The Daily Herold: 6/17/26 - Iran Deal Decoded, McDonagh on Energy & DNI Chess Match

Jon Herold comes in Wednesday with a guest and a document to dig through. Tech investor Matthew McDonagh joins to make the case that energy, not labor, is now the central lever controlling global power, framing the Strait of Hormuz blockade and the Iran conflict as moves in a larger energy dominance struggle against China. Jon then reads through the full leaked 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding line by line: the naval blockade lifts immediately, Iran gets its own frozen money back rather than new American cash, a $300 billion rehabilitation fund comes structured as financing rather than a gift, and Israel is conspicuously absent from the entire agreement. Trump's overnight Truth Social move gets its own breakdown: canceling Jay Clayton's DNI confirmation hearing in apparent retaliation after Democrats reneged on a FISA deal, which keeps Bill Pulte in place and ties FISA's fate to the Save America Act. Jon also shares word from a well-connected source that Tulsi Gabbard's promised 2020 election report is likely delayed past her departure, possibly surfacing around a rumored June 24 event. Gavin Newsom's lawyers sent Todd Blanche a letter calling the DOJ probe into him a fishing expedition.