime, the scale of this reported purge is particularly notable due to the magnitude of the disaster. The country previously held around 10 public executions annually before the COVID-19 pandemic, but that number has reportedly risen to nearly 100 since that, according to the Korea Times. The executions are intended, obviously, to send a clear message to North Korean officials. Failure to meet Kim's expectations, especially during times of crisis, will not be tolerated. Yeah, I'd say that executing two and a half dozen officials, that'll grab the attention of the staff. In a case of who will blink first, coming up in the back of the brief,

Elon Musk's Starlink has changed course and will now follow the court order to block his social media platform X in Brazil. I'll have the details after the break. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and all birds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into,

sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. In today's back of the brief, Elon Musk's satellite-based internet service provider, Starlink, reversed course and will now comply with the Brazilian Supreme Court order to block access to the social media platform X, That's following days of defiance and then a freeze of Starlink's assets. After days of uncertainty, Starlink released a statement on Tuesday, confirming its compliance with Justice Alexander de Mauritius' order to block access to X in Brazil. However, the company did not shy away from criticizing the decision, calling freezing its assets illegal and unconstitutional. Well, it's cute, though, that the company thinks that the terms illegal and unconstitutional actually played a role in this dispute.

Had Starlink continued its defiance, Brazil's telecommunications regulator Anatole could have taken more aggressive measures by seizing equipment from Starlink's 23 ground stations across the country. These stations are critical to the functionality of the company's satellite-based internet service. Legal experts remain divided on the judge's decision to freeze Starlink's accounts to compel it to pay excess fines, which now have accumulated to over some $3 million. dollars. Some question whether it's justified, given that SpaceX, Starling's parent company, operates independently from X. Musk has emphasized the distinction between the two companies, noting their different shareholder structures and corporate governance. But despite Musk's protests, Justice de Muresh justified freezing Starlink's assets by pointing out that both companies fall under Musk's corporate umbrella, making the connection significant in enforcing

compliance. As tensions have escalated, Musk continued personal attacks on the judge, referring to him as a, quote, criminal and an evil tyrant. Well, that's no way to make friends. Just hours before Starlink announced its compliance, Musk posted a picture of Judge Demerich on X, with a caption that read, quote, this evil tyrant is a disgrace to judge's robes, end quote, it's hard to figure out where Musk stands on this. Musk and his supporters argue that Demerish's actions are part of a broader attempt to censor political speech in Brazil. explicitly targeting right-wing figures. Well, he's not wrong. Despite Starlink's compliance, the legal battle is far from over. Starlink is appealing the asset freeze, and X faces ongoing

legal challenges in Brazil. The next phase will likely involve continued litigation as Musk's companies attempt to challenge the constitutionality of Demeratia's rulings. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Thursday, 5 September. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by simply visiting PDB premium.com. That's all you have to do. Just visit PDB premium.com couldn't be easier. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the

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