‘I will not let that antisemitic conspiracy stand!'
And US President Donald Trump is not happy.
While he wants to focus on the achievements of his first six months, the Democrats want to take advantage of disagreement within the GOP.
Could this be the issue that sees MAGA Republicans turn on their Commander in Chief?
Coming up on Counterpoints we'll debate:
- Whether the administration has mishandled this controversy?
- If the Epstein case could cause a split in the Republican camp?
- Why the Democrats have jumped on the bandwagon – demanding full transparency – when they neglected to do so while in office?
Guests:
• Josh Hammer, Newsweek's Senior Editor-At-Large
• Curt Mills, Executive Director of The American Conservative Magazine.
• Joel Rubin a Democrat Strategist who previously served as a senior state department official during the Obama Administration.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
How Moscow Might Respond if Trump Stops Russian Oil to India
US President Donald Trump's demand on India to halt Russian oil imports could threaten billions in Russian revenues, prompt Moscow to retaliate by stopping a major US-led oil pipeline and potentially lead to a new global supply crisis. India, the world's third largest oil importer, has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil since 2022, purchasing up to 2 million barrels per day of oil accounting for 2% of global supply. Other top buyers are China and Türkiye. The Indian route is so important for the Kremlin that if disrupted it could prompt it to retaliate by closing the CPC pipeline from Kazakhstan, where US oil majors Chevron and Exxon hold big stakes, analysts at JP Morgan said this week. "Russia is not without leverage," the US bank said. Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a peace deal with Ukraine by August 7-9. A 25% tariff on all US goods imports from India starts on Friday. Reuters reported on Thursday that Indian state refineries had paused purchases of Russian oil this week amid Trump's threats. REALIGNMENT India only began buying large quantities of oil from Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, since 2022. It became a top importer after Europe, Russia's former top client, imposed a ban on Russian oil over its military actions in Ukraine. Russia's oil giant Rosneft has a major stake in one of India's biggest oil refineries. India is now 35% reliant on Russian oil imports worth $50.2 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to India's government data. "Cutting off this flow would require a massive realignment of trade flows," said Aldo Spanjer from BNP Paribas, adding that the global supply was already stretched. India buys all varieties and grades of Russian oil - including Urals from Western ports, ESPO and Sokol from the Pacific and some grades from the Arctic, according to LSEG data. Urals would be hit hardest if India stops buying as it purchases up to 70% of Russia's biggest export grade by volume. India's oil minister said the country can find alternative supply. India would need to raise imports of US and Middle Eastern crude or cut refining runs, leading to a spike in diesel prices, especially in Europe, which imports fuel from India. "Indian refiners will still struggle to replace the heavy quality of Russian crude so they may end up paring runs," said Neil Crosby from Sparta Commodities. FALLING INCOME Russia has managed to continue selling oil since 2022 despite international sanctions, although it sells it at discounts to global prices. Falling global prices mean Russia's income is already under pressure. Its oil and gas revenue fell 33.7% year-on-year in June to its lowest since January 2023, finance ministry data showed. Revenues will fall 37% in July due to weaker global oil prices and a strong rouble, Reuters calculations show. Russian firms will need to store oil on tankers if India stops buying, paying extra money for shipping charges and being forced to offer wide discounts to new buyers, traders said. A loss of 2 million bpd of exports might also gradually prompt Russia to start reducing oil production from the current levels of 9 million bpd, traders said. Russia's current production is regulated by OPEC+ quotas. HOW CAN RUSSIA RESPOND? Russia could potentially divert some 0.8 million bpd of oil to Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, Brunei, South Africa and Indonesia, JP Morgan said. Moscow could also disrupt the CPC pipeline to make sure the West feels the pain from higher oil prices. Western oil firms Exxon, Chevron, Shell, ENI and TotalEnergies ship up to 1 million bpd via CPC, which has total capacity of 1.7 million bpd. "If we get a visible and substantial difficulty in clearing Russian crude and Putin shuts off CPC, oil prices might get well over $80 per barrel, possibly a lot more," said Crosby. The CPC pipeline crosses Russian territory and the consortium has clashed with Moscow, which ordered it to suspend operations for several days in 2022 and 2025 citing environmental and tanker regulations. A combined stoppage of CPC and Russian flows to India would create a disruption of 3.5 million bpd or 3.5% of global supply. "The Trump administration, like its predecessors, will likely find sanctioning the world's second-largest oil exporter unfeasible without spiking oil prices," JP Morgan said.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Another American Palestinian killed in West Bank
CHICAGO: The relatives of an American Palestinian who moved with his five children and wife in 2020 to the West Bank are calling on the US to investigate the circumstances of his death. Relatives in Chicago told Arab News that Khamis Ayyad, 40, had died of smoke inhalation on July 31 when he entered a home that was engulfed in flames to save people. State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, who represents the southwest suburbs of Chicago in the Illinois legislature and is of Palestinian descent, met with Ayyad's relatives. He said the fires were started by Israeli settlers who have been rampaging through West Bank villages. 'This wasn't random. It's part of an ugly pattern of Israeli government-sponsored brutality from settler terrorism in the West Bank to the genocide unfolding in Gaza — enabled by US military funding and political support for Israel,' Rashid told Arab News. 'I've seen this violence firsthand. I was in Palestine in June 2023 when settlers invaded my family's village in broad daylight. They killed a young man. There was no accountability, no justice. 'That lack of accountability has led to continued Israeli terrorism against Palestinians fighting for survival and liberation, including the murder of Palestinian American Khamis Ayyad.' Rashid's district represents a region of the southwest suburbs of Chicago called Little Palestine because of its large concentration of American Palestinians. Relatives said the village of Silwad, where Ayyad lived, was hit with several arson fires in recent months by settlers, including homes, farmland and vehicles. Ayyad is the second American Palestinian to be killed in July, and the fifth since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, ABC News reported. On July 11, 2025, 20-year-old American Palestinian Sayfollah Musallet was murdered by a gang of Israeli settlers in the family's farmlands located near Ramallah. Israeli soldiers prevented Musallet's family from reaching him while he was alive but wounded, relatives told Arab News. Soldiers also prevented an ambulance from reaching him for more than two hours after the attack. He died as paramedics were placing him in the ambulance to take him to a nearby hospital. Musallet is the cousin of Muhammad Ibrahim, who was arrested in the middle of the night by 20 soldiers wearing black masks in February and has been detained in the notorious Megiddo Prison without access to his parents or legal representation. Ibrahim has not been charged with a crime, his family told Arab News, adding that he is suffering from an illness caused by the unsanitary conditions at the prison. 'Who will speak up for these Americans?' a relative of Ayyad asked.
Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
US agency probes special counsel Jack Smith who prosecuted Trump: Report
US officials have opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump, US media reported Saturday. The Office of Special Counsel told The New York Times it was investigating Smith for potentially violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal workers from engaging in political activity while on the job. Republican Senator Tom Cotton had reportedly asked the agency to investigate whether Smith's actions had been designed to influence the 2024 election. The agency, which monitors the conduct of federal employees, did not immediately respond to request for comment by AFP. Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022, and charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House. Trump denied both charges and sought to frame them as politically motivated, accusing the Justice Department of being weaponized against him. Neither case ever came to trial, and the special counsel -- in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president -- dropped them both after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election. Smith then resigned before Trump could fulfil his campaign pledge to fire him. The Office of Special Counsel operates separately from special counsel offices at the Department of Justice, such as the one headed by Smith. The prosecutorial decisions made by Smith do not typically fall under its remit, according to the Times. It cannot lay criminal charges against Smith but could refer its findings to the Department of Justice, which does have that power. The most severe penalty under the Hatch Act is termination of employment, which would not apply to Smith as he has already resigned. Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies. He has stripped former officials of their security clearances and protective details, targeted law firms involved in past cases against him and pulled federal funding from universities. Last month the FBI opened criminal investigations into its former director James Comey and ex-CIA chief John Brennan, two prominent Trump critics. Days later Comey's daughter Maurene -- a federal prosecutor who handled the case of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who has been repeatedly linked to Trump -- was abruptly fired.
