☕ Daily Brief: A Bombshell CIA Report
Also, Trump promises to save New York


WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

🗽Trump promises to save New York from Mamdani. President Trump promised to "save New York City" from Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, calling him a "communist lunatic." He asserted on Truth Social that as president, he holds "all the levers" and threatened to use federal power if Mamdani is elected. The local race is now a national flashpoint, now raising questions about the influence Trump holds over local elections.
🤝 Trump announced a new trade deal with Vietnam. President Trump announced a trade agreement with Vietnam imposing a 20 percent tariff on its imports and a 40 percent tariff on transshipped goods. In return, the United States will receive tariff-free access to Vietnam's markets for American products. This is a victory for the president, as the move keeps pressure on Hanoi while avoiding the steeper tariffs that were set to return.
⚖️ Diddy acquitted of RICO and trafficking charges. A jury found Sean “Diddy” Combs not guilty on the most severe charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking. He was convicted on two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, though he will likely receive less. The testimony against Diddy was often stomach-turning, revealing a sexual deviant and abuser, though he avoided a life sentence, which many expected from the start.
💥 US set back Iran's nuclear program by 1-2 years. The Pentagon now estimates that last month's US airstrikes set back Iran's nuclear program by one to two years. While officials still maintain the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan were "completely obliterated," Iran will have the capability to restart its nuclear program in the near future. More broadly, Iran is perhaps at its weakest point in decades, with its terror proxies and short-term nuclear ambitions destroyed.
INSIDER RADAR
Mike Johnson on the Big, Beautiful Bill
Insiders behind the paywall: Mike Johnson, RFK Jr., Tom Homan, and Marco Rubio.
QUICK AND IMPORTANT
The House of Representatives voted to advance the Big, Beautiful Bill for a final vote — likely to happen today.
New York City inked a $1 billion contract to expand hotel shelters for illegal migrants.
The DOJ charged four more Portland Antifa militants for crimes during the ICE facility occupation, bringing the total to 17 federally charged.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending deportation protections for Haitians.
INSIDER EXCLUSIVE

An army of Iranian bots infiltrates the West
A coordinated Iranian influence campaign has been uncovered, targeting both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Earlier this month, dozens of X accounts promoting Scottish independence abruptly went silent, coinciding with Israeli airstrikes that crippled Iran’s cyber infrastructure…
THE MAIN STORY
Bombshell review finds Obama’s CIA cooked up Trump-Russia narrative

WHAT’S HAPPENING_
A bombshell CIA review just revealed that the Obama administration's 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian election interference was deliberately corrupted by top intelligence officials.
The review, ordered by Trump CIA Director John Ratcliffe, found that then-CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were "excessively involved" in drafting the assessment and rushed its completion through a "chaotic" and "atypical" process.
_THE FACTS_
President Barack Obama ordered the Intelligence Community Assessment on Dec. 6, 2016 — just six weeks before leaving office — and rushed it out before Trump took power.
The new CIA review found “multiple procedural anomalies,” including a frantic timeline giving analysts less than a week to write it.
Brennan handpicked the analysts for the ICA and cut out 13 of 17 intel agencies — including the key Defense Intelligence Agency.
CIA’s Deputy Director for Analysis warned Brennan by email that adding the now-discredited Steele dossier would sink “the credibility of the entire paper.”
Brennan forced the dossier in anyway, claiming “the information warrants inclusion.”
FBI brass said they’d only join the ICA if the dossier stayed in — and pushed to embed it throughout.
Two CIA Russia mission chiefs jointly pushed back, arguing the claim that Putin “aspired” to help Trump was flimsy and risky.
Media leaks before drafting even started suggested the IC had “already reached” conclusions, likely biasing analysts to fit the leaks.
By 2018, two-thirds of Democrats believed Russia literally changed votes to elect Trump — thanks to the bogus ICA and endless “collusion” claims.
After Trump won, Obama officials scrambled to share Trump-Russia “intel” far and wide, even if it was classified, to fuel the scandal.
Trump CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the ICA scandal a preview of the 51 ex-intel officials’ fake Hunter Biden laptop letter in 2020.
_JOIN THE DISCUSSION_
Do you think the Trump administration should investigate the Obama officials responsible for the intel assessment?
Comments are open for everyone.
MEDIA BIAS SPOTTER
How left and right outlets frame Diddy escaping the most serious charges
Mentioned behind the paywall: The Guardian, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, and Daily Caller.
THE DAILY DEBATE
📊 What’s your favorite part about July 4?Results will be in tomorrow's newsletter (Capitol Reset) |

POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
Which do you think was Trump’s biggest victory yesterday?
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🐊 Alligator Alcatraz (94)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ✅ Senate Passing Big, Beautiful Bill (447)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🏊♀️ UPenn Title IX Compliance (159)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🕊️ Israel Ceasefire (73)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (49)
🐊 Alligator Alcatraz: “Alligator Alcatraz is a done deal, while the BBB still has to be run through the House with lots of changes for them to argue over!” — Chase
✅ Senate Passing Big, Beautiful Bill: “While all are vital for the recovery of our nation, the Big, Beautiful Bill will positively impact a greater number of citizens in our country.” — Fred
🏊♀️ UPenn Title IX compliance: “A big win for biological science, rational thinking, and common sense! It's encouraging for the future!” — David
🕊️ Israel ceasefire: “Any step toward less violence surrounding Israel is a win for all of us.” — Anonymous
POP QUIZ
What did NYC just approve a $1 billion contract for? |
Today’s newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman, Anthony Constantini, and Ariel David. We scoured 100s of sources to bring you stories and insights you won’t find in the mainstream media.

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