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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 11th, 2025: Why Trump Has The Legal Authority To Take Over DC & Australia Throws Support Behind Palestinian Statehood
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- [00:00]
Mike Baker
Looking to diversify and protect your hard earned assets? Well, schedule a free consultation with the Birch Gold Group. They're the precious metals specialists. Just text PDB to the number 989-898 and you'll receive a free no obligation information kit. And you'll learn how to convert an existing IRA or a 401k into a gold IRA. That's PDB to the number 989898. Foreign It's Monday, the 11th of August. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First up, in an historically unprecedented move, President Trump announced Monday that he will federalize Washington, D.C. 's police department and deploy the National Guard to the city as part of an aggressive law and order push. In his own words, the president declared it Liberation Day in D.C. and vowed to, quote, take our capital back. We'll have those details later in the show. Momentum continues to build behind an international push to recognize an independent Palestinian state. Australia is now the latest country to throw their weight behind the initiative following similar announcements from France, Britain and Canada. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll start things off today in Washington, dc. During a press conference earlier today, President Trump announced an unprecedented move to take direct federal control over the nation's capital, deploying around 800 National Guard troops to the city and placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal command. Now, the president called it, quote, Liberation Day in D.C. saying the federal government will reestablish law, order and public safety in in the city. Standing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other senior officials, Trump said he was invoking Section 740 of the district's Home Rule act, which allows a president to federalize the D.C. police in, quote, emergency situations for up to 48 hours without congressional approval. Now, Trump added that he will notify Congress to extend that control beyond the initial window. Attorney General Bondi will oversee the city's police department, while Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole will serve as interim federal commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The administration is also surging hundreds of federal agents into the city, including more than 100 FBI personnel as part of a wider law and order push. Trump said he's prepared to call in active duty military forces if needed. Now, the President sharply criticized D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser, accusing her of failing to address crime and homelessness. Trump compared DC's homicide rate to those in Baghdad and Bogota and pointed to the recent beating of Edward Korestein, a federal employee that well Perhaps you remember better as big balls. I didn't make that nickname up during an attempted carjacking. As an example of lawlessness, Trump also renewed his call for Congress to end cashless bail with arguing that it contributes to rising crime. The move reflects a long running theme from Trump's campaign and the GOP platform, reasserting greater federal control over the Capitol to restore law and order. Earlier this year, Trump created the DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, aimed at increasing police visibility, cleaning up parks, and removing graffiti. This is the first time in modern history that a president has moved to seize control of DC's police force. So, of course, this raises a fairly big question. Can the President actually do this? Well, the short answer is yes. When it comes to Washington, D.C. the federal government holds far more constitutional authority than it does over any state. And that's by design. The Constitution gives Congress the power to, quote, exercise executive legislation in all cases whatsoever over the capitol. Now, since 1973, some of that authority has been delegated through the Home Rule act, which has allowed D.C. to elect a mayor and city council. It's amazing that the Home Rule act was only enacted in 1973. That is not that long ago. But the Home Rule act has clear limits. Congress can still overrule local laws, block the city's budget, and even abolish home rule entirely if it chooses. Now, the President's powers are more specific. Under the Home Rule act, the President is allowed to federalize the city's police department when, quote, special conditions of an emergency nature exist. That's the legal authority that he's going to lean on. But there are some guardrails here. As we mentioned earlier, without congressional approval, he can only federalize the police for 48 hours. To go beyond that, Trump is to formally notify Congress, which can then decide whether to challenge or support the move. In practice, this kind of intervention is rare. Presidents have used Federal forces in D.C. during major riots, protests, or national emergencies. But taking over the city's police department is virtually unheard of in modern times. The closest the federal government has come to anything like this came during the 1995-2001 congressional takeover of the city's finances, when a federally appointed control board strip the mayor and council of much of their power. The legal fight in this case will likely hinge on whether President Trump's declared, quote, emergency meets the standards laid out in section 740. Opponents could argue that the city's crime trends, which are currently at a 30 year low, undercut that claim. Supporters, however, will point to The Constitution's broad grant of authority over the Capitol and the President's duty to ensure public safety in the seat of government. Bottom line, legally, the president has the tools to do this, at least temporarily. The real battle, well, that'll be in the courts and in a Congress and the court of public opinion. All right, up next, Australia throws its weight behind the international push to recognize a Palestinian state, joining France, Britain and Canada. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. And, and let me take just a moment of your time to talk about protecting your hard earned assets. That's important right now. You've probably noticed out there there's a little bit of turmoil in the economy, trade wars, US Federal Reserve that seems a bit at odds with the White House. Uncertainty over employment numbers, a volatile stock market. Well, you get the picture. At times like these, it is important to think about your assets and how to protect them. And one way to do that is through diversification. And I'm here to suggest that you consider diversifying with gold from the Birch Gold Group, then the precious metals specialists. For decades, gold has been viewed as a safe haven in times of economic stagnation and global uncertainty. And Birch Gold makes it incredibly easy for you to diversify some of your savings into gold. If you have an IRA or maybe an old 401k, you can convert that into a tax sheltered IRA in physical gold. Or just like a lot of people, you, you can buy gold to store safely at home. First, you want to get yourself educated. And Birch Gold can send you a free information kit on gold. Just text PDB to the number 989898. Again, text PDB to 989898. Consider diversifying a portion of your savings into Gold. Text PDB to 989-898. Mike Baker here. 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- [09:16]
Piers Morgan
I'm Piers Morgan, the host of the Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast. We do big interviews and we do big debates about whatever's getting people talking. We make news, we make noise, and we make a little bit of trouble too. Come and see what all the fuss is about. You can listen to Piers Morgan Uncensored on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [09:43]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Momentum behind the drive to recognize Palestinian statehood picked up a new backer today as Australia broke ranks with US Policy to side with France, Britain and Canada by pledging to support recognition before the U.S. united Nations General assembly scheduled for September. This shift comes after weeks of internal pressure on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from his left wing cabinet and mounting public calls to recognize a Palestinian state as international criticism of Israel's war aims in Gaza intensifies. Albanese has also joined that criticism directly, denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's recently announced plans for a sweeping new military offensive in the enclave, while framing the move of supporting a two state solution as a, quote, practical contribution towards building momentum to end decades of conflict. Albanese said recognition would hinge on the Palestinian Authority agreeing to demilitarize Gaza, hold elections and bar Hamas from governance conditions which are likely doubted to materialize but never let reality get in the way of self righteous performative art. Australia has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization and the Prime Minister again pressed the Iran backed group to release Israeli hostages taken during, of course, the 7 October 2023 terror attacks. Albanese declared, quote, a two state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle east and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza. End quote Now Netanyahu blasted Australia and the European governments making similar moves, calling, quote, the move into that rabbit hole is disappointing and I think it's actually shameful. Netanyahu added, it will, quote, not bring peace, it will bring war. Israel's ambassador to Australia went further, accusing Camera of, quote, elevating the position of Hamas while weakening the cause of those working to end violence and achieve genuine, lasting peace. It's according to afp. It's worth noting that such recognition announcements are in practice largely symbolic and rejected outright by Israel. Albanese, however, has pushed back on that characterization, insisting the decision is, quote, a practical contribution towards building momentum and underscoring that, quote, this is not Australia acting alone. As of now, nearly 150 UN member states have recognized a Palestinian state, some of which did that many decades ago. But the US and several other Western allies continue to insist that recognition should only come after a negotiated peace deal with Israel. Under the two state framework, a proposed Palestinian state would likely include most or all of the west bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, territory seized by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War. The UN General assembly session runs from the 9th to the 25th of September, when Australia and European powers are expected to cast their vote in favor of a Palestinian state. Whether that vote changes anything on the ground, well, that's another question entirely. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Monday 11 August. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the firsttv.com and of course to listen to the show ad free, which you can do, and you can do that very easily. 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.