Latest news with #RussiaInvestigation
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
MAGA turns its fury on CIA Director John Ratcliffe
President Donald Trump's MAGA supporters have a new target for their fury: his CIA director John Ratcliffe. And it's all because of Barack Obama. Ratcliffe, who served as the director of the Office of National Intelligence (ODNI) in Trump's first administration, is one of the president's most loyal supporters. But now MAGA supporters are asking why he didn't originally declassify the documents tied to the investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 election that were released last week. Criticism arose after Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's current intel chief, released a report that accused Obama of being behind a 'treasonous conspiracy' to allege Russia interfered in the 2020 election on Trump's behalf. Now MAGA supporters are furious that this did not come to light earlier. 'Wait! The current CIA director John Ratcliffe had the position of ODNI in the first Trump administration. Why didn't he declassify the documents proving the Russian collusion corruption by the Obama cabal that Tulsi Gabbard has now made public?,' Trump loyalist Roger Stone wrote on X. The CIA did not immediately respond to Daily Mail's request for comment. But in Trump's first term, Ratcliffe did release some documents tied to the Russia investigation, including a CIA memo that revealed Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to publicly tie Trump to the country's hack of the Democratic National Committee. At that time, Trump was running against Joe Biden for a second term in the White House - a contest he would ultimately lose. His campaign seized upon Ratcliffe's move as new evidence that Clinton was in a scheme to discredit Trump, who refers to the matter as the 'Russia hoax.' Additionally, in this Trump term, Ratcliffe and Gabbard have declassified information to allege Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence and conspired to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's win in 2016. And, earlier this month Ratcliffe released an internal CIA review of its Russia investigation, which found the agency failed in some cases to follow standard procedures. Ratcliffe, a longtime Trump loyalist, argued the review showed that Democratic appointees who led the agency at the time 'manipulated intelligence and silenced career professionals — all to get Trump.' Gabbard added fuel to the fire on Friday when she released a 114-page document that she says shows the Obama administration was aware that there was no threat of Russia 'directly' manipulating the vote in 2016. '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 in a statement. She called for an investigation into and potential criminal prosecution of anyone who took part – which may include Obama and James Comey, the former FBI director. Obama fired back at the 'bizarre allegations' coming from Trump. His office dismissed the claims as another example of the constant 'nonsense and misinformation' that emanates out of the White House. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' his post-presidency office said in a statement. The documents revealed insider discussions among top Obama officials about Russia 's much-debated role in the 2016 U.S. elections. Trump latched on to them and issued an extraordinary call to investigate the former president – accusing his predecessor of 'treason.' 'After what they did to me, whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people,' Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. President Trump accused his Democratic rivals of organizing a failed 'coup' in 2016, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton and captured the White House . 'They tried to rig the election and they got caught and there should be really severe consequences,' he said. Trump has long argued that the FBI counterintelligence probe that began during the 2016 election was the start of a 'coup' to prevent him from taking office. But a bipartisan Senate investigation in 2020 found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. One of the leaders of that probe was Marco Rubio, who was a senator on the intelligence committee at the time and now serves as Trump's secretary of state.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
MAGA turns its fury on a new Trump aide being blamed for 'helping' Obama
President Donald Trump 's MAGA supporters have a new target for their fury: his CIA director John Ratcliffe. And it's all because of Barack Obama. Ratcliffe, who served as the director of the Office of National Intelligence (ODNI) in Trump's first administration, is one of the president's most loyal supporters. But now MAGA supporters are asking why he didn't originally declassify the documents tied to the investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 election that were released last week. Criticism arose after Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's current intel chief, released a report that accused Obama of being behind a 'treasonous conspiracy' to allege Russia interfered in the 2020 election on Trump's behalf. Now MAGA supporters are furious that this did not come to light earlier. 'Wait! The current CIA director John Ratcliffe had the position of ODNI in the first Trump administration. Why didn't he declassify the documents proving the Russian collusion corruption by the Obama cabal that Tulsi Gabbard has now made public?,' Trump loyalist Roger Stone wrote on X. The CIA did not immediately respond to Daily Mail's request for comment. But in Trump's first term, Ratcliffe did release some documents tied to the Russia investigation, including a CIA memo that revealed Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to publicly tie Trump to the country's hack of the Democratic National Committee. At that time, Trump was running against Joe Biden for a second term in the White House - a contest he would ultimately lose. His campaign seized upon Ratcliffe's move as new evidence that Clinton was in a scheme to discredit Trump, who refers to the matter as the 'Russia hoax.' Additionally, in this Trump term, Ratcliffe and Gabbard have declassified information to allege Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence and conspired to undermine the legitimacy of Trump's win in 2016. And, earlier this month Ratcliffe released an internal CIA review of its Russia investigation, which found the agency failed in some cases to follow standard procedures. Ratcliffe, a longtime Trump loyalist, argued the review showed that Democratic appointees who led the agency at the time 'manipulated intelligence and silenced career professionals — all to get Trump.' Gabbard added fuel to the fire on Friday when she released a 114-page document that she says shows the Obama administration was aware that there was no threat of Russia 'directly' manipulating the vote in 2016. '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 in a statement. She called for an investigation into and potential criminal prosecution of anyone who took part – which may include Obama and James Comey, the former FBI director. Obama fired back at the 'bizarre allegations' coming from Trump. His office dismissed the claims as another example of the constant 'nonsense and misinformation' that emanates out of the White House. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' his post-presidency office said in a statement. The documents revealed insider discussions among top Obama officials about Russia 's much-debated role in the 2016 U.S. elections. Trump latched on to them and issued an extraordinary call to investigate the former president – accusing his predecessor of 'treason.' 'After what they did to me, whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people,' Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. President Trump accused his Democratic rivals of organizing a failed 'coup' in 2016, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton and captured the White House. 'They tried to rig the election and they got caught and there should be really severe consequences,' he said. Trump has long argued that the FBI counterintelligence probe that began during the 2016 election was the start of a 'coup' to prevent him from taking office. But a bipartisan Senate investigation in 2020 found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. One of the leaders of that probe was Marco Rubio, who was a senator on the intelligence committee at the time and now serves as Trump's secretary of state.
Arab News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Trump rehashes years-old grievances on Russia investigation after new intelligence report
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump rehashed longstanding grievances over the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his first term, lashing out Tuesday following a new report from his intelligence director aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow's interference in the 2016 election. 'It's time to go after people,' Trump said from the Oval Office as he repeated a baseless claim that former President Barack Obama and other officials had engaged in treason. Trump was not making his claims for the first time, but he delivered them when administration officials are harnessing the machinery of the federal government to investigate the targets of Trump's derision, including key officials responsible for scrutinizing Russia's attempts to intervene on Trump's behalf in 2016. The backward-looking inquiries are taking place even as the Republican administration's national security agencies are confronting global threats. But they have served as a rallying cry for Trump, who is trying to unify a political base at odds over the Jeffrey Epstein case, with some allies pressing to disclose more information despite the president's push to turn the page. Trump's attack prompted a rare response from Obama's post-presidential office. 'Our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesman. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.' Gabbard's new report on the Russia investigation Trump's tirade, a detour from his official business as he hosted the leader of the Philippines, unfolded against the backdrop of a new report from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that represented his administration's latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, which has infuriated him for years. The report, released Friday, downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump's favor. But Obama's Democratic administration never suggested otherwise, even as it exposed other means by which Russia interfered in the election, including through a massive hack-and-leak operation of Democratic emails by intelligence operatives working with WikiLeaks, as well as a covert influence campaign aimed at swaying public opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts. Gabbard's report appears to suggest the absence of manipulation of state election systems is a basis to call into question more general Russian interference. By issuing it, she appeared to recover her standing in Trump's orbit, which just one month ago had seemed uncertain after Trump said she was 'wrong' when she previously said she believed Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon. 'She's the hottest one in the room right now,' Trump said Tuesday night. 'Tulsi, great job — and I know you have a lot more coming.' Democrats, for their part, swiftly decried the report as factually flawed and politically motivated. 'It is sadly not surprising that DNI Gabbard, who promised to depoliticize the intelligence community, is once again weaponizing her position to amplify the president's election conspiracy theories,' Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote on X. Several investigations found Russian interference in 2016 Russia's broad interference in 2016 has been established through a series of investigations, including special counsel Robert Mueller's report, which concluded that the Trump campaign welcomed the Kremlin's help but also found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy. A House Intelligence Committee report also documented Russia's meddling, as did the Senate Intelligence Committee, which concluded its work in 2020 at a time when the panel was led by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who's now Trump's secretary of state. A different special counsel appointed by the Trump Justice Department to hunt for problems in the origins of the Russia investigation, John Durham, did find flaws, but not related to what Gabbard sought to highlight in her report. 'Few episodes in our nation's history have been investigated as thoroughly as the Intelligence Community's warning in 2016 that Russia was interfering in the election,' said Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. He added that every legitimate investigation, including the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee probe, 'found no evidence of politicization and endorsed the findings' of an intelligence committee assessment on Russian interference made public in 2017. Gabbard's document was released weeks after a CIA report that reexamined that earlier intelligence community assessment. That new review, ordered by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, did not dispute Russia had interfered but suggested officials were rushed in the assessment they reached. Trump administration is seeking investigations of former officials Ratcliffe has since referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for investigation, a person familiar with the matter has said. The department earlier this month appeared to acknowledge an open investigation into Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey in an unusual statement, but the status and contours of the inquiries are unclear. Besides Obama, Trump on Tuesday rattled off a list of people he accused of acting criminally 'at the highest level,' including Comey, his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and former national intelligence director James Clapper. He accused Obama, without evidence, of being the 'ringleader' of a conspiracy to get him. Obama has never been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the Russia investigation, and, in any event, a landmark Supreme Court opinion from last year shields former presidents from prosecution for official acts conducted in office. Trump launched his tirade when asked about the Justice Department's effort to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Epstein, who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls. 'I don't really follow that too much,' he said. 'It's sort of a witch hunt, a continuation of the witch hunt.' Trump is under pressure from conspiracy-minded segments of his political base to release more about the Epstein case. Democrats say Trump is resisting because of his past association with Epstein. Trump has denied knowledge of or involvement with Epstein's crimes and said he ended their friendship years ago.
National Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
'Ridiculous': Obama responds to Trump claim he was 'ringleader' in conspiracy to 'rig' 2016 election
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump rehashed longstanding grievances over the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his first term, lashing out Tuesday following a new report from his intelligence director aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow's interference in the 2016 election. Article content 'It's time to go after people,' Trump said from the Oval Office as he repeated a baseless claim that former President Barack Obama and other officials had engaged in treason. Article content Article content Trump was not making his claims for the first time, but he delivered them when administration officials are harnessing the machinery of the federal government to investigate the targets of Trump's derision, including key officials responsible for scrutinizing Russia's attempts to intervene on Trump's behalf in 2016. Article content Article content The backward-looking inquiries are taking place even as the Republican administration's national security agencies are confronting global threats. But they have served as a rallying cry for Trump, who is trying to unify a political base at odds over the Jeffrey Epstein case, with some allies pressing to disclose more information despite the president's push to turn the page. Article content Trump's attack prompted a rare response from Obama's post-presidential office. 'Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesman. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Article content Article content 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.' Article content Trump's tirade, a detour from his official business as he hosted the leader of the Philippines, unfolded against the backdrop of a new report from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that represented his administration's latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, which has infuriated him for years. Article content The report, released Friday, downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump's favor.
CBC
22-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Trump revives old grievances in Oval Office rant, accusing Obama of treason
U.S. President Donald Trump rehashed long-standing grievances Tuesday over the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his first term, criticizing former president Barack Obama and others following a new report from his intelligence director aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow's interference in the 2016 election. "It's time to go after people," Trump said from the Oval Office, as he repeated a baseless claim that Obama and other officials had engaged in treason. Trump accused the former president, without evidence, of being the "ringleader" of a conspiracy to get him. "The leader of the gang was President Obama," he said. "He's guilty.... This was treason." The former president's office issued a rare response to the allegations, saying "these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. "Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response," said Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush. "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one." Rodenbush emphasized that multiple investigations, including a bipartisan examination by the Senate intelligence committee, found that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election. Obama has never been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the Russia investigation. As well, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court opinion from last year shields former presidents from prosecution for official acts conducted in office. Deflecting questions about Epstein case Trump launched his rant after being asked about the U.S. Justice Department's effort to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein who was convicted of helping the financier sexually abuse underage girls. "I don't really follow that too much," he said. "It's sort of a witch hunt, a continuation of the witch hunt." Trump is under pressure from conspiracy-minded segments of his political MAGA base to release more about the Epstein case. He's tried to move on, which Democrats say is because of his association with Epstein. Trump has denied knowledge or involvement of Epstein's crimes and said he ended their friendship years ago. Adding to that pressure is a recent Wall Street Journal story of a crude letter that Trump purportedly wrote to Epstein in 2003, alluding to secrets they shared. Trump has denied writing the letter and is now suing the paper and its owners. As the scrutiny has grown in recent weeks, Trump administration officials have escalated their focus on other matters like the Russia investigation. House shut down to avoid Epstein vote Meantime, House Speaker Mike Johnson rebuffed pressure to act on the investigation into Epstein, moving instead to send members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members clamouring for a vote. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House "space" to release the Epstein information on its own, despite the bipartisan push for legislation that aims to force the release of more documents. "There's no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they're already doing," Johnson said at his weekly press conference, his last before lawmakers depart Washington on Wednesday for their traditional August recess. Under pressure from right-wing online influencers, as well as voters back home, rank-and-file Republicans are demanding that the House intervene in the matter. "The public's not going to let this die, and rightfully so," said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican. WATCH | Seeking to distract: Are Trump's social posts an Epstein distraction tactic? 18 hours ago Political wedge Even with the month-long break, the pressure on Johnson is unlikely to end. Frustration in the House has been running high since last week, when Republican leaders signalled possible support for a vote on a bipartisan resolution to require the Justice Department and FBI to release all government documents on Epstein as they raced to pass a $9-billion US package of spending cuts. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican whose contrarian stances are often a thorn in the side of leadership, is gathering support for a legislative manoeuvre to force the bipartisan bill to a House vote, even without leadership's consent. "Now, there are a lot of people here in the swamp who think that, 'Oh, well, if we spend five weeks on vacation, the pressure for this will dissipate.' I don't think it's going to dissipate," Massie told reporters Monday evening. Democrats have repeatedly tried to force votes on the matter. "It's about transparency in government. It's about whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the rich and powerful, protecting men? Or are you on the side of young girls and America's children?" said Rep. Ro Khanna, the California Democrat who put forward the legislation alongside Massie. Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14, authorities say. He couldn't have done so without the help of Maxwell, his longtime companion, prosecutors contend. Massie said the case is palpable enough to carry significant political consequences. "This will be an issue that does follow Republicans through the midterms, and it will follow each individual Republican through the midterms," he told reporters. "It will follow people into their primaries. Did you support transparency and justice, or did you come up here, get elected and fall into the swamp?"
