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The President's Daily Brief
November 29th, 2024: Iran Leverages ICC Ruling on Israel & Crypto CEO Sued Over Hamas Terrorism Allegations
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Mike Baker
Get your day off to a great start with the delicious taste of blackout coffee. Now blackout coffee, as you probably know, is a terrific American family owned business and they are all about premium coffee. It's fresh roasted and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackoutcoffee.com promo code PDB for 20% off your first time purchase. Foreign It's Friday, the 29th of November. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed today. We'll start things off with the latest on the International Criminal Court's decision to issue arrest warrants against top Israeli officials and how Iran is seizing that moment to advance its own agenda. Later in the show, victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks filed a multibillion dollar lawsuit in California against a major cryptocurrency CEO accusing the platform of funding Hamas terrorism. Plus, the Biden administration is pressing Ukraine to expand its military by drafting more troops and lowering the conscription age to 18. And in today's back of the brief, three Americans detained in China for years now are free after a prisoner swap between Washington and Beijing. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. I want to begin with Iran in how Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime is attempting to use the International Criminal Court, the icc, to isolate Israel on the global stage. Now, as you're likely aware, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yov Gallant on November 21 for alleged war crimes related to the conflict in Gaza. Earlier this week, Khamenei reacted to the court's ruling demanding even more extreme measures. Oh, well, thank you for those demands. I mean, considering the Khamenei and his minions in the IRGC claim that the destruction of Israel is their primary objective, I can see him thinking that arrest warrants really aren't extreme enough. Khamenei said, quote, they issued an arrest warrant. That's not enough. Well, there you go. It's not enough. Death sentences must be issued for these criminal leaders, end quote. Seriously, get a load of this guy. He's the top state sponsor of terrorism in the world and now he wants the ICC to help him do his dirty work. Despite the court stopping short of granting Khamenei's wish, senior officials in Tehran have hailed the ruling as the, quote, political death of Israel, saying that the warrants create a legal storm that will severely undermine Israel's standing in the global community. And limit Netanyahu's ability to move freely around the world. While Iran's reaction should come, frankly, as little surprise, hopefully nobody was surprised. It offers a glimpse into the regime's strategy to leverage international law against the Jewish state. Now, mind you, they were equally excited when US activists and gormless students in the US were holding pro Hamas and anti Jewish protests on campuses earlier in the year. The ICC's ruling immediately divided European leaders, with several countries vowing to arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot on their soil and other European leaders appearing somewhat torn about just how to proceed. According to a recent report by the Jerusalem Post, this is of course exactly the outcome that Iran was hoping for. Now, while Iran is not a member of the icc, and that's important to note, they are not a member of the icc, observers say their hidden hand of influence can be seen in the court's actions against Israel. And here's where it gets interesting and people should probably pay attention. There's no smoking gun that proves a direct legal connection to the regime. But analysts say that this is because of Iran's shrewd use of proxies, particularly South Africa's government. Now, South Africa has been the driving force at the ICC targeting Israel, filing a genocide case against a Jewish state back in December of 2023. That's just two months after Hamas launched their barbaric seventh October attacks. Now some enterprising investigative journalist should dig into just what the South African government got in exchange for their backroom shilling for the Iranian regime. In late October of 2023, South Africa's foreign minister was on a diplomatic trip to Tehran in an effort to boost economic cooperation between the two countries. In remarks during the visit, Iran's foreign minister called Israel an apartheid regime that was committing genocide in Gaza and drew parallels between the situation in Gaza and Nelson Mandela's decades long fight against apartheid in South Africa. See, it's all starting to come together. At the time, South Africa's ruling government was close to bankruptcy. But shortly after filing their case against Israel in December, look at this. Their debts were mysteriously covered. Now wait. But I think there's a clue there. For some enterprising investigative journalist, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy saw possible evidence of collusion really telling the Jerusalem Given the high costs of pursuing a case in the International Court of Justice in the Hague, not to mention the expenses of a prolonged trial, legitimate questions remain about how South Africa could finance such actions. This leads many to conclude that it received significant financial support from external sources, end quote. Oh, who could those external sources be? The ICC has long faced criticism, of course, for acting with extreme bias towards Israel while saying nothing about the Iranian regime's long standing human rights abuses. But the court's global standing, well, frankly, in the near term could be diminished with the return of President elect Donald Trump to the White House. During his first term, Trump got into a, let's call it a spat. How often do you hear that word used with the icc? After the court's prosecutor announced plans to launch an investigation of alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. Now, the U.S. revoked the prosecutor's visa and said they would use force against the court if they attempted to detain any American citizens. While the Biden administration condemned the court's latest decision to issue warrants, they took a softer approach with the ICC than the Trump administration, opting not to apply diplomatic pressure directly on the court in defense of Israel. Like Israel, the US Is not a member of the icc. But the court's influence would likely diminish among America's allies if the new administration starts applying pressure through sanctions. According to reports in Israeli media, the incoming Trump administration plans to do just that. While the Trump transition team has not issued an official statement on the ICC warrants, Mike Waltz, Trump's nominee for national security adviser, recently said on X, quote, the ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US Government. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC and UN come January, end quote. All right, coming up next, the victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks sue a major cryptocurrency CEO for allegedly funding terrorism. And the Biden administration urges Ukraine to expand its draft and lower the conscription age to 18. I'll have those stories when we come back. Welcome back to the pdb. Sticking with the Middle east. The families and victims of Hamas's brutal seventh October terrorist attack on Israel have filed a multi billion dollar lawsuit against the former CEO of a top cryptocurrency exchange that they allege facilitated Hamas terrorism. The lawsuit filed in California's Superior Court on Tuesday, targets billionaire Binance co founder Jin Peng Zhao, who the victim said, quote, intentionally or negligently provided extensive cryptocurrency services to Hamas, end quote. That's according to a report from the Jerusalem Post. The lawsuit involves more than 100 plaintiffs, including both American and Israeli citizens affected by Hamas's barbaric rampage on 7 October, during which militants killed nearly 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages. The victims claim that Zau violated international sanctions and US Laws prohibiting financial support for terrorism by turning a blind eye to Hamas use of the platform in pursuit of greater profits. By using Binance, Hamas terrorists were able to bypass traditional financial systems and gain access to funds that would prove critical to financing their attack, according to the legal filing. They're seeking damages for wrongful death, injuries, physical and mental harm, loss of future income and medical treatment. The victims are also pursuing punitive damages to deter similar conduct by cryptocurrency platforms in the future. Now Zhao is no stranger to legal troubles. Binance has faced serious scrutiny over the past year for turning a blind eye to countless criminal enterprises leveraging the platform to move their illicit funds, including terrorists, child traffickers and drug cartels. He resigned from Binance in November of 2023 and paid a $50 million fine after pleading guilty to breaking U.S. lawsuits intended to thwart money laundering. Some of the examples cited included schemes by Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades, Al Qaeda and Iran. Then in April 2024, he was sentenced in Seattle to four months in federal prison over those charges. Really, that's what you get, four months? Though prosecutors had sought a three year sentence, the case against Zhou is just the latest legal action taken by victims of the 7 October massacre. Back in July, more than 100 victims sued Iran, Syria and North Korea for sponsoring terrorism, demanding $4 billion in damages. But it's the first case by the victims to target individual financial enablers of terrorism. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said this case goes beyond past efforts. It targets an international business figure whose wealth is estimated at tens of billions of dollars. And the lawsuit isn't just on behalf of American victims, but also on behalf of Israelis without American connections, end quote. A legal adviser for the plaintiffs encouraged other victims to join the lawsuit in order to send a clear message that anyone financially aiding terrorists, whether knowingly or unknowingly, will face severe repercussions. Okay, Shifting to Ukraine, the Biden administration is pressuring Kyiv to address a critical troop shortage by drafting younger soldiers, a move that could reshape the nation's war effort against Russia. Kyiv is being urged to lower its conscription age from 25 to 18 and ramp up mobilization efforts to replenish its ranks. A senior administration official warned Wednesday that Ukraine needs far more than the 160,000 additional troops it estimates are necessary. Emphasizing the pure math of the situation, it's important to note that over 1 million Ukrainians, including members of the National Guard and other units, are now in uniform. But still remain outnumbered it its nearly three year old war with Russia. Western allies share these concerns, with European officials warning that Ukraine's manpower issues rather than weaponry issues could jeopardize its grip on contested regions like Russia's Kursk border. As we reported this week, Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory it claimed in the region during its August offensive, with relentless Russian counter assaults and the arrival of, of course, thousands of North Korean troops aiding Moscow's efforts to recapture lost territory. Kyiv's parliament lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 in April, adding roughly 50,000 troops through measures like an online registry. However, these steps fall far short of what's required to match Russia's expanding and increasingly well supported forces. The call to lower the draft age further to 18 has no surprise sparked domestic backlash, with critics warning that drawing more young workers into the military could deepen Ukraine's economic woes. Well, they're not wrong. The Biden administration has also pressed Kyiv to tackle issues like desertion and absenteeism to further optimize its enlisted forces. This urgency comes as President Biden makes a final push for Congress to approve $24 billion more in additional aid to Ukraine before his term ends. Now, while numbers vary somewhat depending on who you talk to and the way that you categorize assistance, essentially from fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2024, the US has appropriated some US$183 billion in aid for Ukraine. Of that total amount, the vast majority, some $125 billion, is Department of Defense funding, meaning military support, with the rest divided between State Department and USAID and other agencies handling humanitarian and other services and support. And as an aside, a very significant portion of the money in the appropriation bills for Ukraine is actually spent in the US Paying US Businesses, companies and workers to produce the munitions and weapons systems that support the Ukrainian military or are used to replenish stocks that are sent to Ukraine. According to Politico, the Biden administration's latest proposed aid package includes $8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, $16 billion to replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles, and $4.7 billion in debt forgiveness for Kiev. Now that's a provision drawing sharp criticism from Republican fiscal conservatives. On Wednesday, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah posted his frustrations on X stating, quote, joe Biden just gave away 4.7 billion in your taxpayer dollars by unilaterally forgiving loans to Ukraine. Congress must not give him a free gift to further sabotage President Trump's peace negotiations on the way out the door, end quote. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, appearing on CBS's Face the Nation, defended the aid, stating, quote, and listen to the quote, the threat to Ukraine will remain no matter what exactly happens on the battlefield or at the negotiating table, end quote. What? What? Okay, so that quote, frankly makes no sense. The Doogie Howser of security advisors is saying that no matter what happens on the battlefield or in negotiations, no matter what, the threat remains. Huh. That's the sort of babble that comes out of government on a regular basis. Conservatives, okay, not without reason, see his rhetoric as part of a pattern of unaccountable spending. With no clear strategy for resolution. The White House Office of Management and Budget is considering folding the aid into broader legislation to avert a 20th of December government shutdown. Meanwhile, President elect Donald Trump has indicated he intends to pursue a swift end to the conflict, questioning the wisdom of continued U.S. involvement and aid to Ukraine. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, some good news to end the week. See, it's not all bad news. China has released three Americans that the White House says were wrongfully detained. I'll have those details when we come back in today's back of the brief, three Americans wrongfully detained in China for years have been freed finally in a high stakes prisoner swap brokered by the Biden administration. According to the State Department, the freed Americans, Mark Sweden, Kai Lee and Zhang Leon, are now in US Custody and will soon reunite with their families after enduring years of imprisonment. On Wednesday, a National Security Council spokesperson hailed their release stating, quote, thanks to this administration's efforts and diplomacy with their People's Republic of China, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home. According to Politico, the Americans were freed in a swap involving unidentified Chinese nationals. Now, among the detainees, Mark Sweden's case was the most harrowing. According to the Texas Tribune, Sweden was detained in 2012 and sentenced to death in 2019 after Chinese authorities claimed to have found drugs with his driver and translator. However, a UN Report found no evidence leaking Sweden to the drugs, and records showed he wasn't even in China at the time of the alleged offense. During his decade long detention, Sweden endured what his mother described as physical and psychological torture. Li, detained in 2016, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges. After traveling to Shanghai for a memorial service, his son became a vocal advocate for his release, emphasizing his father's years of isolation. In Chinese detention, the State Department classified Lee and Sweden as both being wrongfully detained. Leung, an American citizen with permanent residency in Hong Kong, was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life imprisonment on espionage charges in 2023, according to CNN. The release comes just months after another American, pastor, David Lin, was freed in September following nearly two decades in Chinese detention. Lin's release was kept quiet to avoid derailing other negotiations. In light of the release, the U.S. lowered its travel advisory for mainland China to level two, urging travelers to exercise increased caution. Now again, the U.S. prisoners were exchanged, reportedly for three Chinese prisoners being held in the U.S. and interestingly, the Chinese regime has not released the identities of the Chinese citizens involved in the exchange. And that, my friends, is the President's daily brief for Friday, 29th November. Now if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me@pdbhefirsttv.com and of course to listen to the show ad free. Become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com it couldn't be any simpler. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay co.