Obama to face treason charges over Russia collusion ‘hoax'? Tulsi Gabbard drops bombshell
Gabbard said that former President Barack Obama's administration knew before and after President Donald Trump's first election win that Russia did not affect the outcome through cyberattacks. She added that all documents will be provided to the Justice Department 'to deliver the accountability that President [Donald] Trump, his family, and the American people deserve'.
'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,' Gabbard said in the statement.
Gabbard's memo named former DNI James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, among others.
A September 12, 2016, document included an Intelligence Community Assessment that determined 'foreign adversaries do not have and will probably not obtain the capabilities to successfully execute widespread and undetected cyber attacks'.
Later that year, Clapper's office said: 'Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the US Presidential election outcome. We have no evidence of cyber manipulation of election infrastructure intended to alter results.'
Clapper, Brennan and Comey have not commented on the new revelations.
When Can One Be Charged with Treason in the United States?
In the United States, treason is defined under Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution and codified in 18 U.S.C. § 2381. A person can be charged with treason if they: Levy war against the United States, or, adhere to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort.
The individual must commit a tangible act, such as organizing or participating in armed rebellion or providing material support to a designated enemy. There must be clear intent to betray the U.S., demonstrated through actions or statements.
The Constitution requires two witnesses to the same overt act or a confession in open court for conviction.
Rep Jim Himes accused Gabbard of 'rehashing decade-old false claims about the Obama Administration'.
'Baseless accusations of treason are unfortunately par for the course for this Director of National Intelligence, but that doesn't make them any less damaging and unacceptable. The IC leaders in 2016 understood that they took an oath to the Constitution, not President Trump. I wish Director Gabbard could say the same," he said.
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The Hindu
14 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S.-EU trade deal wards off further escalation but will raise costs for companies, consumers
President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, warding off Mr. Trump's threat of a 30% rate if no deal had been reached by August 1. The tariffs, or import taxes, paid when Americans buy European products could raise prices for U.S. consumers and dent profits for European companies and their partners who bring goods into the country. Here are some things to know about the trade deal between the United States and the European Union: What's in the agreement? Mr. Trump and Ms. von der Leyen's announcement, made during Mr. Trump's visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland, leaves many details to be filled in. The headline figure is a 15% tariff rate on 'the vast majority' of European goods brought into the US, including cars, computer chips and pharmaceuticals. It's lower than the 20% Mr. Trump initially proposed, and lower than his threats of 50% and then 30%. Ms. von der Leyen said the two sides agreed on zero tariffs on a range of 'strategic' goods: Aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, and some natural resources and critical raw materials. Specifics were lacking. She said the two sides 'would keep working' to add more products to the list. Additionally, the EU side would purchase what Mr. Trump said was $750 billion worth of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel to replace Russian energy supplies, and Europeans would invest an additional $600 billion in the U.S.. What's not in the deal? Mr. Trump said the 50% U.S. tariff on imported steel would remain; Ms. von der Leyen said the two sides agreed to further negotiations to fight a global steel glut, reduce tariffs and establish import quotas — that is, set amounts that can be imported, often at a lower rate. Mr. Trump said pharmaceuticals were not included in the deal. Ms. von der Leyen said the pharmaceuticals issue was 'on a separate sheet of paper' from Sunday's (July 27, 2025) deal. Where the $600 billion for additional investment would come from was not specified. And Ms. von der Leyen said that when it came to farm products, the EU side made clear that 'there were tariffs that could not be lowered,' without specifying which products. What's the impact? The 15% rate removes Mr. Trump's threat of a 30% tariff. It's still much higher than the average tariff before Mr. Trump came into office of around 1%, and higher than Mr. Trump's minimum 10% baseline tariff. Higher tariffs, or import taxes, on European goods mean sellers in the U.S. would have to either increase prices for consumers — risking loss of market share — or swallow the added cost in terms of lower profits. The higher tariffs are expected to hurt export earnings for European firms and slow the economy. The 10% baseline applied while the deal was negotiated was already sufficiently high to make the European Union's executive commission cut its growth forecast for this year from 1.3% to 0.9%. Ms. Von der Leyen said the 15% rate was 'the best we could do' and credited the deal with maintaining access to the US market and providing 'stability and predictability for companies on both sides.' What is some of the reaction to the deal? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal, which avoided 'an unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations" and said that 'we were able to preserve our core interests,' while adding that 'I would have very much wished for further relief in transatlantic trade.' The Federation of German Industries was blunter. "Even a 15% tariff rate will have immense negative effects on export-oriented German industry," said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the federation's leadership. While the rate is lower than threatened, "the big caveat to today's deal is that there is nothing on paper, yet," said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank. 'With this disclaimer in mind and at face value, today's agreement would clearly bring an end to the uncertainty of recent months. An escalation of the US-EU trade tensions would have been a severe risk for the global economy," Mr. Brzeski said. 'This risk seems to have been avoided.' What about car companies? Asked if European carmakers could still sell cars at 15%, Ms. von der Leyen said the rate was much lower than the current 27.5%. That has been the rate under Mr. Trump's 25% tariff on cars from all countries, plus the preexisting U.S. car tariff of 2.5%. The impact is likely to be substantial on some companies, given that automaker Volkswagen said it suffered a $1.5 billion hit to profit in the first half of the year from the higher tariffs. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo 'significant increases' in coming years. What were the issues dividing the two sides? Before Mr. Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained generally low tariff levels in what is the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, with some USD 2 trillion in annual trade. Together, the U.S. and the EU have 44% of the global economy. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. Mr. Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more from European businesses than the other way around, and has said the European market is not open enough for U.S.-made cars. However, American companies fill some of the trade gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. And some 30% of European imports are from American-owned companies, according to the European Central Bank.
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Business Standard
14 minutes ago
- Business Standard
US-EU trade deal wards off escalation, to raise costs for firms, consumers
President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have announced a sweeping trade deal that imposes 15 per cent tariffs on most European goods, warding off Trump's threat of a 30 per cent rate if no deal had been reached by August 1. The tariffs, or import taxes, paid when Americans buy European products could raise prices for US consumers and dent profits for European companies and their partners who bring goods into the country. Here are some things to know about the trade deal between the United States and the European Union: What's in the agreement? Trump and von der Leyen's announcement, made during Trump's visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland, leaves many details to be filled in. The headline figure is a 15 per cent tariff rate on the vast majority of European goods brought into the US, including cars, computer chips and pharmaceuticals. It's lower than the 20 per cent Trump initially proposed, and lower than his threats of 50 per cent and then 30 per cent. Von der Leyen said the two sides agreed on zero tariffs on both sides for a range of strategic goods: Aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, and some natural resources and critical raw materials. Specifics were lacking. She said the two sides would keep working to add more products to the list. Additionally, the EU side would purchase what Trump said was USD 750 billion worth of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel to replace Russian energy supplies, and Europeans would invest an additional USD 600 billion in the US. What's not in the deal? Trump said the 50 per cent US tariff on imported steel would remain; von der Leyen said the two sides agreed to further negotiations to fight a global steel glut, reduce tariffs and establish import quotas that is, set amounts that can be imported, often at a lower rate. Trump said pharmaceuticals were not included in the deal. Von der Leyen said the pharmaceuticals issue was on a separate sheet of paper from Sunday's deal. Where the $600 billion for additional investment would come from was not specified. And von der Leyen said that when it came to farm products, the EU side made clear that there were tariffs that could not be lowered, without specifying which products. What's the impact? The 15 per cent rate removes Trump's threat of a 30 per cent tariff. It's still much higher than the average tariff before Trump came into office of around 1 per cent, and higher than Trump's minimum 10 per cent baseline tariff. Higher tariffs, or import taxes, on European goods mean sellers in the US would have to either increase prices for consumers risking loss of market share or swallow the added cost in terms of lower profits. The higher tariffs are expected to hurt export earnings for European firms and slow the economy. The 10 per cent baseline applied while the deal was negotiated was already sufficiently high to make the European Union's executive commission cut its growth forecast for this year from 1.3 per cent to 0.9 per cent. Von der Leyen said the 15 per cent rate was the best we could do and credited the deal with maintaining access to the US market and providing stability and predictability for companies on both sides. What is some of the reaction to the deal? German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the deal which avoided an unnecessary escalation in transatlantic trade relations" and said that we were able to preserve our core interests, while adding that I would have very much wished for further relief in transatlantic trade. The Federation of German Industries was blunter. "Even a 15 per cent tariff rate will have immense negative effects on export-oriented German industry," said Wolfgang Niedermark, a member of the federation's leadership. While the rate is lower than threatened, "the big caveat to today's deal is that there is nothing on paper, yet," said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank. With this disclaimer in mind and at face value, today's agreement would clearly bring an end to the uncertainty of recent months. An escalation of the US-EU trade tensions would have been a severe risk for the global economy," Brzeski said. This risk seems to have been avoided. What about car companies? Asked if European carmakers could still sell cars at 15 per cent, von der Leyen said the rate was much lower than the current 27.5 per cent. That has been the rate under Trump's 25 per cent tariff on cars from all countries, plus the preexisting US car tariff of 2.5 per cent. The impact is likely to be substantial on some companies, given that automaker Volkswagen said it suffered a $1.5 billion hit to profit in the first half of the year from the higher tariffs. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices until further notice. The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35 per cent of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the US in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo significant increases in coming years. What were the issues dividing the two sides? Before Trump returned to office, the US and the EU maintained generally low tariff levels in what is the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, with some USD 2 trillion in annual trade. Together the US and the EU have 44 per cent of the global economy. The US rate averaged 1.47 per cent for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35 per cent for American products, according to the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more from European businesses than the other way around, and has said the European market is not open enough for US-made cars. However, American companies fill some of the trade gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. And some 30 per cent of European imports are from American-owned companies, according to the European Central Bank. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India Today
14 minutes ago
- India Today
US assisting in Cambodia-Thailand talks, conflict needs to end: Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said American officials are in Malaysia to help mediate talks between Cambodia and Thailand, in order to bring an end to the conflict between the two neighbouring countries."Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to begin high-level talks in Malaysia shortly in hopes of achieving an immediate ceasefire. State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts," Rubio said in a statement released on also confirmed that both he and President Donald Trump are closely involved in monitoring the situation. "Both President Donald Trump and I remain engaged with our respective counterparts for each country and are monitoring the situation very closely. We want this conflict to end as soon as possible," he added. WHY THE TALKS MATTER The meeting comes as tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have escalated. Both countries have blamed each other for launching artillery attacks across disputed border areas. Talks in Malaysia mark the first major diplomatic effort to ease the violence that escalated over the past few conflict intensified in late May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief skirmish. Troops on both sides of the border were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of resumed last Thursday and quickly turned into the worst military clash between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in over ten far, more than 30 people have died in the clashes, including 13 civilians in Thailand and 8 in Cambodia. Officials said over 200,000 people have been forced to flee from border regions to avoid the THREATENS TO HALT TRADE DEALSUS President Trump said on Sunday that both Cambodia and Thailand had agreed to begin negotiations after he warned their leaders that continuing the conflict could hurt future US trade deals. However, Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas early on revealed that he personally spoke with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham said he made it clear that ongoing violence would jeopardize trade agreements with the US. "I told both leaders that if the fighting doesn't stop, we will not move forward with any trade deals. We believe both sides want peace, and we're doing everything we can to support that," Trump said in a Truth Social of Monday, the Cambodian and Thai leaders are scheduled to meet face-to-face in Kuala Lumpur for direct talks. The acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead the negotiating team, the Thai government said in a statement. Talks are scheduled to begin at 3 pm local time (0700 GMT).- EndsWith inputs from ReutersTune InMust Watch
