I would do a mask like:
a = df[df['newest_date_available'] < date_before]
If date_before = datetime.date(2016, 1, 19)
, this returns:
id code newest_date_available
0 9793708 3514 2015-12-24
1 9792282 2399 2015-12-25
2 9797602 7452 2015-12-25