Happy Monday. We’re grateful for the U.S. Secret Service agents who ensured we were able to include the word “foiled” in the subject line of today’s newsletter.
A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed Sunday evening that the agency was investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump, the second in as many months. According to local law enforcement officials, Secret Service agents opened fire at approximately 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday after they discovered a man with a rifle hiding in the bushes along the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the former president was playing a round of golf. The suspect—who was reportedly 300 to 500 yards away from Trump—attempted to flee the scene after Secret Service agents engaged him, but was quickly detained and is now in custody. Trump was not harmed in the incident, and he expressed his gratitude for the “ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING” job done by Secret Service agents and local law enforcement officials. Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement last night condemning political violence and saying she was “deeply disturbed” by the attempt on her political opponent’s life.
The U.S. Central Command announced Friday that four of the 14 ISIS operatives killed in a joint raid U.S. troops conducted late last month alongside soldiers from the Iraqi Security Forces were senior leaders in the radical jihadist terrorist organization. The four senior leaders killed had overseen military operations and technical development for ISIS in Iraq.
The Kremlin expelled six British diplomats from Russia on Friday, the same day that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Joe Biden to discuss the possibility of allowing Ukraine to use weapons supplied by the U.S. and other NATO countries to strike deep within Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned against such a decision last week, saying, “From that moment, NATO countries begin a direct war with Russia.” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the Biden administration takes Putin’s comments “seriously,” but that they are not new. “If Mr. Putin is so concerned about the safety and security of Russian sites and cities,” Kirby said, “the easiest way to alleviate those concerns is to get his troops the hell out of Ukraine and the war.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia swapped 206 prisoners on Saturday, both sides of the conflict confirmed, with 103 military personnel returning to each country. “Many of these men have been held since 2022—from the first months of the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday. “Some of the men are in serious condition due to injuries, and all will receive the necessary care.”
The U.S. State Department on Friday designated two people and three groups associated with the Russian-state media outlet RT, alleging the supposed journalistic venture is actually a component of Russia’s intelligence operations, including attempts to “foment unrest” in Moldova ahead of its national elections. The Justice Department indicted two RT employees earlier this month for conspiring to act as unregistered foreign agents, providing a U.S. media company nearly $10 million as part of a Russian influence scheme. “Covert influence activities are not journalism,” the State Department said in a statement. “We encourage dissent, open debate, and free discourse. But we will not stand for attempts by state actors to carry out covert activities with the goal of hijacking that discourse.”
Three U.S. citizens were among the 37 people sentenced to death by a Democratic Republic of Congo military court for their alleged involvement in an attempted coup led by former Congo politician Christian Malanga earlier this year. Malanga was the leader of a group claiming to be Congo’s exiled government, and was killed in May after briefly occupying the country’s presidential palace. The Americans convicted include Malanga’s son and his son’s friend, Marcel Malanga and Tyler Thompson, and his business associate Benjamin Zalman-Polun. Lawyers representing the trio said they would appeal the decision.
