Latest news with #declassification
Daily Mail
a day 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
a day 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.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Spain proposes declassifying secret Franco era files
MADRID, July 22 (Reuters) - The Spanish government on Tuesday introduced a bill to automatically declassify all secret government files older than 45 years, including documents from Francisco Franco's dictatorship and the transition to democracy. If approved by parliament, the proposed law could shed light on some of Spain's darkest chapters, including Franco's ties to Adolf Hitler, the locations of mass graves where victims of his 1939-75 rule were buried, and details of the 1966 Palomares nuclear accident caused by the mid-air collision of two U.S. Air Force planes over a fishing village in southern Spain. "With this law we will overcome an obstacle in our legislation to put us in line with European standards," Justice Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters. "Citizens have the right to know. Administrations have the obligation to provide documentation that is important for history," he added. The bill seeks to replace the existing law governing official secrets, enacted during Franco's rule, which lacks provisions for automatic declassification based on the amount of time that has passed. The law would automatically declassify all documents older than 45 years unless they constituted a justified threat to national security, Bolanos said. For documents created after that period, the draft law outlines a tiered system: "highly classified" documents would remain secret for up to 60 years; "classified" files for up to 45 years; "confidential" material for up to nine years; and "restricted" documents for up to five years. The government should not restrict access to documents related to the Catholic Church or former King Juan Carlos, said the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (ARHM), a volunteer group dedicated to identifying victims of political violence during Spain's Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. It also warned that some documents may have already been removed or redacted, and it called for the immediate digitisation of records to ensure public access. Bolanos said that declassifying Franco-era files would be a gradual process given their volumes. The draft law must now pass through parliament, where Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority government struggles to garner sufficient votes as it weighs concessions to disparate political factions.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Spain proposes declassifying secret Franco era files
MADRID: The Spanish government on Tuesday introduced a bill to automatically declassify all secret government files older than 45 years, including documents from Francisco Franco's dictatorship and the transition to democracy. If approved by parliament, the proposed law could shed light on some of Spain's darkest chapters, including Franco's ties to Adolf Hitler, the locations of mass graves where victims of his 1939-75 rule were buried, and details of the 1966 Palomares nuclear accident caused by the mid-air collision of two US Air Force planes over a fishing village in southern Spain. 'With this law we will overcome an obstacle in our legislation to put us in line with European standards,' Justice Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters. 'Citizens have the right to know. Administrations have the obligation to provide documentation that is important for history,' he added. The bill seeks to replace the existing law governing official secrets, enacted during Franco's rule, which lacks provisions for automatic declassification based on the amount of time that has passed. The law would automatically declassify all documents older than 45 years unless they constituted a justified threat to national security, Bolanos said. For documents created after that period, the draft law outlines a tiered system: 'highly classified' documents would remain secret for up to 60 years; 'classified' files for up to 45 years; 'confidential' material for up to nine years; and 'restricted' documents for up to five years. The government should not restrict access to documents related to the Catholic Church or former King Juan Carlos, said the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (ARHM), a volunteer group dedicated to identifying victims of political violence during Spain's Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. It also warned that some documents may have already been removed or redacted, and it called for the immediate digitization of records to ensure public access. Bolanos said that declassifying Franco-era files would be a gradual process given their volumes. The draft law must now pass through parliament, where Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority government struggles to garner sufficient votes as it weighs concessions to disparate political factions.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Things to know about the release of federal documents related to MLK's assassination
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Federal records related to the investigation into the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were released on Monday, following the disclosure in March of tens of thousands of documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In January, President Donald Trump ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about Kennedy's assassination, while also moving to declassify federal records related to the deaths of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and King more than five decades ago. Trump ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Attorney General Pam Bondi to coordinate with other government officials to review records related to the assassinations of RFK and King, and present a plan to the president for their 'complete release.' Some 10,000 pages of records about the RFK assassination were released April 18. Justice Department attorneys later asked a federal judge to end a sealing order for the records nearly two years ahead of its expiration date. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King led, is opposed to unsealing any of the records for privacy reasons. The organization's lawyers said King's relatives also wanted to keep the files under seal. Scholars, history buffs and journalists have been preparing to study the documents to find new information about the civil rights leader's assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. The King family's statement released after Trump's order in January said they hoped to get an opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release. King's family, including his two living children, Martin III and Bernice, was given advance notice of the release and had their own teams reviewing the records ahead of the public disclosure. In a statement released Monday, King's children called their father's case a 'captivating public curiosity for decades.' But they also emphasized the personal nature of the matter and urged that 'these files must be viewed within their full historical context.' 'We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief,' the statement said. Here is what we know about the assassination and what scholars had to say ahead of the release of the documents. In Memphis, shots ring out King was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, heading to dinner with a few friends, when he was shot and killed. King had been in Memphis to support a sanitation workers strike protesting poor working conditions and low pay. The night before the assassination, King delivered the famous 'Mountaintop' speech on a stormy night at the Mason Temple in Memphis. An earlier march on Beale Street had turned violent, and King had returned to Memphis to lead another march as an expression of nonviolent protest. King also had been planning the Poor People's Campaign to speak out against economic injustice. The FBI's investigation After a long manhunt, James Earl Ray was captured in London, and he pleaded guilty to assassinating King. He later renounced that plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998. FBI documents released over the years show how the bureau wiretapped King's telephone lines, bugged his hotel rooms and used informants to get information against him. 'He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign,' the King family statement said. King family's response to the investigation Members of King's family, and others, have questioned whether Ray acted alone, or if he was even involved. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, asked for the probe to be reopened, and in 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno directed the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department to do so. The Justice Department said it 'found nothing to disturb the 1969 judicial determination that James Earl Ray murdered Dr. King.' Dexter King, one of King's children, met with Ray in prison in 1997, saying afterwards that he believed Ray's claims of innocence. Dexter King died in 2024. With the support of King's family, a civil trial in state court was held in Memphis in 1999 against Loyd Jowers, a man alleged to have known about a conspiracy to assassinate King. Dozens of witnesses testified, and a Memphis jury found Jowers and unnamed others, including government agencies, participated in a conspiracy to assassinate King. What will the public see in the newly released documents? It's not clear what the records will actually show. King scholars, for example, would like to see what information the FBI was discussing and circulating as part of their investigation, said Ryan Jones, director of history, interpretation and curatorial services at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. 'That's critical given the fact the American public, at that time, was unaware that the FBI that is involved in the investigation, was leading a smear campaign to discredit the same man while he was alive,' Jones said. 'They were the same bureau who was receiving notices of assassination attempts against King and ignored them.' Academics who have studied King also would like to see information about the FBI's surveillance of King, including the extent they went to get details about his personal life, track him, and try to discredit him as anti-American, said Lerone A. Martin, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. However, Martin said he does not expect that the documents will have a 'smoking gun that will finally say, 'See, this is 100% evidence that the FBI was involved in this assassination.'' 'We have to view these documents with an eye of suspicion because of the extent the FBI was willing to go to, to try to discredit him,' Martin said. Why now? Trump's order about the records release said it is in the 'national interest' to release the records. 'Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth,' the order said. However, the timing has led to skepticism from some observers. Jones questioned why the American public had not been able to see these documents much earlier. 'Why were they sealed on the basis of national security, if the assassin was in prison outside of Nashville?' he said. Jones said there are scholars who think the records release is a 'PR stunt' by a presidential administration that is 'rewriting, omitting the advances of some people that are tied to people of color, or diversity.' The Pentagon has faced questions from lawmakers and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages after it purged online content that promoted women or minorities. In response, the department restored some of those posts. Martin said Trump's motivation could be part of an effort to shed doubt on government institutions. 'It could be an opportunity for the Trump administration to say, 'See, the FBI is evil, I've been trying to tell you this. This is why I've put (FBI director) Kash Patel in office because he's cleaning out the Deep State,'' Martin said. Another factor could be the two attempts on Trump's life as he was campaigning for a second presidential term, and a desire to 'expose the broader history of U.S. assassinations,' said Brian Kwoba, an associate history professor at the University of Memphis. 'That said, it is still a little bit confusing because it's not clear why any U.S. president, including Trump, would want to open up files that could be damaging to the United States and its image both in the U.S. and abroad,' he said.
