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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | June 17th, 2025: Trump Breaks With His Cabinet On Iranian Nuclear Program & China's Alleged Plot To Influence The 2020 Presidential Election
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- [00:12]
Mike Baker
It's Tuesday, the 17th of June. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First. As the war between Israel and Iran escalates, President Trump abruptly left the G7 summit in Canada to rush back to Washington for a meeting with his national security team. The conflict, now entering its fifth day, is reportedly exposing some rifts within the president's cabinet regarding the intelligence that prompted Israel to strike. We'll have those details later in the show. FBI Director Kash Patel turns over a newly declassified intelligence report to Congress regarding an alleged plot by the Chinese to tip the scales of the 2020 US presidential election. The scheme reportedly involved using Mass produced fake U.S. driver's licenses to create fraudulent mail in ballots in favor of former President Biden. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The war between Israel and Iran is exposing a divide within President Trump's cabinet over the intelligence, and that prompted leaders in Jerusalem to move forward with preemptive strikes against the Islamic regime and their nuclear infrastructure. While speaking to the press aboard Air Force One in the early hours of Tuesday morning, President Trump broke from his director of national intelligence at dni, Tulsi Gabbard, regarding her position that the mullahs in Iran had not yet decided to build a nuclear weapon. Gabbard delivered that controversial assessment during a Senate intelligence briefing all the way back in March, insisting that that the nuclear threat from the Islamic regime was currently contained despite their ongoing enrichment of near weapons grade uranium. I, I don't think that the word contained means what she thinks it means. As a reminder, Gabbard had testified, quote, iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized a nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003, end quote. But on the other hand, US intelligence on this subject is nowhere near as deep and well sourced as Israeli intelligence on this subject. And basing your assessment on the hopes that Iran isn't working towards a nuclear weapons program isn't much of a national security strategy. On the flight, Trump contradicted his intelligence chief, reiterating his stance that in his view, the regime was, quote, very close to building a nuclear bomb. His position aligned him with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has said his country's strikes on the regime's nuclear sites and military leadership were necessary due to the imminent threat of a nuclear armed Iran. While speaking to the press, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins pressed Trump on the subject, reminding him of the words of His DNI just three months earlier. Now, to be fair, intelligence is fluid, meaning we what's accurate 3 months ago May be completely useless now. That's why you're constantly working to gather intelligence. The shelf life unuseful, actionable or accurate intelligence can be extremely brief. Shaking his head, a seemingly annoyed Trump bluntly responded to Kaitlan Collins, quote, I don't care what she said, meaning Gabbard. They were very close to getting a nuke. As Trump plans his next steps regarding the escalating war, his remarks raised questions about the debate within his own administration over Iran's nuclear program and how strong the internal support is for Israel's military intervention. The president's dismissal of Gabbard's assessment came after he abruptly left the G7 summit taking place in Alberta, Canada, on Monday to rush back to Washington to meet with his national security team in the White House Situation Room. Despite the apparent friction within his intelligence apparatus, he the meeting is expected to be attended by Gabbard, given her role as dni. She's also scheduled to testify in a closed session on Capitol Hill alongside CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Trump's G7 departure, meanwhile, raised, well, a lot of eyebrows, particularly after the president, somewhat cryptically told the press that the mullahs of Iran, quote, want to make a deal and as soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something, end quote. And shortly after, French President Emmanuel Macron confidently stated that Trump had left the summit early to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, who've now been trading missile strikes for the past five days. But Trump quickly took to Truth Social to blast the statement from Macron. Trump said, quote, he has no idea why I'm now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay tuned, end quote. The president also triggered a firestorm of speculation after his departure from the G7, when he warned that, quote, everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran, end quote. It remains unclear what prompted Trump's dramatic warning, but many wondered if it meant the US was preparing to formally get involved in the war in support of Israel. It's no secret that Israel has been trying to persuade the US to join their campaign, as the US military is the only operation out there with the planes and bombs needed to effectively penetrate and destroy Iran's most fortified nuclear facility at Fordo. But a White House spokesman later denied reports that the US Military would be imminently attacking Iran, saying American forces were still maintaining their defensive posture in the region and that nothing had changed. Trump later said he wanted to pursue a, quote, real end to the war, not a ceasefire. He also suggested he would like to send U.S. middle east envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President J.D. vance to meet with Iranian officials, but noted that it would depend on how the situation evolves. But the president continued to send mixed signals. By midday on Tuesday, Trump demanded in a truth social post, Iran's unconditional surrender and issued a thinly veiled threat against Iran's supreme leader. He said, quote, we know exactly where the so called supreme leader is hiding. He's an easy target but is safe there. We are not going to take him out, at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers, end quote. It remains unclear what Trump's next move will be, but he warned the Iranian regime that, quote, our patience is wearing thin. All right, coming up next, FBI Director Cash Patel turns over a newly declassified intelligence report to Congress regarding an alleged plot by the Chinese to tip the scales of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, as you know, I am frankly known far and wide as quite the fashion icon. So let me give you the benefit of my extensive style knowledge and tell you about a great company. And that company is True Classic. But True Classic goes beyond fit and fabric. Their mission is to help men show up with confidence and purpose. That's important. Their clothing is designed to fit well, feel great, and stay affordable so men can look sharp without overspending. What truly sets True Classic apart is the intention behind the brand. 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- [11:27]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. A long buried intelligence report is drawing fresh scrutiny to the 2020 election, and this time it's coming straight from the top of the FBI Director Cash Patel has declassified and handed over to Congress a once shelved report alleging that the Chinese Communist Party, the ccp, mass produced fake US Driver's licenses in a plot to hijack the election in favor of Joe Biden through fraudulent mail in ballots. The document, compiled initially in August of 2020, had been quietly recalled by intelligence officials at the same time that then FBI Director Chris Ray was publicly downplaying the risk of foreign interference. Under Patel's leadership at the Bureau. That buried intel has now resurfaced and landed in the hands of Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, who has long questioned whether credible leads of election interference were smothered to avoid political fallout. According to sources familiar with the document, a relatively new confidential informant warned the FBI in mid-2020 that Chinese operatives were manufacturing and shipping fake US driver's licenses. The goal? Create fake voter identities for Chinese nationals living inside the US who could then illegally cast mail in ballots for Biden. Intelligence officials say the operation was explicitly political engineered by Beijing to tip the ballot box. Despite the implications, FBI officials abruptly shuttered the investigation, citing the need to re interview the source, a process that was never completed. Meanwhile, U.S. customs and Border Protection intercepted oh well, here's a clue. Nearly 20,000 high quality counterfeit licenses shipped in bulk from China. That's an incident now viewed by officials well as potential corroboration of the original tip. In a statement Adjust the News, Patel said the intelligence included, quote, allegations of plans from the CCP to manufacture fake driver's licenses and ship them into the US path. The purpose of facilitating fraudulent mail in ballots. Allegations which while substantiated, were abruptly recalled and never disclosed to the public. End quote. Patel later posted on X writing quote, the FBI has located documents which detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 US election, including interference by the CCP he added that he acted, quote, immediately to declassify the material at Grassley's request. While Grassley's office has yet to comment in detail, sources say the chairman is now reviewing the files. Patel, in a separate statement, credited Grassley's persistence, saying, quote, thanks to the oversight work and partnership of Chairman Grassley, the FBI continues to provide unprecedented transparency at the People's Bureau, end quote. The revelations are poised to reignite, of course, partisan clashes over election security, transparency and the treatment of intelligence in the final months leading up to the 2020 vote. Whether further documents will be declassified and whether the original source will now testify, well, that remains to be seen. And now, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 17 June. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com and of course to listen to the show ad free. You can do that, and you can do it very simply. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting BDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.