It's Wednesday, the 21st of October. This month is flying by. 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. First up, as violent riots sweep across France, new investigations reveal a sprawling network of communist groups, radical left organizations and international activists helping to fuel the unrest. Later in the show, Iranian officials stating the obvious admit that the regime is deliberately dragging out negotiations with Washington in the hopes of weakening President Trump ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Plus, new revelations in that corporate espionage case at OpenAI, a former employee accused of secretly bugging a restricted conference room reportedly attized to a member of the Saudi royal family. Of course, given the size of the Saudi royal family, it would actually be news if the former employee didn't have ties to a member of the family. And in today's back of the brief, the accused mastermind of the September 11th attacks suffers a major legal defeat as the Supreme Court rejects his attempt to avoid the death penalty. I know you're asking yourself what he's still alive. Only in the U.S. can you be responsible for the murder of thousands of people and still have your case heard by the highest court in the land. But first, today's PDB spotlight. We're continuing to track the protests and violence in France and across Europe. The French government is now preparing to deploy military troops to help contain another wave of demonstrations. The decision follows a weekend of widespread rioting, looting and arson that overwhelm police in several major cities. And new investigations are raising questions about the political organizations helping to mobilize the unrest and the international networks supporting them. French Prime Minister Sebastien Le Corneux announced Tuesday that soldiers would reinforce police ahead of another round of nationwide protests that are scheduled for Saturday. The troops will primarily guard sensitive locations, allowing police to concentrate on maintaining order in the streets. Authorities are also bringing in specialized tactical units, armored vehicles and additional equipment. Le Corneux acknowledged that the government's response to last weekend's violence had failed, blaming intelligence shortcomings and police deployments that were too static to respond effectively. And the scale of that violence last weekend was rather extraordinary. According to French authorities, approximately 550,000 people participated in demonstrations last Saturday. What began as protests over deteriorating school conditions and the rising cost of living descended into widespread destruction. In Paris, rioters erected barricades, burned vehicles and attacked businesses. In Lyon, nearly 200 shops were looted. In Marseille, mobs attacked government buildings and police facilities. And in the city of Limoge, rioters set fire to the historic 19th century city hall, destroying its roof and causing its tower to collapse. More than 2400 people have been arrested, while French authorities report nearly 1,000 injuries among law enforcement personnel. Now the question is, who's driving this unrest? That's a good question. According to a new Fox News digital investigation, a sprawling collection of communist organizations, revolutionary socialist groups, labor unions and international activists have been helping to organize, promote and expand the demonstrations. This week, Fox identified 54 organizations connected to the French protest movement. By Tuesday, its investigation had expanded to 101 organizations across nine countries, involved in organizing, supporting or amplifying demonstrations across Europe. And here's an interesting and yet not surprising detail, only about 1/3 of those organizations have anything to do with students or young people. The remainder include established political movements, activist organizations, labor unions and international advocacy networks. Among those identified are Le Boigne-Levet, or the Raised Fist, a revolutionary student organization, associated with the Communist Movement Revolution Permanente. There's also France's far-left political party La France in Sumie, whose elected officials have publicly supported student blockades, as well as communist youth organizations and the new anti-capitalist party, that sounds like a fun party. French police intelligence has documented some of that involvement. An intelligence report obtained by Le Monde identified communist activists distributing leaflets at schools, radical organizers encouraging students to join demonstrations and political figures, appearing at protest sites. But the investigation also suggests that these organizations were attempting to capitalize on a movement that had initially emerged from genuine student grievances and then spread rapidly through social media. And the political connections extend beyond France. Fox's investigation examines organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party's favorite US tech pro, that of course would be Neville Roy Singham. If you heard of him, he's an American-born technology multi-millionaire who now lives the good life in Shanghai, China. He's financed an international network of left-wing activist groups. Among them is Tri-continental, whose executive director, communist academic Vijay Prashad, publicly celebrated the French demonstrations while drawing connections to protest movements in India and Argentina. Other Singham-linked organizations, including Code Pink, that organization is led by Singham's wife and breakthrough news, have promoted coverage of the French unrest and encouraged broader international mobilization. On Tuesday, French police arrested a 34-year-old man suspected of participating in the arson attack that devastated the demolished city hall. According to Le Parisium, "Thank you for my French accent. The suspect was already on a French security watch list because of his associations with the altar left." Authorities believe he may have helped break into the building before it was set on fire. He has not been convicted. I mean, it is France after all. Meanwhile, French officials continue blaming radical left extremists for much of the destruction. But there are disagreements within France's own law enforcement community about how much of the violence was centrally organized. Some investigators say the disturbances involved a mixture of political extremists, ordinary demonstrators and opportunistic criminals taking advantage of overwhelmed police. The Paris prosecutor is also cautioned that authorities have not established that the perpetrators of violence in the capital were necessarily affiliated with the radical left. So while there is a documented evidence of political organizations working to expand the protests, the extent to which those groups directed the rioting remains unresolved. And the next test, of course, for the police and authorities is approaching quickly. Activists are planning another nationwide demonstration Saturday with more than 200 local protest actions advertised across France. Meanwhile, organizations in several European countries are promoting a coordinated youth strike next month. For France's government, the immediate challenge, of course, is preventing another weekend of destruction without further inflaming public anger. And for investigators, the challenge is determining how a student protest movement became the setting for nationwide violence. Alright, coming up next, Iranian officials admit that they're stalling peace stocks in an effort to hurt Trump politically, while there's new details concerning the recently revealed espionage activity at OpenAI. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. The president's daily brief is brought to you by Mod. Now, Mod prescribes a once or twice daily Modaphanil drink that can keep you energized, focused, and alert. And that all sounds very good. Here's the science. Caffeine energy drinks block adenosine. That's the chemical that makes you tired. It builds up and when caffeine wears off, well, there you go. There's the crash. Modaphanil works differently. It engages pathways in your brain. Dopamine, no repinne for an histamine, a rexan, to achieve energy and alertness for 10 to 12 hours. Modaphanil was invented in the 1970s. And since then, it's been used by soldiers and astronauts and pilots and really anyone in high-stakes situations looking for concentration and alertness. Visit mod.com that's mod.com for a free consultation and get 10% off your first order plus free shipping with promo code PDB. That's promo code PDB at mod.com. See their website for important safety information. And of course, thanks very much to mod for sponsoring the PDB. Welcome back to the PDB. For Americans paying more at the gas pumps and head to the war with Iran, well, could bring some relief. But senior Iranian regime officials say that they're in no hurry to push for an end to the conflict. According to Iranian officials, the regime is dragging out negotiations, hoping the US voters will take their frustration out on President Trump in the midterm elections. Reuters spoke with three senior Iranian officials and a regime insider all on condition of anonymity. One of those officials spelled out the regime's priority saying, quote, "the clerical establishment is determined not to give Trump a political victory." And Iran's leverage, of course, starts with the state of Hamuz. The regime continues to threaten.
and attack commercial vessels in the strait, disrupting shipping and trade and global energy markets to gain leverage that it believes it can use at the negotiating table. The waterway is, of course, a major route for global oil and natural gas shipments. Iran is exploiting that importance, betting that higher gasoline prices will turn American voters against President Trump's Republican Party in the November 3rd midterm elections. A pro-reformed Iran-based analyst oddly described the strategy this way, quote, "Iran is influencing the U.S. election without taking any unlawful action," end quote. Well, that description conveniently leaves out the threats and violent attacks against commercial shipping that Iran has engaged it, not to mention their direction of their proxy group, the Houthis, to target Saudi infrastructure, as well as the Bob Elman Debs strait. To confirm what the Iranian officials are saying about the regime simply dragging out negotiations, well, look no further than their unworkable proposal that the regime keeps referencing. Through Qatar mediators, Iran presented a seven-day plan to the U.S., something that we've discussed here on the PDB. In the proposal, Washington would be required to lift its maritime blockade, ease restrictions on Iranian oil exports, release frozen assets, and hostilities on all fronts, and give each member of the Iranian leadership a podium. I made that last part up. In return, Tehran would reopen the state of Hormuz, possibly within seven days, maybe, but under continued Iranian control. It sounds like quite the deal. Tehran insists those conditions must be met before nuclear negotiations can even begin to be talked about. The Trump administration wants a nuclear program, of course, on the table from the outset. Many in foreign minister Abbas Arabjeeb said Sunday that the seven-day offer remains available while that's nice, and that messages are still passing through intermediaries. According to the officials who spoke to Reuters, Tehran's refusal to make concessions that it believes would help President Trump leaves little to no prospect for a breakthrough before the midterm elections. Tehran's reluctance also reflects its expectation that fighting will resume. Trump has said that the U.S. will not bomb Iran again before November 3, but Iranian officials reportedly do expect eventual American, or Israeli, or both attacks. Now Tehran's strategy to block and delay while waiting for the elections does come with a cost, and the American blockade on Iranian ports and oil exports is making that cost increasingly difficult for the regime to absorb. Tehran may see political opportunity in America's frustration over fuel prices, but at the same time, internal frustration within Iran over a cratering economy continues to build. In a report from Iran's statistical center, annual inflation reached nearly 74 percent in September. The real has also lost nearly 35 percent of its value against the dollar since Washington re-imposed its naval blockade in July. According to Energy Intelligence firm Vortexa, Iranian seaborn crude exports stood at a 14-day average of approximately 230,000 barrels per day at the beginning of September. By the second week of that month, exports had fallen to zero. And as of October 5, well, they remained at zero. All right, turning now to new developments in the suspected corporate espionage case at OpenAI, investigators are now raising questions about the possible involvement of the Saudi government. According to new court filings obtained by the Wall Street Journal, a former OpenAI engineer accused of secretly bugging a restricted conference room was communicating with a member of the Saudi royal family about returning to the kingdom to work on an artificial intelligence initiative. And that's not the only Saudi connection that investigators have uncovered. We've been following this case since the FBI arrested 35-year-old Abdul Rahman Al-Fuzan earlier this month. A federal prosecutor accused the Saudi national of planting a sophisticated listening device inside an executive conference room at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters. The device was concealed in toilet paper, not necessarily a standard espionage trick, behind a television and was plugged into a USB port. Investigators say its recordings were encrypted and that the room was regularly used for confidential discussions involving OpenAI executives, business partners and government officials. Security personnel discovered the device on September 30th. Investigators subsequently recovered another recording device, an evidence suggesting that Al-Fuzan may have been scouting additional conference rooms. Now, prosecutors have revealed that Al-Fuzan was in frequent contact with an unidentified member of the Saudi royal family throughout 2025 and 2026. The royal reportedly encouraged him to leave OpenAI and return to Saudi Arabia to join a new Artificial Intelligence project. In one message, the royal told Al-Fuzan that Saudi Arabia needed his talents more than the US did. Al-Fuzan reportedly expressed interest but wanted to remain at OpenAI until more of his stock compensation had vested. He was earning approximately $385,000 annually at some pretty good fat stacks with an equity package valued at more than $2 million. But investigators say he was also making preparations to return to Saudi Arabia. Before his October 9th arrest, Al-Fuzan had booked one-way tickets, oh, one-way tickets, for himself, his wife and their young son to travel to Riyadh. His wife and child ultimately departed the US the day after his arrest, aboard a flight arranged and paid for by a Saudi naval officer related to the family. Al-Fuzan's attorney insists the travel plans were legitimate and that the family intended to spend time in Saudi Arabia during parental leave. But prosecutors see things differently. They argued that Al-Fuzan was preparing to relocate permanently, potentially putting him beyond the reach of American authorities. And then came another development. At a federal court hearing Monday, prosecutors revealed that the Saudi consulate and Los Angeles had offered to cover Al-Fuzan's entire bail bond. A U.S. magistrate judge questioned whether a financial guarantee back by a foreign government could actually prevent Al-Fuzan from fleeing. The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia, meaning authorities could face enormous difficulties bringing him back if he left the country. The judge ultimately ordered Al-Fuzan held without bail pending trial. Now there are important distinctions here. Al-Fuzan has been charged with unlawfully attempting to intercept private communications. He has not been charged with espionage or acting on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. And investigators have not established that the Saudi government ordered him to install the recording equipment or that any sensitive information was successfully transmitted overseas. And Al-Fuzan's attorney, no surprise, denies that he was spying for Saudi Arabia. Still the case raises serious questions about the security of America's most advanced technology companies, particularly as governments around the world, compete for an advantage in artificial intelligence. Al-Fuzan faces up to five years in prison if convicted. The FBI investigation remains active, and prosecutors say additional charges are possible. 9. Coming up in the back of the brief, more than 25 years after the September 11th attacks, the man accused of orchestrating them suffers a Supreme Court defeat that could leave him facing execution. More on that when we come back. Now you may have noticed that the U.S. midterm elections are heating up. Yeah, you've probably heard that. Congressional control, possibly Senate control and President Trump's agenda are all basically on the ballot and up for grabs. Every new poll and every new article has a potential to shift the odds. And here's the thing. Kalshi, America's number one prediction market platform lets you trade those predictions in a live market. One race worth watching is Michigan, where Democrat Abdul Al-Said is facing Republican Mike Rogers for an open Senate seat. And right now on, Kalshi, Al-Said is trading at 68% to win while Rogers is sitting at 32%. 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[email protected] And finally, I do hope you'll take a moment to check out our YouTube channel. As the kids say nowadays, it's the cat's pajamas. Just wander on over to YouTube and search up at President's Daily Brief. And if you like what you see, maybe hit that subscribe button. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. [Music]
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