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Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Obama should be top target in DOJ probe into intel report
President Trump on Tuesday said that former President Obama should be targeted directly by the Department of Justice after his administration's report alleged Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 election. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has sent criminal referrals to the DOJ related to the report released on Friday that asserted the Obama officials engaged in a 'treasonous conspiracy.' When asked in the Oval Office on Tuesday, during a visit with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., about whom the DOJ should target, Trump pointed to Obama. 'Based on what I read, and I read pretty much what you read, it would be President Obama. He started it,' Trump said. 'And [then-vice president Joe] Biden was there with him and [former FBI director James] Comey was there and [former DNI director James] Clapper, the whole group was there. [Former CIA director John] Brennan. They were all there in a room, right here, this was the room.' He added, 'If you look at those papers, they have him stone-cold and it was President Obama. It wasn't lots of people all over the place, it was them, too. But the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama, have you heard of him?' 'He's guilty, it's not a question,' Trump said. 'This was treason, this was every word you can think of.' He added that Gabbard told him that thousands of additional documents would be coming, and he called Obama the 'ringleader.' Friday's memo also cited former officials like Clapper, Brennan and Comey and comes after Trump has for years claimed the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether his campaign colluded with Moscow was a 'hoax.' Trump in March signed a memo ordering the declassification of 'all files related to Crossfire Hurricane,' the name given to the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The president on Tuesday also was questioned about Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reaching out to lawyers of Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex offender and associate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, to set up a meeting with her. He said he didn't know anything about it but brought up Gabbard's report. 'The witch hunt that you should be talking about if they caught President Obama absolutely cold, Tulsi Gabbard. What they did to this country in 2016, starting in 2016 but going up all the way going up to 2020 and the election, they tried to rig the election and they got caught and they should be very severe consequences for that,' Trump said. Trump also said when he 'caught' former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton but he 'let her off the hook' because she was a wife of a former president. 'It's time to go after people. Obama's been caught directly,' he said. 'What they did in 2016 and in 2020 is very criminal, it's criminal at the highest level so that's really the things you should be talking about.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
31 minutes ago
- Politico
Epstein's shadow reaches Illinois
Happy Wednesday, Illinois. You can find me in the lake today. It's gonna be hot, via NPR. TOP TALKER What began as a scandal confined to elite Beltway circles is seeping into the political consciousness of the Midwest — and Illinois Democrats are sure to exploit it. A revelation: Internal polling by the party shows the Jeffrey Epstein saga is gaining traction with everyday voters. Couple that with a growing swell of Epstein-related content across social media platforms. 'These aren't political people' posting about it, said Sabha Abour, a Democratic campaign consultant in Chicago and nearby suburbs. She said the issue resonates because 'it confirms that there are two systems of justice in this country: one is for the powerful, and one is for everyone else.' And while kitchen-table issues like health care, immigration and inflation will likely shape the 2026 midterms, the Epstein scandal might make voters question whether Republicans stand by their values. At least that's what Democrats are hoping. The GOP's response for now has been to duck and cover. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is sending the House home early for the August recess rather than risk a vote on disclosing the Epstein file — a move that raised more than a few eyebrows. President Donald Trump keeps trying to divert attention away from Epstein. And the Illinois GOP isn't responding at all. The issue is about transparency, said Gov. JB Pritzker at an unrelated press conference Tuesday. 'I don't know why' Trump has 'problems with being transparent,' the governor said. 'People are quite curious and suspicious, frankly, about why the president doesn't want to do what he promised he would do and what seems like an obvious thing — which is to just reveal what the truth is.' It's too early to say whether the Epstein case will sway voters in 2026, said Becky Carroll, the Chicago political strategist who's worked on national and local campaigns. 'Is this red meat for Democratic voters? Perhaps, but there are a lot of other things going on right now that are capturing the attention of voters and will continue to — like ICE raids and the gutting of Medicaid — that they are seeing, feeling and reading about every single day.' And a warning from Ron Holmes, another Chicago political consultant, cautioned that 'the Epstein files are certainly good click bait, but ultimately Illinois Democrats need to talk about what they're for heading into the next election cycle rather than' focusing on Trump. RELATED Democrats coast to coast are plotting how to capitalize on the Epstein controversy, via POLITICO House Dems find their mojo with the Epstein saga, by POLITICO's Rachael Bade Deflecting Epstein questions, Trump urges DOJ to 'go after' Obama, by POLITICO's Eli Stokols Epstein crisis forces Republicans to shut down House early, by POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill THE BUZZ RULES OF CONDUCT: Mayor vows to curb smoking on the CTA after years of complaints: 'It has got to stop': Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order that would dispatch city outreach teams to trains and buses to curtail smoking. Violators could be fined, by the Block Club's Quinn Myers and Mack Liederman. Johnson said the city plans to launch public awareness campaigns to deter smoking on trains. The order comes a month after Ald. Bill Conway (34th), a name that's popped up as a possible mayoral candidate in 2027, introduced his own resolution to City Council to pressure the CTA to deter riders who smoke on public transit.' If you are Bill Conway, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@ WHERE'S JB At Venue SIX10 at 1 p.m. to deliver opening remarks at the Global Quantum Forum and then at 2 p.m. in the same location he'll announce a new IQMP tenant WHERE's BRANDON At St. Leonard's Ministries at 10:15 a.m. for the Shelter Infrastructure Initiative press conference — At 4520 South State Street at 2:30 p.m. for the Legends South groundbreaking, part of the redevelopment of the former Robert Taylor Homes site Where's Toni At Maggiano's Banquets at noon to give opening remarks at a City Club luncheon featuring Brookfield Zoo CEO Mike Adkesson Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or complaint? Email skapos@ BUSINESS OF POLITICS — Senate race: Robin Kelly is drawing high-profile names to her Thursday fundraiser. Among them: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. Here are details with more names — Senate race: Juliana Stratton outlines LGBTQ+ rights platform and policy agenda in Senate bid, by Jake Wittich in the Windy City Times — Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim has hopes for statewide post: 'This isn't just the next step on the political ladder for me — it's a continuation of the work I've already been doing,' she told Charles Selle in the Tribune. — In IL:14: Rep. Lauren Underwood has massive fundraising lead primary and likely November challenger, by the Daily Herald's Russell Lissau — In IL-08: Christ Kallas and Junaid Ahmed, both Democrats running for this open seat, have signed on with the U.S. Term Limits movement to support an amendment to term limits in Congress, according to the nonpartisan organization. — In the Illinois General Assembly contests: James O'Brien, an attorney who's worked on the House Democratic staff and is an adviser for the Illinois Commerce Commission, is set to announce he's running for state representative in the 13th District Illinois House seat now held by Rep. Hoan Huynh, who's running for Congress. 'I've seen the good that government can do when it's at its best and having experienced candidates with a record of results is critical to making more of those moments a reality,' he said in a statement. O'Brien has also worked on school-funding reform legislation. THE STATEWIDES — Some ComEd customers seeing triple-digit bill increases as supply rate jump, heat wave converge: 'The spike in the wholesale cost of electricity, which ComEd buys at an annual auction and then passes through to its customers, paired with increased energy usage, added $67.28 month-over-month to the average June 30 bill, the utility said,' by the Tribune's Robert Channick — HIGHER-ED: Changes to federal student loans leave aspiring medical students scrambling to cover costs, by the Tribune's Kate Armanini — Local groups step up as undocumented immigrants lose state health coverage, by Borderless magazine's Tara Mobasher and Lucy Baptiste — Federal housing credit expansion could increase affordable rental units in Illinois, according to a report, via Capitol News' Ben Szalinski — Illinois' school system rates toward the top of this Wallet Hub study CHICAGO — CPS board members ask Pritzker, lawmakers to call special session on school funding: 'CPS is grappling with a $734 million deficit. Board members say schools across Illinois are facing budget troubles and need state help,' by WBEZ's Sarah Karp. — Due process: Ald. Andre Vasquez, chair of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, will host a hearing Thursday in the City Council chambers to address potential due process violations and infringements on free speech rights by the Trump administration. — Chicago Housing Authority resident leaders voice opposition to Ald. Walter Burnett as potential next CEO, by the Tribune's Lizzie Kane — Pritzker, transportation leaders celebrate Union Station's centennial as Chicago-area transit fiscal cliff looms, by WTTW's Eunice Alpasan — Netflix sets Jussie Smollett documentary with 'new evidence': Alleged hate crime hoax 'might just be a true story,' by Variety's Ethan Shanfeld COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS — Arlington Heights board divided on public sleeping ban, by the Daily Herald's Christopher Placek — Lake Bluff, Lake Forest leaders discuss their communities' current infrastructure projects, by the Pioneer Press' Daniel I. Dorfman — Naperville's No. 19 on safest places to live in the U.S. list compiled by U.S. News & World Report, by the Naperville Sun's Carolyn Stein ILLINOIS' POPE — South Loop family gifts Pope Leo XIV a 'Da Pope' T-shirt: 'There's such a sense of pride': 'The Muñoz family waited two hours in the heat to meet the pope after Mass on Sunday at the Cathedral of Albano in Albano Laziale, a town outside Rome, near where Leo is spending a six-week summer break at the papal retreat,' by the Sun-Times' Selena Kuznikov. TAKING NAMES — Rahm Emanuel, the former ambassador to Japan, is scheduled to testify today before the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and Chinese Communist Party. The hearing is titled 'United We Stand: Strategies to Counter PRC Economic Coercion Against Democracies.' Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi is a ranking member. The live broadcast starts at 10 a.m. Watch here — Antonio Romanucci, a founding partner of the national Romanucci & Blandin personal injury firm based in Chicago, has been awarded the Richard D. Hailey Distinguished Service Award by the American Association for Justice. It recognizes members of the association's board for their work. SPOTTED — A REAL MIXER: A who's-who from Chicago's hospitality industry packed new Gold Coast hotspot The Alston for state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz's 6th District reelection campaign. Host Committee members Sam Toia, CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, and Scott Weiner, whose Fifty/50 Group owns The Alston, spoke about Feigenholtz's work, including authoring the state's cocktails-to-go legislation during the pandemic. Spotted: Alds. Bennett Lawson and Brian Hopkins, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Democratic Committee members Lucy Moog and Paul Rosenfeld. On the host committee: The Dearborn's Clodagh Lawless, Gibsons Restaurant Group's Liz Lombardo Stark, restaurateur Sam Sanchez, Manny's Deli's Danny Raskin, Vaughan Hospitality's Kevin Vaughan, Lucca Osteria's Steven Hartenstein, Eli's Cheesecake's Marc Schulman and entrepreneur and former Ald. Ameya Pawar. Reader Digest We asked what subject you could filibuster on for 12 hours. Janice Anderson: 'How cheap people are and they can't even admit it.' Matthew Beaudet: 'The rise and fall of cultures since antiquity.' Mimi Cowan: '19th century urban riots.' Jules Gray: ''The Godfather' movies parts one and two.' John Mark Hansen: 'I'm an academic and could go on about the history of Congress or the matrix algebra and its applications in the social sciences.' Colby Huff: 'Disney World, starting with the history of the parks, how Disney acquired all that land so cheaply, the evolution of each park and finishing with a couple of hours worth of tips and tricks to vacationing there today.' Ed Mazur: 'Railroads and their importance for the growth of Chicago's commerce, industry and population.' Ronald Michelotti: 'Major League Baseball with an emphasis on the stars I have witnessed playing our national pastime over these many years.' Joe Platt: 'How shorts, exposed shoulders and open-toed shoes are not appropriate for airplane travel.' Brent Pruim: 'Housing.' Steve Smith: 'Women's reproductive health.' John Straus: 'Alexis deToqueville's Democracy in America.' Michael Strautmanis: 'Each frame of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and why the western movie takes us on the hero's journey and creates the foundational story beats of so many of the pop culture movies we love. Superman meet Nat Love!' Timothy Thomas: 'World Wars I and II, including the time leading up to and their post war ramifications.' Patricia Ann Watson: 'The TV show 'Babylon 5' and human hierarchies.' Brent Zhorne: 'As a retired high school sociology teacher, I could talk about sociology and sociological phenomena for an entire semester. Twelve hours? Mere child's play!' NEXT QUESTION: What's the craziest thing you've seen riding the El? THE NATIONAL TAKE — Trump announces trade deal with Japan, by POLITICO's Daniel Desrochers, Ari Hawkins and Doug Palmer — White House eying education cuts for next funding clawback package, by POLITICO's Calen Razor, Juan Perez Jr. and Eli Stokols — Republicans want to rename Kennedy Center's opera house after Melania Trump, by POLITICO's Gregory Svirnovskiy TRIVIA TUESDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Anders Lindall and Don Davis for correctly answering that 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,' which is one of August Wilson's 'Pittsburgh Cycle' plays, is based in Chicago. TODAY's QUESTION: What is a traditional 'Chicago handshake'? Email your answer to: skapos@ HAPPY BIRTHDAY Former state Sen. Miguel del Valle, BOMA/Chicago Government Affairs Director Amy Masters, former AG official and a General Assembly candidate Adam Braun, attorney Sam Royko, PwC tax partner Jennifer Darling, Burson Corporate Affairs VP Stephani Englund, ABC 7 political reporter Craig Wall and former state Rep. Edward 'Eddie' Acevedo -30-
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
22nd District race heats up as endorsements roll in
If it wasn't already, the 2026 election season in Kern County is in full swing. Randy Villegas — now one of at least two Democrats to challenge U.S. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford — announced an endorsement from the progressive Working Families Party on Monday, setting himself up as a grassroots alternative to the status quo. 'There's an old saying in Spanish, 'dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres,' which translated to English means, 'tell me who you're with, and I'll tell you who you are,'' Villegas said Monday at a rally in front of Valadao's Bakersfield office. 'The same thing can be said about politics. Tell me who you're taking money from, and I'll tell you who you're actually working for,' Villegas said. A Visalia Unified School District board member and a political science professor at College of the Sequoias, Villegas was the first Democrat to officially throw his hat into the ring for California's 22nd Congressional District race. The district is seen as one of the most vulnerable in the nation, and though Valadao has been able to mostly hold onto his seat since 2013, he's been voted out once and regularly has to fight off well-financed challengers. But the centerpiece of Villegas' campaign is that he is refusing to accept money from corporate political action committees, or PACs, which means he'll likely have less money for glossy TV and radio ads, canvassing and all the other expenses that come with political campaigns. But that willingness to stand up to entrenched interests in the name of meaningful change was what could reinvigorate the Democratic base in the wake of the drudging the party took in the 2024 election. 'We know that it's not good enough to say that we're not Trump, or that we're not Valadao. We need to offer something more to our country, to our community,' Villegas said with a crowd of more than 30 people behind him. 'I think we need to start by getting rid of corporate PAC contributions in the Democratic Party,' Villegas said. 'I think we need to be willing to say that we are working for working-class people, and we can't claim to do that if we're taking the same money that Republicans are.' Villegas said Democrats should advocate for policies that reign in profiteering by corporations, which he called corporate greed. 'I think any politician who accepts money from these corporations that say that they need to raise prices while they're reaching record-breaking profits, including the oil industry, is selling us out,' Villegas said. 'Corporations shouldn't be claiming to be struggling when they're seeing record-breaking profits, and then still engaging in corporate greed and passing those costs onto our consumers.' Along with the endorsement of the Working Families Party, Villegas announced his campaign had raised $230,000 since April, evidence, he said, of significant grassroots support. 'The folks that we advocate for and the folks that we want to push for aren't just regular Democrats. They're ones that are going to be accountable to working families,' said Neel Sannappa, an organizer with Working Families Party. That was a message that will motivate people, Sannappa said. He pointed to the April visit from progressive duo Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which filled the Dignity Health Theater to capacity on a Tuesday. 'There's a reason that Democrats like that can do that, and there's a reason that Democrats that take corporate money aren't able to do that,' Sannappa said. In a statement, Republican National Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez said Valadao voted to protect Medicaid for its intended recipients; children, pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly. 'Radical Randy Villegas is bankrolled by socialist extremists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,' Martinez said in a text message. 'He's proudly endorsed their far-left agenda that destroyed California's economy and puts California families last.' Last week, Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, officially jumped into the race and quickly racked up her own set of endorsements. Bains announced endorsements from nine Congressional Democrats and the Service Employees International Union and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Former Assemblyman Rudy Salas —who challenged Valadao in 2022 and 2024 — filed paperwork to run in 2026 but has not committed to doing so. According to filings with the Federal Elections Commission, former Congressional candidate Eric Garcia, a Democrat, has also filed paperwork to run. Valadao has largely been able to defend his seat, even in a district with more registered Democrats than Republicans, but 2026 will be a difficult year, said Christian Grose, a political science professor at the University of Southern California. Moderates who may have voted for Valadao in the past might be put off by his vote for House Resolution 1, formerly known as the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which enacted steep cuts to programs relied on locally, namely Medicaid. 'I think that vote is going to cause some voters to move away just because the district is so dependent on Medicaid,' Grose told The Californian. Valadao's district has the highest percentage of Medicaid enrollment in the state, 67%, and reductions to the program were cited specifically by Bains, a physician, upon her entrance to the race. Grose said voters in the district might not be motivated by Villegas' pledge not to accept corporate donations but will respond to attacks on the social safety net. 'The corporate money, I don't think that resonates much. It is more about bread-and-butter economic issues,' Grose said. 'I do think the more progressive argument, the lack of the social safety net, that can be pretty powerful in that district.' 'Corporate PAC money doesn't really matter to voters in that district,' he said. 'the social safety net does matter.' Grose also noted that Villegas not accepting corporate money won't stop those PACs from spending on the race, either for or against him. 'If purposely you're trying to raise less money, it's going to make it harder,' Grose said. 'Valadao will be spending money.' Despite the blowback from the vote on HR1, Grose believes Valadao will survive the state's top-two primary system to be one of the candidates in the general election. That just leaves the other candidate, and in the 22nd District, Grose said he thinks a more moderate stance is the winning option. 'More moderate is more competitive; the district is more 'small c' conservative,' Grose said. 'Democrats there are different from the rest of the state.'
