‘Are You Surprised?': Trump Shrugs Off New Suspected Hack of Documents by Russia
Trump was asked by a reporter if he would bring up the hack when he meets Putin in Alaska on Friday. 'I guess I could,' Trump replied without committing to anything. 'Are you surprised, you know? Are you surprised they hack in? That's what they do.'
Trump went on to say, 'They're good at it. We're good at it. We're actually better at it, but, no, I have heard about it. I have heard about it.' The president has a long history of brushing off attacks on the U.S. as insignificant because America has done the same kinds of things to its adversaries. And while that's true, it's not the kind of thing U.S. presidents typically say to excuse attacks on the U.S. and subsequent inaction.
Trump recently went so far as to admit that he gave Iran permission to bomb a U.S. base in Qatar, suggesting that's just the kind of thing that should be allowed. 'They said, 'We're going to shoot them. Is one o'clock OK?' I said it's fine,' Trump said during a press conference in June. 'And everybody was emptied off the base so they couldn't get hurt, except for the gunners.' It's easy to imagine how Republicans would've responded if a president like Barack Obama or Joe Biden gave another country a green light to attack the U.S.
The New York Times describes the hack of the federal court records as a 'yearslong effort,' and it's not clear which specific entity may have been involved. It's also not clear if any countries besides Russia or known hacking groups may have contributed to the effort. An internal memo to the U.S. Department of Justice from system administrators of the system, known as PACER, describes the hack as 'persistent and sophisticated,' compromising 'sealed records' that are not otherwise available to the public.
REPORTER: There's new reporting that Russians have hacked into computer systems that manage US federal courts documents. Do you plan to bring it up with Putin?
TRUMP: I guess I could. Are you surprised? They hack in — what's what they do
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 13, 2025 at 9:03 AMThe compromised records come from court districts in a variety of states, including New York, South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and Arkansas, according to the Times. The attempts to infiltrate the federal court records system date to at least January 2021, according to a press release from that era. That release was published on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of Trump's coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, though it's not clear if the attacks are in any way related to Russia's preference for Trump as president. Russia was not named as the entity trying to access sensitive court documents at the time, but the Times reports that federal law enforcement officials believed Russia was behind it.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin on Friday, though he accidentally said he was going to Russia during a press conference on Tuesday: 'You know, I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday. I don't like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once-beautiful capital [is].'
Trump, whose mind often seems to be slipping (he referred to St. Petersburg as 'Leningrad' on Wednesday), is actually meeting the Russian leader at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The presidents will be discussing ways to end the war in Ukraine, which has been raging ever since Russia first invaded in early 2022. Trump promised to stop the war even before he was sworn into office, though that obviously didn't happen.
Trump was asked by a reporter whether he would request that Putin stop bombing civilians, to which he replied 'No,' insisting that he'd already had that discussion with the Russian leader. President Trump instead insisted that he was just going to end the war, something he described as 'Biden's war,' as he often does to escape accountability for his failure to bring an end to the conflict.
REPORTER: Can you convince Putin to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine?
TRUMP: I guess the answer to that is no, because I've had this conversation. I want to end the war.
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 13, 2025 at 9:33 AMTrump then pivoted to talking about what he called the 'Russia hoax,' a reference to the extensive contacts his campaign had with Russian operatives in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election and subsequent investigations. By his own admission, Putin wanted Trump to become president, something Trump has denied so frequently that many apolitical observers assume it must be true. Trump had even publicly encouraged Putin to hack into Hillary Clinton's emails in July of 2016, something the Russians eventually did successfully.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had a call with Trump and European leaders on Wednesday morning before Trump's press conference at the Kennedy Center. Zelensky has been excluded from the Friday meeting with Putin, but Trump said that he'll include Ukraine in the discussions if it goes well.
'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one,' Trump said. 'I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky, and myself, if they'd like to have me there.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report: Trump invites Indiana lawmakers to the White House amid redistricting talks
This article will be updated. President Donald Trump has invited all 110 Republican members of the Indiana General Assembly to the White House for an Aug. 26 meeting, Punchchbowl News is reporting. Indiana may well become the next front in a nationwide fight over how congressional districts are drawn ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The Trump administration hopes that lines can be redrawn to pad the Republican majority in the U.S. Congress. On Aug. 7, Vice President JD Vance discussed the prospect of redistricting in a meeting with Gov. Mike Braun and Indiana legislative leaders, but multiple members of Indiana's supermajority have already spoken out against the idea. "We are being asked to create a new culture in which it would be normal for a political party to select new voters, not once a decade — but any time it fears the consequences of an approaching election," State Sen. Spencer Deery, R-Lafayette, wrote in the most scathing statement yet on the subject. "That would clearly violate the concept of popular sovereignty by making it harder for the people to hold their elected officials accountable and the country would be an uglier place for it." To redraw the congressional maps in Indiana, Braun would need to call for a special session, bringing lawmakers back to approve new maps. Republicans already control seven of the nine congressional seats in Indiana. Spokespeople for the Indiana House Republicans and Indiana Senate Republicans did not immediately respond to confirm the invitation. Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@ Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@ or follow her on X@kayla_dwyer17. Hayleigh Colombo contributed reporting to this article. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana GOP lawmakers invited to White House amid redistricting talks
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Says Semiconductor Tariffs Coming Soon, Could Reach 300%
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he would set levies on semiconductors in the coming two weeks, the latest indication he's readying a substantial expansion of his tariff regime. 'I'll be setting tariffs next week and the week after, on steel and on, I would, say chips — chips and semiconductors, we'll be setting sometime next week, week after,' Trump told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Alaska for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider Festivals and Parades Are Canceled Amid US Immigration Anxiety To Head Off Severe Storm Surges, Nova Scotia Invests in 'Living Shorelines' Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels' Colonial Statues Remain For Homeless Cyclists, Bikes Bring an Escape From the Streets It wasn't clear if Trump misspoke about steel tariffs. He already hiked duties on steel and aluminum imports to 50% in June. The president has repeatedly promised that levies on chips and pharmaceuticals are coming within weeks, but no formal announcements have yet been made. Both sectors have been under Commerce Department investigation since April, a prerequisite for Trump to impose tariffs on national security grounds. That process can prove complicated and probes can take months or longer to resolve. Manufacturers and artificial intelligence firms have been eager for more clarity about his plans for semiconductor rates, since chips are included in a wide range of modern consumer products. Last week, Trump said during an event with Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook that he planned a 100% tariff on semiconductors, while exempting products from companies that are moving manufacturing to the US. The White House hasn't offered a subsequent explanation for how that exemption would work, but Trump implied that Apple — which has pledged a $600 billion domestic manufacturing initiative — could be exempt. On Friday, Trump suggested the charge on imported semiconductors could be even higher. 'I'm going to have a rate that is going to be 200%, 300%?' Trump said. The US president indicated that he could speak about tariffs with Putin, and said he believed the Russian leader planned to bring business leaders to the summit. 'I noticed he's bringing a lot of business people from Russia, and that's good I like that because they want to do business,' Trump said. 'But they're not doing business until we get the war settled.' Trump in recent weeks has threatened to impose higher tariff rates on purchasers of Russian energy, including a pledge to impose a 50% levy on goods from India. He has also suggested he could ratchet up economic costs on Moscow if the meeting does not go well. Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Embracing Trump's Economic Plan Dubai's Housing Boom Is Stoking Fears of Another Crash Twitter's Ex-CEO Is Moving Past His Elon Musk Drama and Starting an AI Company ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New lawsuit challenges Trump's federal takeover of DC police department as crackdown intensifies
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's capital challenged President Donald Trump's takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration stepped up its crackdown on policing by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department, with all the powers of a police chief. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a new lawsuit that Trump is going far beyond his power under the law. Schwalb asked a judge to find that control of the department remains in district hands and sought an emergency restraining order. 'The administration's unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call D.C. home. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule that the District has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it," Schwalb said. The lawsuit comes after Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday night that Drug Enforcement Administration boss Terry Cole will assume 'powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.' The Metropolitan Police Department 'must receive approval from Commissioner Cole' before issuing any orders, Bondi said. It was unclear where the move left the city's current police chief, Pamela Smith, who works for the mayor. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser pushed back, writing on social media that 'there is no statute that conveys the District's personnel authority to a federal official.' Justice Department and White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the district's lawsuit Friday morning. Chief had agreed to share immigration information Schwalb had said late Thursday that Bondi's directive was 'unlawful,' arguing it could not be followed by the city's police force. He wrote in a memo to Smith that 'members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor,' setting up the legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration. Bondi's directive came even after Smith had told MPD officers hours earlier to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. The Justice Department said Bondi disagreed with the police chief's directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of 'sanctuary policies,' which generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers. Bondi said she was rescinding that order as well as other MPD policies limiting inquires into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants. All new directives must now receive approval from Cole, the attorney general said. The police takeover is the latest move by Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of people in the U.S. illegally. It also marks one of the most sweeping assertions of federal authority over a local government in modern times. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city's homicide rate ranks below those of several other major U.S. cities and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the administration has portrayed. Residents are seeing a significant show of force A population already tense from days of ramp-up has begun seeing more significant shows of force across the city. National Guard troops watched over some of the world's most renowned landmarks and Humvees took position in front of the busy main train station. Volunteers helped homeless people leave long-standing encampments — to where was often unclear. Department of Homeland Security police stood outside Nationals Park during a game Thursday between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies. DEA agents patrolled The Wharf, a popular nightlife area, while Secret Service officers were seen in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. Bowser, walking a tightrope between the Republican White House and the constituency of her largely Democratic city, was out of town Thursday for a family commitment in Martha's Vineyard but would be back Friday, her office said. The uptick in visibility of federal forces around the city, including in many high-traffic areas, has been striking to residents going about their lives. Trump has the power to take over federal law enforcement for 30 days before his actions must be reviewed by Congress, though he has said he'll re-evaluate as that deadline approaches. Officers set up a checkpoint in one of D.C.'s popular nightlife areas, drawing protests. Troops were stationed outside the Union Station transportation hub as the 800 Guard members who have been activated by Trump started in on missions that include monument security, community safety patrols and beautification efforts, the Pentagon said. Troops will assist law enforcement in a variety of roles, including traffic control posts and crowd control, National Guard Major Micah Maxwell said. The Guard members have been trained in de-escalation tactics and crowd control equipment, Maxwell said. National Guard troops are a semi-regular presence in D.C., typically being used during mass public events like the annual July 4 celebration. They have regularly been used in the past for crowd control in and around Metro stations. Solve the daily Crossword
