MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – US Daily Brief 14-02-22

Executive Summary:

• The geopolitical risk environment in Eastern Europe ramped up again over the weekend. US intelligence reports suggest that Russian military is now in advanced positions both on the Ukrainian border and in the Black Sea. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will brief the House and Senate today.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has criticised Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and stressed that the Democratic legislative agenda is the best route out of high inflation. Pelosi said: ‘With all the respect in the world to my friend Joe Manchin, it's not right to say that what we're doing is contributing to inflation because it is exactly the opposite.’
• Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) will be back in the Senate in a few weeks, in time for a vote on a Supreme Court nominee. This is good news for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as there were serious fears that the Senator would have to take extended leave after suffering a stroke earlier this month.
• Former President Donald Trump is under increasing scrutiny for allegedly removing classified documents from the White House. According to the Washington Post, 15 boxes of classified documents were recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
• Joe Biden has been criticised for his decision to allocate half of the USD$7 billion in frozen Afghan assets to pay out litigation from victims of the September 11 attacks. The decision leaves USD$3.5 billion to relief of the escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Critics point out that 1: Afghans did not perpetrate the September 11 attacks and 2: all US victims should receive compensation rather than merely those participating in litigation.

MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – US Daily Brief 14-02-22 .pdf