The President's Daily Brief
June 6th, 2025: Beijing's New Bioweapon?: Chinese Nationals Allegedly Smuggle Agroterrorism Pathogen Into US & Putin Plots Revenge
Fri, 06 Jun 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We’ll start things off with disturbing news about an alleged plot by two Chinese nationals, including one with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, to smuggle a "dangerous biological pathogen" that could be used as an agroterrorism weapon into the US. We’ll have the details. Later in the show—President Donald Trump says the Kremlin is preparing to retaliate against Ukraine over their crippling drone attack on Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet. The warning followed a lengthy phone call between the president and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, and is further eroding hopes that a peaceful settlement to the war can be achieved despite ongoing talks. Plus—a bombshell report reveals that a self-proclaimed "Jew hater" and active participant in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University had direct links to Hamas and the terror group’s al-Qassam Brigades. In our 'Back of the Brief—somber news out of Gaza, where Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of two hostages with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship that were killed during Hamas’s barbaric 7 October terrorist attack. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Lean: Visit https://TakeLean.com & use code pb20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What alarming scheme involving Chinese nationals is discussed?
It's Friday, the 6th of June. 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, a look at an alarming scheme by two Chinese nationals linked to the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to allegedly smuggle a biological pathogen that could be used as an agroterrorism weapon into the U.S., where they intended to conduct covert research at a university laboratory. We'll have those details.
Later in the show, President Trump says the Kremlin is preparing to retaliate against Ukraine over their crippling drone attack on Moscow's strategic bomber fleet. The warning followed a lengthy phone call between the president and Vladimir Putin and is further eroding hopes that a peaceful settlement to the war could be achieved.
Chapter 2: What does President Trump say about Kremlin's plans?
Plus, a new report reveals that a self-proclaimed, quote, Jew-hater and active participant in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University had direct links to Hamas and the terror group's deadly Al-Qassam brigades. So, wait, you mean that these anti-Semitic protests on college campuses weren't just organic, grassroots protests by sincere, gormless college students? Well, that is shocking.
Chapter 3: What shocking report is revealed about anti-Israel protests?
And in today's Back of the Brief, the somber news out of Gaza, where Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of two hostages with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship that were killed during Hamas's 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks that kicked off this current conflict. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
Chapter 4: What somber news comes from Gaza?
We'll start things off with new reporting about an alleged plot by two Chinese nationals, including one with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, to smuggle a dangerous biological pathogen into the US in what one White House official called an attempted attack on the American food supply.
Chapter 5: What details are known about the biological pathogen smuggling plot?
Officials with the Department of Justice announced a slew of charges earlier this week against the two Chinese researchers for plotting to transport samples of a dangerous crop-killing fungus described as a potential agro-terrorism weapon
One of the suspects in question is Yunqing Jian, a 33-year-old alleged Communist Party loyalist that works in an agricultural lab at the University of Michigan and reportedly received funding from the Chinese government for similar work that she conducted in China.
The other is her alleged boyfriend, 34-year-old Zunong Liu, who works as a researcher at a university in China conducting similar studies on agricultural pathogens.
According to the DOJ's criminal complaint, Liu was caught at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last July with samples of the pathogen that he brought on a flight from Shanghai, which he intended to bring to the University of Michigan Laboratory to, quote, further their scheme.
What exactly the intention of the scheme was remains unclear, but DOJ officials, FBI agents, and sources from the Trump administration that spoke exclusively to the New York Post painted an alarming portrait that feels all too reminiscent of allegations of gain-of-function research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fungus is capable of destroying crops and poisoning both livestock and humans.
Specifically, the fungus causes something known as head blight, a disease of wheat and barley, corn and rice, that already causes billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year. If ingested by humans, the pathogen causes severe vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects.
While the fungus is already present in the U.S., if it was manipulated to become resistant to treatment or to spread more easily, the pathogen could potentially decimate American farms and spread disease throughout the population. That's according to experts that spoke to the New York Post.
At first, Liu lied about the origin of the 10 samples that he was carrying to agents who stopped him at the Detroit airport last July. Liu laid a fest up, telling agents that he was attempting to smuggle the pathogen into the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory at the University of Michigan to clone the different strains and make more samples.
According to the Post's sources, during a search of one of Liru's cell phones, agents found a PDF article titled, quote, 2018 Plant Pathogen Warfare Under Changing Climate Conditions. I suspect you probably already read that article, which specifically referenced the fungus in question.
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Chapter 6: What charges have been brought against the suspects?
Still, the lack of a sharper rebuke drew fire from some quarters. One Ukrainian lawmaker told CNN, quote, President Trump didn't say something like Vladimir's stop. It might look like he's given a green light. That critique stands in contrast to Trump's tone just last week when he accused Putin of going, quote, absolutely crazy with missile strikes and warned he was, quote, playing with fire.
For now, Trump says he'll reassess within two weeks whether Putin is serious about reaching a negotiated settlement. Pro tip, he's not serious, though he's yet to spell out what metrics he's using to gauge that. However, the fact that lines remain open and that both sides are still showing up is, in Trump's view anyway, evidence that diplomacy isn't dead just yet.
A senior Russian official told reporters that Putin personally briefed Trump on the most recent negotiations. The latest round held in Istanbul earlier this week at Trump's urging yielded no major breakthroughs, but did produce agreement on additional prisoner exchanges.
Trump has so far resisted bipartisan calls in Washington to slap sweeping sanctions back on Moscow, arguing that now is the wrong time to up the pressure. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Washington with the head of Ukraine's presidential office to chart a forward-looking U.S. posture.
A senior administration official said Rubio reaffirmed support for Ukraine's defensive goals, but made clear the U.S. would not revert to the Biden-era policy of blank-check military aid. The weekend drone strike marked a new phase in Ukraine's war effort, demonstrating not just how far its drones can reach, but how exposed Russia's strategic deterrence has become.
And it also tested Trump's two-pronged approach, pressure both sides to negotiate without rewarding either for escalation. All right. Shifting to the U.S., a self-proclaimed, quote, Jew-hater accused of carrying out anti-Semitic assaults near Columbia University maintained direct ties to Hamas, marking one of the clearest links yet between extremist campus agitators and the terror group.
In a New York Post exclusive report, the suspect, a 20-year-old New York man, Tarek Buzruk, was indicted last month on three federal hate crime charges and is being held without bail after prosecutors argued he posed a, quote, ongoing danger to the community.
According to newly unsealed court documents, Buzruk was part of a private online chat group that received regular updates from the spokesman for Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades, the terror group's military wing. Prosecutors say this is the first known instance of a U.S.-based protester maintaining direct communication with a Hamas propaganda channel.
Federal agents also discovered that Buzruk's phone was brimming with pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah content, including a photo of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October terror attacks killed by Israeli forces last year. Texts uncovered during the investigation paint a sobering picture.
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Chapter 7: What does Putin's warning to President Trump entail?
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In today's Back of the Brief, sad news out of Gossip Thursday as Israeli forces recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages killed during Hamas's 7 October 2023 terror attacks.
The remains of 70-year-old Judith Weinstein Haggai and her 72-year-old husband Gad Haggai, longtime residents of kibbutz near Oz, were located in a joint Israeli military and Shin Bet operation, according to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The couple was among roughly 250 people, of course, kidnapped during the Hamas terror attacks that ignited the now 600-plus day war in Gaza.
Israeli officials say the couple's bodies had been held in Gaza by terrorists from the Mujahideen Brigades, that's the armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement. The Israeli military credited, quote, precise intelligence with enabling the recovery, but stopped short of offering further operational details. For months, their fate remained uncertain.
Back in December of 2023, then-President Biden acknowledged the couple's deaths, but until now, there had been no confirmation that their bodies had been found, much less recovered. In a statement, Netanyahu vowed to keep working until all hostages, dead and alive, are returned. He also expressed condolences to the family, saying, "...our hearts ache for the most terrible losses."
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Chapter 8: How has Ukraine's drone attack affected Russian military capabilities?
The hostages and missing families forum echoed that sentiment, calling the recovery, quote, the closing of a circle and the fulfillment of the state's fundamental obligation. The couple, the group said, can now be laid to rest in their homeland. Judith and Gad were two of four dual Israeli-American citizens confirmed killed and still held in Gaza. The other two, ages 19 and 21,
remain unaccounted for Their bodies, Israeli authorities believe, are still in Hamas's custody or in the hands of affiliated terrorist factions Meanwhile, the broader picture hasn't changed much Despite pressure from hostage families and international mediators negotiations for a broader ceasefire and hostage release have stalled in recent weeks
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum reiterated calls Thursday for the Israeli government to strike a deal that would secure the return of the more than 50 hostages both alive and dead still believed to be held in Gaza. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, the 6th of June. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com.
And to listen to the show ad-free, well, you know you can do that. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. And, of course, as you may have noticed when you woke up this morning, it's Friday. And congratulations, we've made it to the end of another week.
Now, your well-deserved reward is a brand new episode of our extended weekend show, The PDB Situation Report. Our great guests this weekend include smart guy and weapons analyst Ryan McBeth, talking about the Ukrainian attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet.
And Joe Truesman, he's from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, will be talking about the potential for a civil war or civilian uprising inside Gaza. You can catch us this evening at 10 p.m. on The First TV. And, of course, this and past episodes are always available on our YouTube channel, which you can find at President's Daily Brief, and, of course, podcast platforms everywhere.
I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, and stay cool.
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