Mike Waltz defends his use of Signal app during Senate hearing
During a Senate hearing, Waltz was questioned about adding The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat discussing a military operation in Yemen.
Waltz defended his actions by asserting that the use of Signal was authorized under Biden -era Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) guidance.
Conversely, Department of Defense policy explicitly prohibited the use of commercial encrypted messaging applications, including Signal, for transmitting non-public DoD information.
Signal group chat.
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Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump issues final trade deal threat with four days to price hike 'doomsday'
President Donald Trump levied a fresh threat to countries that have yet to announce trade deals with the U.S. with just four days to go before his new August 1 'doomsday' deadline. Trump skirted over the details when questioned about highly anticipated price hikes for steel, aluminum and pharmaceuticals, with vast economic impacts at stake in each sector. Then he was asked about what his tariff would be for the remaining countries that haven't landed a deal. 'I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 to 20 percent,' he said. 'Probably one of those two numbers,' Trump added, leaving himself some flexibility. But his latest trade agreements, with Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the EU, indicate that he remains firmly settled on keeping substantial tariffs in place. Trump repeatedly cheers the billions in revenue they bring in to the U.S. Treasury. Critics of the new policy have said these price hikes will get passed on to U.S. consumers. Trump's renewed threat came a day after he announced a major deal with the European Union. He said that EU countries would be facing a 15 percent tariff for exports to the U.S., after earlier threatening to impose a 30 percent tariff. He said U.S. exports would face no tariffs in EU countries. Trump met on Monday at his Turnberry club with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose government has been seeking to bring down 25 percent Trump-imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump got asked after his meeting if he would do anything to help British steel and aluminum manufacturers who might get hit, and when his tariff might come down to zero on that sector. 'We're a big buyer of steel. But we're going to make our own steel. We're going to make our own aluminum,' he said. Earlier Monday, before his meeting began, Trump also avoided details when the Daily Mail asked if he was going to come down on steel and aluminum. The White House had identified that as a top ask Trump might face at Turnberry. 'They did a great job,' Trump said, speaking in generalities while a bagpiper welcoming his guest played. 'They've been trying to make that deal for 12 years.' Trump also continues to brandish trade talks as a political weapon – in one case, pressing Cambodia and Thailand to stop cross-border attacks. 'That was going to be a very bad war,' Trump said. He said everything was 'settled.' Later, Trump wrote on Truth Social that both countries had agreed to a 'ceasefire and peace.' He said he had instructed his team to restart trade negotiations with them. That leaves India, Brazil, and South Korea as among the major economies with no deal yet. On Sunday, Trump announced he had reached a 'very powerful' trade deal with the European Union that would lower barriers to U.S. exports and bring new European investments into the U.S. Speaking from his Turnberry golf course, Trump said European Union countries would purchase $750 billion of energy from the U.S., and provide an additional $600 billion in U.S. investments. 'All of the countries will be opened up to trade with the United States at zero tariff, and they're agreeing to purchase a vast amount of military equipment,' Trump added. 'We don't know what that number is.' It came after Trump inveighed against 'one-sided' trade with Europe as he sat down at his Turnberry golf course with the EU Commission president, while raging against windmills and saying there were prospects for reaching a deal imminently. 'We wanted to rebalance the trade relations,' said EU Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen, confirming the agreement while sitting alongside Trump. Trump flashed his anger when a reporter asked if turmoil over the Jeffrey Epstein story had contributed to the rush to get the deal done. 'Oh, you've got to be kidding. No – had nothing to do with it. Only you would make that. That had nothing to do with it,' Trump responded. Both leaders made nice – after the 'Liberation Day' tariffs Trump rolled out in April threatened to cleave the powerful allies. Trump had more recently threatened a 30 percent tariff on the EU – providing an incentive to negotiate it down. Trump upon arriving here in Scotland said the powerful trade bloc must 'buy down' the number. 'Basically the European market is open,' said von der Leyen. 'It's 450 million people, so it's a good deal. It's a huge deal. Was tough negotiations. I knew it at the beginning, and it was indeed very tough, but we came to a good conclusion from both sides,' she said. The number comports with what had already been floated. 'We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else' would be 15 percent, said Trump. The agreement – with details still to be revealed – comes after Trump announced other agreements with Japan and other nations, while firing off a series of trade 'letters' announcing new tariffs he is imposing on other nations. Japan, too, would face a 15 percent rate on its auto exports to the U.S. After many economists warned that Trump's tariffs could break the alliance, the two leaders proclaimed new cooperation after they had agreed to broad terms. 'This deal will bring us very close together actually. It's a partnership in a sense,' Trump said. The progress came about an hour after Trump complained about the trade relationship. 'It's been a very one-sided transaction – very unfair to the United States,' he complained alongside von der Leyen, keeping her hands in her lap and her expressions muted. 'It's been a very, very one-sided deal, and it shouldn't be,' Trump fumed. He said a deal, if it can be reached, would be the biggest deal 'ever struck by anybody.' 'This is the biggest deal. People don't realize – this is bigger than any other deal. And it could happen – should happen,' he said. Fielding questions at a press event that put the 'working' in what his team calls a 'working visit,' Trump went off on a number of topics. His attacks quickly changed to wind turbines he said obstructs the view from his Scottish golf course. 'It ruins the landscape it kills the birds. They're noisy,' Trump complained. He said what he terms windmills in Massachusetts were 'driving them loco – driving them crazy.' 'Today I'm playing the best course, I think, in the world: Turnberry ... And I look over the horizon and I see nine windmills. I say isn't that a shame,' he said. On immigration, another tension point, Trump said: 'We've sealed our borders. We have nobody coming in ... I think they're going to end up in the same place. You might as well go there quicker.' Von Leyen shared his assessment on the chance of reaching an agreement, putting it at 50 percent. Trump got asked at one point if he could do better than 15 percent – the amount of a tariff on European imports that has been floated as a potential final number in an agreement. 'Better meaning lower? No,' Trump said flatly. But the former German politician showed some give in her own remarks, and kept her composure even as Trump tore into European policies on trade, energy, and immigration. 'I think the President is right. You have a 50 percent chance to strike a deal. And indeed, it is about rebalancing. So you can call it fairness, you can call it rebalancing.' She continued: 'United States has a deficit, and we have to re balance it. We have an excellent trade relations – tt's a huge volume on trade that we have together. So we will make it more sustainable. The two leaders sat in the Donald J. Trump ballroom – one Trump said he wishes he could simply drop down inside the White House, where he has plans for a new ballroom. 'You know, we just built this ballroom, and we're building a great ballroom at the White House. The White House has wanted a ballroom for 150 years, but they never had a real estate person,' he said. He called the ballroom, which is named for himself, 'quite the success.' 'I could take this one, drop it right down there, and it would be beautiful,' Trump said. The trade talk comes a day before Trump is set to sit down with British PM Keir Starmer, amid indications that Trump's love of pomp and pageantry could be working to his host county's benefit. He also complained that the U.S. doesn't get enough credit to approving food aid for Gaza, amid growing hunger and signs of starvation as Israel paused military action. 'Nobody acknowledged it. Nobody talks about it,' Trump complained. 'The US is going to do more aid for Gaza but we'd like to have other countries participate,' Trump said. The meeting came after Trump spent a second day on his Turnberry golf course Sunday – after raging at rivals from Democrats to Beyonce overnight. This time, he golfed just with his son Eric, despite touting a littany of big shots he said would be staying at his private course. 'We'll have numerous executives that we're meeting with – lot of them. We're going to be meeting with a lot of people. A lot of people will be staying at Turnberry,' Trump said after landing Friday night. His aides are calling it a 'working visit' – although he has made time to play his course for two successive days. There is a typically massive security footprint – including the rollout of a new armoured golf court after a phalanx of agents swept his course in search of potential security threats. The last minute addition to his schedule has Trump going toe-to-toe with a top European leader days after he said there was a 'fifty-fifty' chance of reaching a trade deal. If Trump wanted to send a message about what kind of contender she was dealing with, he posted a short video of himself swinging a driver at one of the tees on his Turnberry course. Trump also put in plug by golf legend Gary Player, quoting him as saying 'Turnberry is, without a question, in the Top Five Greatest Golf Courses I've ever played in my 73 years as a pro.' 'Thank you, Gary!' Trump added. Not all of his musings were upbeat – on a trip that Trump began by railing against wind turbines and illegal immigration. Trump used his site to fire at Democrats about the 2024 election, after spending part of the week accusing President Barack Obama of 'treason' after his administration released declassified documents about Russian election interference intelligence assessments. 'I'm looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, $11 million to singer Beyoncé for an endorsement (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), $3 million for 'expenses,' to Oprah, $600,000 to very low rated TV 'anchor,' Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely nothing!' he wrote, sprinkling in all-caps. The Kamala Harris campaign has long denied paying for any endorsements. Oprah Winfrey has said she was 'not paid a time' to appear with Harris, although the campaign picked up production costs of the event. FEC filings show the Harris camp gave $165,000 to Beyonce's production company, Parkwood Production Media LLC,
Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
JD Vance's fiery four-word comeback after claims Trump is 'shielding' Epstein and his clients
Vice President JD Vance went on the offensive to defend the Trump administration's handling of the criminal files surrounding disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In Canton, Ohio, Vance responded to protestors who suggested the administration was 'shielding' Epstein and his clients. 'We're not shielding anything,' the vice president told a reporter who asked him about the protestors. 'The president has directed the attorney general to release all credible information and frankly to go and find additional credible information related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.' Vance urged people fascinated with the case to be patient, pointing out that it would take time to go over the files and sift through the information, making sure that names were redacted to protect victims. He also defended Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the ongoing effort to provide more transparency into the case. 'I know, because i talk to her all the time, the attorney general is hard at work on that now,' Vance said. Vance also criticized the media for suddenly taking interest in the case during Trump's administration. 'For four years, under Joe Biden's Department of Justice the media didn't give a damn about the Epstein files or the Epstein case,' he said, describing the notorious billionaire as a 'scumbag pedophile.' Vance also blamed former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush for going 'easy' on Epstein and said that Trump did not deserve the criticism he was getting from the press. 'If you want to criticize the people who weren't showing full transparency you ought to go after the administrations that went easy on Jeffrey Epstein,' he said. Vance insisted that Trump had 'nothing to hide' in the Epstein files and predicted more details about the Epstein case in the coming days. 'He's going to keep on being an advocate for full transparency,' Vance promised. The controversy surrounding the Epstein files exploded on July 7, after the Department of Justice released a memo that said Epstein did not have a 'client list' that could be released and that there was no evidence of foul play in Epstein's death in prison, after it was ruled a suicide. The memo angered Trump supporters who remain obsessed with the case as evidence that wealthy and connected people have dodged accountability for their connections to Epstein and his horrific crimes against young girls. Vance had previously been silent about the controversy but worked behind-the- scenes to communicate with Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel, and Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino as they face criticism for their handling of the case. The vice president repeatedly called for the release of the Epstein files as a senator and on the 2024 campaign trail. While traveling in Scotland on Monday, the president told the Daily Mail that no one has asked him about a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's accomplice currently serving a prison sentence. 'I'm allowed to give her a pardon. Nobody's approached me with it. Nobody's asked me about it. It's in the news about that, that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it,' he said. Maxwell, who met with Justice Department officials last week, is serving 20 years in prison for her involvement in Epstein's crimes.
Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
Chile will ask U.S. to include copper within U.S.-Chile trade deal
SANTIAGO, July 28 (Reuters) - Chile expects U.S. copper tariffs to be discussed within broader U.S. trade talks in Washington this week, Finance Minister Mario Marcel said on Monday in an interview with local radio program Duna. Marcel added that Chile would ask for any tariffs to be included within a broader trade agreement with the United States. President Trump's administration has said it will impose 50% tariffs on copper imports as of August 1. Chile is the world's top supplier of the red metal and is also the biggest provider of refined copper to the U.S., although it sends much higher volumes to China. Monday marks the start of a third round of talks between Chilean officials and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. "What we hope is that these conversations we're starting today in Washington will also cover the issue of copper," Marcel said. "Because it wouldn't be very useful for us to have a trade agreement that excludes more than half of our exports to the U.S., such as copper and wood." When asked if Chile would seek an exemption to the U.S. copper tariffs imposed by Trump, the minister said they would seek for any tariffs to be included in a broader trade pact. "We want it to be part of the agreement, within the broader commercial discussions with Chile — not something handled separately — because it's a very central issue," the minister said. Marcel noted that other countries have included exemptions and carve-outs in their trade agreements.
