
Insane oversight in the Democratic Party's autopsy of the disastrous 2024 election
The 'after-action review' commissioned by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) won't question the timing of President Biden's decision to stand down shortly before the election, people with knowledge of the findings told The New York Times.
The review will also steer clear of finding out whether Kamala Harris was the best pick to replace Biden following his disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump, those briefed on its progress also told the outlet.
It won't look into her campaign or the decision by staffers to frame it as a choice between democracy and fascism.
Officials told the outlet that it will examine the election as a whole and not on the campaign, instead looking at actions taken by groups associated with the party, with a focus on super PACs that funded the campaigns of Biden and Harris.
The Times reported that blame would be thrown at Future Forward, the party's main super PAC.
Those briefed on its contents said that the group, w ho spent $560 million to support the two presidential hopefuls spent too much propping up Harris and not on attacking Trump.
The group's advertising approach is to be criticized as being too focused on television programs and not effective.
DNC spokesperson Rosemary Boeglin told the outlet: 'The DNC's post-election review is not a finger-pointing exercise, it's about bringing together Democrats across the ecosystem to adopt an actionable playbook to win, not just for 2026 and 2028, but to dominate for cycles to come.
'Democrats are clear-eyed about the challenges facing the party—many of which are rooted well before the 2024 cycle—and it requires all of us to make structural changes in how we run campaigns.'
The review was started in March and has not yet been finalized, it is expected to be released this fall.
After Trump won the election and made his return to the White House, Biden has continued to face questions over his mental decline while in office.
The 82-year-old is facing a Republican led investigation probing the extent of the Democratic president's decline was understood by his top staffers.
The investigation has focused on former staffers who would be privy to the most sensitive presidential discussions and his use of an autopen to sign documents.
Biden has denied the claims being pushed by Trump that he did not have the focus to make decision as president.
He told The Times: 'I understand why Trump would think that, because obviously, I guess, he doesn't focus much. Anyway, so - yes, I made every decision.'
While being questioned by lawmakers, Biden's personal physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, and Jill Biden's longtime aide Anthony Bernal, have all pleaded the fifth amendment protections in recent weeks.
Oversight Chairman James Comer noted that there's a pattern beginning to emerge after Biden's former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser Annie Tomasini also pleaded the fifth this week.
'There is now a pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability for this potential conspiracy,' Comer wrote.
'Annie Tomasini, former Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations, pleaded the Fifth when asked if Joe Biden, a member of his family, or anyone at the White House instructed her to lie regarding his health at any time.'
She also pleaded the fifth when asked about classified documents being found in Biden's garage, if the former president instructed anyone to destroy or conceal classified documents at the Democrat's home or if she's conspired with anyone to hide information on the Biden family's business affairs, Comer shared. The Kentucky Republican said this is a 'historical scandal.'
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Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
Investors on Japan's upper house election outcome
SINGAPORE, July 21 (Reuters) - Japan's ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power even as he vowed to remain party leader, citing a looming tariff deadline with the United States. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday on Monday, but the yen strengthened while Nikkei futures rose slightly, as the election results appeared to be already priced in. While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba's administration will fall, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader and could imply either policy paralysis or a bigger fiscal deficit depending on what the ruling party does next and how strong the opposition becomes. QUOTES: "It was not the 'major defeat' that some had predicted, and the LDP showed a certain level of centripetal force. Second, Prime Minister Ishiba quickly declared his continuation in office last night. "The election results have avoided the sharp yen depreciation pressure anticipated last weekend, but Japan's political situation is likely to continue exerting downward pressure on the yen." "Most people would've thought there might be a knee-jerk negative yen reaction, but we have seen a reasonable degree of yen underperformance in the lead up to Sunday, so to some extent, I think there's a kind of 'we bought the rumour, sold the fact'. "Our sense is that the yen strength that we've seen is probably something that will fade over time... the big thing this week is more Japan's chief trade negotiator trying to get a deal over the line, that is something other than the 25%, and to the extent that the election result weakens Japan's negotiating position - because you haven't got a coherent, united government, at the margin, I think that militates against the likelihood of anything happening that gets us back to anywhere close to a sort of 10% baseline tariff come August 1." "USD/JPY has fallen after its re-opening this morning with the outcome of the weekend's Japanese upper house elections largely as expected. However, it can likely hold on to power by seeking coalitions or by negotiation on key legislation with minor parties to avoid collapse. "With the worst case scenario avoided, the 200-day moving average at 149.62 looks secure for now and should see USD/JPY ease lower back towards 146.00." RONG REN GOH, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, EASTSPRING INVESTMENTS, SINGAPORE: "The risk of coalition loss is well appreciated, and arguably priced in - weaker yen, higher yields. We probably focus attention towards how the fiscally dovish parties do, to see whether the trade has more legs. "Now we have got to see who won the seats from them and the two parties markets probably will be focused on are the DPP and Sanseito. "But there are other drivers coming on the horizon for the yen, for example, the trade negotiations between the U.S. and Japan with the August deadline. "I think the difficulty comes from the rest of the parties forming another coalition but I'm admittedly not a political expert here and I don't know how easy it will be for the government to open the spigot. I suspect these are issues we will not have visibility on in the immediate future." SHOKI OMORI, CHIEF DESK STRATEGIST, MIZUHO SECURITIES, TOKYO (IN A NOTE): "Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has so far offered no hint that he will resign, and the measured confidence of his post-election remarks suggests that he intends to remain in office. "Many back-bench LDP legislators - wary of plunging into a leadership contest while bilateral tariff talks with Washington are unfinished and party approval ratings remain depressed - appear disinclined to 'reach for the chestnut in the fire' by forcing an early succession battle. "Against that political backdrop, prospects for an aggressive fiscal stimulus are limited. Mr Ishiba has shown no appetite for revenue-hungry measures such as a temporary reduction of the consumption tax rate, and even a leadership change would be unlikely to accelerate the launch of a large-scale package. "A meaningful supplementary budget, if one emerges, would not be debated until the autumn Diet session at the earliest. The only proposal now circulating within the coalition - a modest, one-off cash transfer to households - would entail little additional financing, and therefore little immediate impact on government borrowing."


Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump calls for Obama's arrest with jaw-dropping Truth Social post after Tulsi Gabbard claimed ex-president was behind 'years-long coup'
President Trump has called for Barack Obama to be arrested after spy chief Tulsi Gabbard claimed the former leader was behind a 'years-long coup' against him. Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, declassified hundreds of documents on Friday related to the investigation in to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. She claimed the emails reveal a conspiracy by Obama to try and subvert Trump's win by using 'manufactured and politicized intelligence' to make it seem like bad actors may have influenced the result. 'Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people,' Gabbard said. Her claims were reiterated by Trump who republished her interviews with Fox and several others about the issue on Truth Social. And on Sunday, he escalated things further by reposting an AI-generated TikTok which showed Obama being apprehended and placed in handcuffs along with the message, 'No one is above the law'. Gabbard released an 114-page document she says shows the Obama administration was aware that there was no threat of Russia 'directly' manipulating the vote in 2016. She called for an investigatio n into and potential criminal prosecution of anyone who took part – which may include the ex-President and James Comey, the former FBI director. The documents revealed insider discussions among top Obama officials about Russia's much-debated role in the 2016 US elections. Although many of the documents are highly redacted or completely blacked out, they show conversations among favorite Trump targets including former intel chief James Clapper, as officials debated how to describe Russian election activity. The documents found that there was 'no indication of a Russian threat to directly manipulate the actual vote count through cyber means'. But Gabbard says the documents show that Democrats chose to ignore that - or even promote the opposite narrative - to try and take down Trump. 'Their egregious abuse of power and blatant rejection of our Constitution threatens the very foundation and integrity of our democratic republic,' Gabbard in a blistering statement accompanying the document release. 'No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.' Several of the documents put out by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) show officials found that Russia either wouldn't try or wouldn't be able to shift the outcome of a US vote. 'Russia probably is not trying to going to be able to? [influence] the election by using cyber means to manipulate computer-enabled election infrastructure,' reads one draft line by the then-deputy director of ODNI. Documents show officials crafting a document saying there wasn't an indication Russia could manipulate the vote count The administration unsealed the documents amid the fury over the Jeffrey Epstein files By December 9, following Trump's stunning win over Democrat Hillary Clinton, a document to top intelligence officials tasked them with creating an assessment 'per the President's request' about 'tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election' 'We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election,' according to a January 2017 report titled 'Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.' The report then mentioned Russian cyber operations against both political parties. Of the material Gabbard released, one new August 31, 2016 document by an official with their name blacked out states that the 'thrust of the analysis is that there is no indication of a Russian threat to directly manipulate the actual vote count through cyber means.' Democrats have responded by claiming that Gabbard's declassification is designed to deflect from the Department of Justice's decision to close its investigation into the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. In response Trump has instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to disclose grand jury testimony files, pending court approval.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Yen firms as investors gird for political uncertainty
SINGAPORE, July 21 (Reuters) - The yen firmed on Monday after Japan's ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house as investors braced for a period of policy paralysis and market tumult in the world's fourth-largest economy ahead of a deadline on tariff negotiations with the U.S. The Japanese markets are closed for the day leaving the yen as an indicator of investor angst. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party returned 47 seats, short of the 50 seats it needed to ensure a majority in the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs. The yen firmed to 148.32 per dollar in early trading, staying close to the 3-1/2-month low it hit last week as the election result was mostly priced in by investors. It firmed a bit against the euro to 172.64. While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba's administration will fall, it heaps political pressure on the embattled leader who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said the LDP coalition could still partner with the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) to get the 50 seats required, and "that is helpful for the yen." "However, most importantly, PM Ishiba has been defiant in his stance to stay the course as PM, but his hand has been sufficiently weakened." The election result, while not entirely a shock to markets, also comes at a tricky time for a country trying to get a tariff deal with U.S. President Donald Trump before an Aug. 1 deadline. Japanese government bonds (JGBs) plunged last week, sending yields on 30-year debt to an all-time high, while the yen slid to multi-month lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro. If Ishiba resigns, the political maelstrom could be a trigger for foreign investors to sell Japanese shares and the yen, analysts said. Elsewhere, investor focus has been firmly on Trump's global tariff salvos, with a Financial Times report last week indicating the U.S. president was pushing for steep new tariffs on European Union products. The euro was steady at $1.163225 in early trading, while sterling last fetched $1.13417. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six others, was at 98.352. The New Zealand dollar eased 0.18% to $0.5951 after annual consumer inflation accelerated in the second quarter but stayed below economists' forecasts, leading markets to raise the chance of a rate cut next month given the broader economic weakness. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1% to $116,939, holding below a record $123,153 reached last week.