Latest news with #Gabbard
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
US senator's letter suggests Apple may not be the only tech company fighting UK's ‘backdoor' entry request
Senator Ron Wyden has formally requested Tulsi Gabbard , Director of National Intelligence, to initiate an investigation into the UK's alleged digital spying practices, raising alarms that British surveillance laws may be compromising the private data of millions of Americans. In a letter, Wyden suggested that Google, alongside Apple , may have been secretly pressured to allow 'backdoor' access to user data. The senator's concern stems from Google's refusal to clarify if it has received such a demand, stating only that it would be prohibited from disclosing such a request if one existed. Citing the letter, The Washington Post said Google told the Senator's office it could not confirm or deny whether the British government had demanded 'backdoor' access to private user data on its services. This raises serious questions about whether Google, like Apple, has faced such secret demands. Apple has resisted the attempts to access encrypted user data , with reports surfacing earlier this year that the UK Home Office had secretly ordered Apple to create a backdoor for encrypted messages. In response, Apple disabled its most secure data storage option for UK users, while maintaining it globally. Wyden had previously written to Gabbard, urging her to demand the UK retract its order. Gabbard had concurred, calling such a backdoor demand 'a clear and egregious violation of Americans' privacy and civil liberties.' Apple is currently challenging the order in a British surveillance court. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Was Everyone's Dream Girl In 90's, This Is Her Now The Latest Article Undo Google may have faced Apple-like pressure from UK: Wyden Wyden's latest letter suggests that the privacy implications extend far beyond Apple users. While Meta, offering encrypted messaging via WhatsApp and Instagram, told Wyden's office in March it had received no such backdoor requests from the UK, Google's non-committal response is deeply troubling, he said. 'When my office asked Google about backdoor demands from the UK, the company did not answer the question, only stating that if it had received [such a demand], it would be prohibited from disclosing that fact,' Wyden wrote, noting this was the same response Apple had previously given. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP stops short of backing Gabbard, Trump on arresting Obama officials
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's document releases about the Obama administration's review of the 2016 election are leading President Trump to call for prosecution of former officials, including his predecessor. But many Republicans in Congress aren't ready to go quite that far. While Trump's GOP supporters in Congress have united in expressing outrage, they have varying ideas of what accountability looks like. And Democrats say the Trump administration is completely misrepresenting the facts while abusing intelligence and the justice system. They also see it as a bid to distract from growing pressure on the White House to release more information about Jeffrey Epstein. The files reveal little new information about Russia's much-studied efforts to influence the 2016 election, but Republicans have nonetheless claimed the intelligence reviews were designed to cast doubt on Trump's victory. The documents do not undercut a central conclusion: that Russia lunched a massive campaign with the hopes of influencing the contest. House GOP leaders are vowing Congress will investigate, but are stopping short of calling for prosecutions, as Trump has, or proposing any tangible consequences for those named in the newly released documents. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) called Gabbard's disclosures 'pretty earth-shattering.' But Scalise declined to call for arrests or prosecutions. 'There needs to be accountability,' Scalise said. 'But now our committees are going to go to work. There's a lot of work to do to find out more. …. You follow the evidence wherever it leads, and then if somebody broke laws, you take action. We're at the beginning stages of this. So let's find out where it leads.' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Fox Business Network last week that 'it would appear that laws have been broken by any number of people,' also alluding to congressional action. 'We will use every tool within our arsenal to bring about accountability here. And if we have to create and pioneer new tools, we'll do that as well,' Johnson said. The reaction showcases yet another fracture between congressional Republicans who are normally in lockstep behind Trump — though a much smaller one than the split over files relating to Epstein, which many Republicans have continued to seek despite Trump's calling interest in the matter a 'hoax.' If the administration did pursue charges against former President Obama, it would likely be hamstrung as a result of Trump's own legal battles. The Supreme Court in 2024 sided with Trump in determining that former presidents retain immunity from criminal prosecution even after they leave office for actions within the scope of their executive power. Further dissection of the limits of that immunity went unexplored when the underlying case was dismissed after Trump's reelection. But Democrats argue the biggest roadblock would be that the GOP claims don't align with the facts — and some are eager for the courts to tell Republicans just that. 'Tulsi Gabbard has leveled some of the most serious charges ever leveled against an American at a former president. Bring charges. Bring charges,' said Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. 'And the reason I want her to bring charges is that there is not a court in the United States that will do anything other than to laugh hysterically over the bulls‑‑‑ that Tulsi Gabbard is peddling right now.' 'They're not dumping documents. They're making up lies,' Himes added. Gabbard earlier this month released a report she said unearths a 'treasonous conspiracy' against Trump when it comes to the 'Russia hoax.' In fact, what she released shows intelligence leaders discussing how the Russians were never able to alter vote tabulations — something that was never in dispute and aligns with what Obama officials said publicly at the time. What intelligence did find, and what several reviews have since backed, was that Russia embarked on a massive social media campaign in the hopes of sowing division in the U.S. Last week, Gabbard released another report, this time a classified review led by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. That report cast doubt on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to aid Trump as opposed to sowing discord within the U.S. And in the process, she infuriated Democrats, who argued she exposed sources and methods for gathering intelligence. However, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report, a panel led at the time by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, backed the conclusion Russia favored Trump. 'Moscow's intent was to harm the Clinton Campaign, tarnish an expected Clinton presidential administration, help the Trump Campaign after Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, and undermine the U.S. democratic process,' that report concluded. Nonetheless, Trump this week said the new files 'have [Obama] stone-cold,' saying the 44th president needs to be investigated. 'They tried to rig the election, and they got caught. And there should be very severe consequences for that,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week. On his Truth Social website, Trump posted what appeared to be an AI-generated meme of Obama administration officials — including the former president himself — posing for mug shots in orange jumpsuits. And he shared an AI-generated video of Obama being handcuffed and arrested. Obama's team issued a rare public statement, calling the claims an effort at distraction. 'Our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' an Obama spokesperson said. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.' Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) signaled she would like to see arrests in light of the releases from Gabbard. 'If they don't arrest people, this systemic corruption will just continue,' Luna told The Blaze. In the upper chamber, meanwhile, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) last week called for a special counsel to be appointed, saying there must be 'an immediate investigation of what we believe to be an unprecedented and clear abuse of power by a U.S. presidential administration.' Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), normally a staunch supporter of Trump, said calls for indictments over Gabbard's releases are 'way too premature.' 'Let the facts determine what happens,' Norman said. Updated at 8:45 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump CIA chief: Brennan, Comey and Hillary Clinton could face indictment
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said he made referrals to the Justice Department for former Obama administration officials following the release of intelligence information about the 2016 election. Ratcliffe said that former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper, and former FBI Director James Comey could all face charges relating to what he called a 'hoax' about the election. Tulsi Gabbard, who now leads DNI in the Trump administration, last week released two sets of documents about the 2016 election. The files reveal little new information about Russia's much-studied efforts to influence the 2016 election, but Republicans have nonetheless claimed the intelligence reviews were designed to cast doubt on Trump's victory. The documents do not undercut a central conclusion: that Russia lunched a massive campaign with the hopes of influencing the contest. 'That's why I've made the referrals that I have, DNI Gabbard has made referrals, and why we're gonna continue to share the intelligence that would support the ability of our Department of Justice to make fair and just, bring fair and justice claims against those who have perpetrated this hoax against the American people and this stain on our country,' Ratcliffe said during an appearance on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures. The releases from Gabbard came amid ongoing pressure on the Trump administration to release files related to the controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. They also followed a period in which Gabbard seemed to have lost some clout within the administration. While Gabbard has claimed the documents she has released show a 'treasonous conspiracy,' they largely show intelligence leaders discussing how the Russians were never able to alter vote tabulations — something that was never in dispute and that aligns with what Obama officials said publicly at the time. What intelligence did find, and which several reviews have since backed, was that Russia embarked on a massive social media campaign in the hopes of sowing division in the U.S. Last week, Gabbard released another report, this time a classified review led by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. That report cast doubt on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to aid Trump as opposed to sowing discord within the U.S. In the process of releasing that report, Gabbard infuriated Democrats, who argued she exposed sources and methods for gathering intelligence. At the time the classified report was conducted, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report, a panel led at the time by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, blacked the conclusion Russia favored Trump. Nonetheless, the Justice Department has since established a so-called Strike Force to review the information. Ratcliffe said there would also be additional information released. 'John Brennan testified to John Durham in August of 2020. He also testified to the House Oversight Committee in 2022. Hillary Clinton testified before John Durham under oath in 2022. James Comey testified before the Senate committee in September, 2020. All of that's within the last five years. And much of that testimony is frankly, completely inconsistent with what our underlying intelligence that is about to be declassified in the Durham Annex — what that reflects,' he said. 'And so, you know, [Attorney General] Pam Bondi does have a strike force. It is a different Department of Justice, a different FBI, and an opportunity to look at how these people really did conspire to run a hoax, a fraud on the American people and against Donald Trump's presidency.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
WATCH: Gabbard's Obama bombshell has GOP demanding accountability while Dems question timing as 'distraction'
After reports that top officials from the Obama administration allegedly orchestrated a coordinated attempt to sabotage President Donald Trump's 2016 election victory, GOP lawmakers are calling for transparency and accountability, while their Democratic colleagues are questioning the timing and credibility of the new claims. Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, released a trove of intelligence documents beginning last week that Gabbard has said show former President Barack Obama and some of his closest advisors promoted a "contrived narrative" that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to sabotage Trump. However, Democrats have insisted that congressional investigations already prove that Russia did help Trump in the 2016 election, while also questioning the timing of the allegations due to pressure on Trump to release more Epstein files. "It is profoundly dishonest, and it's dangerous," Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News Digital, in reference to the allegations from Gabbard. "What I have urged the administration to do is engage in radical transparency, make it all public and expose just how much the Obama administration knew what they were doing – that they knew they were lying. I think anybody that violated the law needs to be held accountable." Dni Gabbard Claims 'Deep State Actors' Didn't Want Trump-russia Information To 'See The Light Of Day' But Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff told Fox News Digital he thinks the allegations are moot, pointing to former FBI Director Robert Mueller's 2019 report, which he said "documented Russia's efforts to help denigrate Hillary Clinton, which gave a boost to the Trump campaign. Read On The Fox News App "I think what Gabbard and her staff are doing is dishonest," he added. However, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford argued it has "long been established" that the Steele dossier was "clearly a Clinton plant" and that the Clinton campaign was actually "cooperating with the Russians to be able to actually use the Russians to be able to interfere with President Trump's campaign." "What Tulsi Gabbard is pulling out is to say, 'How deep did this go into the White House that they knew about the Steele Dossier, they knew it was a Clinton document. When did they start pushing this out, and what official resources were they using to try to add validity to this to be able to undercut the election?'" Lankford said. "We got a long way to go still, but it's good to be able to get all information out, to be able to pull it out there and to say, 'Let's let everybody look at it and let the chips fall where they may.'" Obama-era Officials Mum On Allegations Of 'Manufactured' Intelligence Launching Trump-russia Probe Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he believed Gabbard was doing the right thing, also expressing hope for extreme transparency amid the alarming allegations. "Part of what this election was about, it was about transparency and government accountability. And that's exactly what [Gabbard] is trying to do, and that's exactly what the Trump administration is trying to do," Scott said. "Let's get the people the facts. Let's follow where the facts are. If somebody's done anything, we'll hold them accountable. So, i think the right process is what's happening." Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA analyst, questioned the timing of Gabbard's release of the information, saying even her 10-year-old nephew understood the move as "a dodge and a distraction" to get eyes off the ongoing Epstein controversy. Amid Gabbard's document release at the beginning of last week, Trump has been facing calls from within the GOP for the release of more documents and information pertaining to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. "President Trump had four years in his first term, and all the time since then, to go after this issue, and he picks the same day that his name appears in the Epstein files to talk about Barack Obama," Slotkin told Fox News Digital. "American people are not dumb. Like, we get it. Trump wanted to talk about something different. I have to see these reports, and see how they're sourced. … I like to read and make my own assessment. But the timing can't be missed. The president is trying to dodge and distract you." While partisan affiliation may play a part in how lawmakers and the broader public view the Obama allegations released by Gabbard, Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said he thinks the issue "transcends" party affiliation. "Republican, Democrat, I mean, you know, this is something that transcends all that. This is really important," Boozman told Fox News Digital. "Hopefully we'll have open transparency so people will understand what's going on. And whatever it is, I'm sure Congress will be involved, and certainly the Justice Department is involved. So, I think these are all good things."Original article source: WATCH: Gabbard's Obama bombshell has GOP demanding accountability while Dems question timing as 'distraction'
Axios
2 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
GOP leans into Trump administration's Obama accusations
Some Republican lawmakers on Sunday platformed the administration's recent claims that Obama-era officials waged a Russia-related conspiracy against President Trump — but stopped short of endorsing the president's allegations of "treason." The big picture: Trump is again bemoaning a years-long grudge against the widely held conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, following new accusations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of a " treasonous conspiracy" from former President Barack Obama to sabotage Trump's first term. The initial accusations centered around findings from the Obama-era intelligence community that Russia didn't alter vote tallies by hacking election infrastructure. But as Axios' Zachary Basu and Tal Axelrod note, no serious investigation ever claimed Russia changed them. Last week, Gabbard declassified a report from 2020 that she alleges proves the Obama administration "conspired to subvert the will of the American people" and engaged in a "years-long coup against" Trump. In a rare rebuke, a spokesperson for Obama slammed the administration's claims as "a weak attempt at distraction." Driving the news: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for an investigation into the matter Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If there is evidence of a crime being committed or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it," he said. "I think that's the best way to go." Asked by NBC's Kristen Welker whether the new controversy was an attempt to distract from the ongoing fallout from the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Graham argued he was trying to shed light on "something we didn't know before." The other side: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, slammed Gabbard as a "weapon of mass distraction" on "Fox News Sunday," arguing there was "no new information" released. "It's new to you, but all of this information has been available to the House Intelligence Committee, including in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, when all these investigations and reviews were done under the first Trump administration," Crow said, later adding that no information had been "purposefully hidden." In 2020, a Republican-led Senate panel affirmed the intelligence committee's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election and preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton. Zoom in: But Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), the chair of the House Intel Committee, slammed what he called the "Russia collusion hoax" in a "Fox News Sunday" interview, describing it as "a fraud perpetrated on the American people at the expense of President Trump." But "with regard to the claims of treason, I'll leave that to the courts to make that determination," he noted. The bottom line: As Trump launches fresh attacks against his predecessors, questions about his administration's handling of the disgraced financier's case are still rippling through Washington. The competing narratives of the ongoing Epstein fallout, over which the president has cried "hoax," and the reinvigorated anger over the Russia investigation are in many ways both rooted in Trump's vision of a "witch hunt" that's plagued his political career, Axios' Basu notes. Trump quickly seized on the Obama storyline, sharing a seemingly AI-generated video of the former president being arrested earlier this month, and more recently, an edited photo of himself pursuing Obama in a car chase.
