SOFT PEDAL POWER: As President Trump gets ready to head to Beijing for a May 14-15 summit, the Wall Street Journal is recalling a warmer era. In 2005, the National Security Council’s Asia director Dennis Wilder was working on plans for a summit meeting in China between Presidents George W. Bush and Hu Jintao. Wilder knew that Bush was a passionate mountain biker and thought it might be fun to have Bush take a ride on Beijing's Olympic course which was being built for the 2008 Games. Small problem: Wilder checked with the CIA, which had satellite photos of the site and it looked like construction hadn't even started. So, Wilder called the U.S. ambassador. Two days later, 10,000 PLA soldiers showed up and finished the track in two weeks, trees planted and everything. Eventually, the U.S. president pedaled the course (and we hear he was delighted). Bush returned to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics and his visit included a brief meeting with a Beijing Olympics committee functionary named Xi Jinping, (the WSJ reports that Wilder described him "absolutely boring") and Bush reportedly described the encounter as "a wasted meeting." In about two weeks, Trump is scheduled to fly to Beijing to meet that boring guy. We don’t know what either side will be peddling – but we doubt it will be mountain bikes.
SEE YOU IN COURT (AGAIN) -- File this under: things that probably didn’t need to become a federal case. But here we are. A grand jury in North Carolina has reportedly indicted former FBI director James B. Comey - the latest swing by the Justice Department at a man Donald Trump has been trying to sideline since their very public breakup. What’s the alleged crime? Seashells, sorta. Specifically, an Instagram post Comey shared last year showing shells arranged to read “86 47” is what’s got the Justice Department so worked up. For those who struggle with numbers: Trump is the 47th president, and “86” can mean anything from “we’re out of it” in a restaurant setting to something far more sinister, apparently, depending on who’s interpreting and how hard they’re trying. Comey said he stumbled on the display during a beach walk, thought it was political, snapped a photo, and later deleted it when critics suggested that the ‘86’ part hinted at violence. He insists he wasn’t advocating anything of the sort. Prosecutors haven’t publicly detailed the charges, which is either strategic silence or a sign that this case is well, on shaky ground. Legal experts note the bar for proving a criminal threat is high, and seashell semiotics may not clear it. Context matters here. Comey, appointed by Barack Obama, was fired by Trump in 2017 amid the Russia investigation fallout - an event that turned a bureaucratic relationship into a long-running vendetta. Since then, Trump has repeatedly called for Comey to be prosecuted. A previous case alleging Comey lied to Congress collapsed after a judge tossed it, citing improper appointment of the prosecutor who was overseeing it. The administration also fired Comey’s daughter, Maurene – who according to reporting by The New York Times, is now suing, arguing that her dismissal had less to do with her performance and more to do with her family.
A FRIEND TOLD US -- Friends of The INT (The Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program at CSIS) are holding a private, closed-door night of cocktails, friends, and stories in the very near future. We hear that the centerpiece of the evening will an off-the-record, insider chat with former senior CIA Officers Rob Dannenberg and Joseph Mullin, authors of A Spy Walked Into a Bar: A Practitioner’s Guide to Cocktail Tradecraft. It’s a read that pairs cocktail recipes and stories from their time at the Agency. Apparently, the plan is to get the authors tipsy and have them spill details on some of the spy stories in their book. Attire? Whatever looks good with a martini. Anyone who shows up in a smoking jacket or a cocktail dress gets extra points. If said cocktail dress includes a hidden thigh holster, double points. If the smoking jacket has a hole because of “that night in that bar in Cairo…” the event organizer, Emily Harding will pour your drink herself (so long as she gets the rest of the story).
LUNCHEON DIPLOMACY: With a Trump-Xi summit set for Beijing May 14-15, The Wall Street Journal has a tasty story about the unseen theater of great-power diplomacy. It’s probably no surprise that menu items at high-level meetings like presidential summits are screened for poison. But it was a little odd when China’s President Xi lunched on herbed-ricotta ravioli at a San Francisco-area dinner in 2023, but only after his security team reportedly swooped in to spray his utensils with an unidentified liquid to prevent the foreign collection of presidential DNA. The behind-the-scenes savory details don’t stop with lunch. Motorcade position triggers status anxiety as well the length of the red carpet, the WSJ notes, can say more about the state of the world than official statements do.
REALLY OUT THERE — Congressman Tim Burchett (R,TN) told Piers Morgan last week, that yes, aliens are real, and he's been briefed on the videos and pictures. He also said that speaking out about the issue may be the reason behind a steady stream of death threats. Burchett has been pushing for full UAP disclosure and recently urged President Trump to "peel back the layers of that onion." He also believes ETs are currently hiding under the sea, though he says he’s not worried - reasoning that any civilization capable of interstellar travel would have "barbecued us a long time ago" if that were the plan. Not exactly reassuring.
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