Trump rehashes years-old grievances on Russia investigation after new intelligence report

Trump rehashes years-old grievances on Russia investigation after new intelligence report
“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.
Short Url
Updated 23 July 2025
Follow

Trump rehashes years-old grievances on Russia investigation after new intelligence report

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.


US should recognize Palestinian state, congressman tells Arab News

US should recognize Palestinian state, congressman tells Arab News
Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

US should recognize Palestinian state, congressman tells Arab News

US should recognize Palestinian state, congressman tells Arab News
  • Democrat Mike Quigley ‘deeply horrified’ by ‘genocide’ in Gaza
  • Israel’s govt includes ‘the farthest right, evil, dark people’ advocating ‘ethnic cleansing’

CHICAGO: Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley on Wednesday called on the US to recognize a Palestinian state, and expressed concern over Israel’s killing of Palestinian Americans and the lack of media reporting on their deaths.

Their sacrifices and Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza are fueling a new push for peace, the Democrat — elected in 2009 — told Arab News.

A dozen House Democrats signed a draft letter on Monday calling for US recognition of Palestinian statehood.

A member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, Quigley said he is “deeply horrified” by the reports and images coming out of Gaza.

“How war is comported is as important as the reasons you fight the war, and at some point you just have to disagree with your friends and tell them, ‘This has to stop,’” he said, adding that the conflict and the killing of Palestinian Americans are impacting US public opinion. 

“A lot of my colleagues … want to support Israel, a critical ally … but they’re struggling and agonized,” Quigley said, adding that the rhetoric from Israel’s government and the deaths in Gaza have “dramatically” changed how Americans view the conflict.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “emboldened” extremists, Quigley said, adding that Israel’s government includes “the farthest right, evil, dark people who are talking about things that can only be described as ethnic cleansing.”

Quigley continued: “One of the greatest values in being viewed as a moderate is that when I say something, at this point, hopefully it can carry more weight. That’s what I’m hoping.” He said the conflict is a “wake-up call” for everyone, including Israelis.

Quigley called for the immediate shutting down of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the US, and has come under increased criticism for the killing of Palestinians at many of its distribution sites.

GHF operations “violate fundamental humanitarian principles,” and the foundation “has proven incapable of safely delivering the humanitarian aid necessary to prevent mass starvation,” he said.

“All future aid provided by the US to Israel must face stringent oversight and review,” he added, denouncing the “serious escalation” in violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the past two years, including five US citizens.

“Israeli settler encroachment in the West Bank should come to an immediate end, violations and violence must be prosecuted fully by the Israeli government, and the US government should sanction all perpetrators of this instability,” Quigley said.

“Israelis and Palestinians will never be secure if the Israeli government continues to prevent the Palestinian people from having basic rights and dignity, with a state of their own, alongside Israel.”


India’s Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise

India’s Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise
Updated 06 August 2025
Follow

India’s Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise

India’s Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise
  • Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organization that begins on Aug. 31
  • Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Russia in October

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise.

Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organization that begins on Aug. 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

His trip will come at a time when India’s relationship with the US faces its most serious crisis in years after President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian peers on goods imported from India, and has threatened an unspecified further penalty for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.

Modi’s visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the summit of the SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping that includes Russia, will be his first since June 2018. Subsequently, Sino-Indian ties deteriorated sharply after a military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.

Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Russia in October that led to a thaw. The giant Asian neighbors are now slowly defusing tensions that have hampered business relations and travel between the two countries.

Trump has threatened to charge an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from members — which include India — of the BRICS group of major emerging economies for “aligning themselves with Anti-American policies.”

Trump said on Wednesday his administration would decide on the penalty for buying Russian oil after the outcome of US efforts to seek a last-minute breakthrough that would bring about a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

Trump’s top diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow, two days before the expiry of a deadline the president set for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions.

Meanwhile, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is in Russia on a scheduled visit and is expected to discuss India’s purchases of Russian oil in the wake of Trump’s pressure on India to stop buying Russian crude, according to another government source, who also did not want to be named.

Doval is likely to address India’s defense cooperation with Russia, including obtaining faster access to pending exports to India of Moscow’s S400 air defense system, and a possible visit by President Vladimir Putin to India.

Doval’s trip will be followed by Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the weeks to come.

EXPORT IMPACT

US and Indian officials told Reuters a mix of political misjudgment, missed signals and bitterness scuttled trade deal negotiations between the world’s biggest and fifth-largest economies, whose bilateral trade is worth over $190 billion.

India expects Trump’s crackdown could cost it a competitive advantage in about $64 billion worth of goods sent to the US that account for 80 percent of its total exports, four separate sources told Reuters, citing an internal government assessment.

However, the relatively low share of exports in India’s $4 trillion economy is expected to limit the direct impact on economic growth.

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India left its GDP growth forecast for the current April-March financial year unchanged at 6.5 percent and held rates steady despite the tariff uncertainties.

India’s government assessment report has assumed a 10 percent penalty for buying Russian oil, which would take the total US tariff to 35 percent, the sources said.

India’s trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The internal assessment report is the government’s initial estimate and will change as the quantum of tariffs imposed by Trump becomes clear, all four sources said.

India exported goods estimated at around $81 billion in 2024 to the US.


Indian hotel suppliers plan to use Jeddah expo to enter Saudi market

Indian hotel suppliers plan to use Jeddah expo to enter Saudi market
Updated 06 August 2025
Follow

Indian hotel suppliers plan to use Jeddah expo to enter Saudi market

Indian hotel suppliers plan to use Jeddah expo to enter Saudi market
  • Jeddah hosts 2025 Hotel and Restaurant Supplies Expo from Dec. 9-11
  • Event will feature ‘Made in India’ display to spotlight Indian hospitality goods 

NEW DELHI: Indian hotel suppliers are planning to display their products at a supplies expo in Jeddah in December, as they seek to enter the growing Saudi hospitality market. 

The Saudi port city is hosting the 2025 Hotel and Restaurant Supplies Expo from Dec. 9-11. This will be the seventh edition of the exhibition, which connects international suppliers with hospitality players in the Kingdom. 

For the first time, the event will feature a “Made in India” showcase to highlight India’s role as a “rapidly emerging” and “go-to” sourcing hub for the global hospitality sector. 

“We are expecting high interest from Indian manufacturers to enter the Saudi market as India has the best quality with the manufacturing (of) hospitality (products),” Zeinab Ayoub, marketing manager of Jeddah-based exhibition organizer Wehdat Al-Ertikaz, told Arab News. 

Ayoub attended at the International Hospitality Expo in the Indian city of Greater Noida this week to encourage potential Indian suppliers to join the Jeddah expo in December. 

“Lots of exhibitors are interested to join the exhibition because they want to enter the Saudi market. For most of them it is the first time to enter Saudi Arabia, so this is an opportunity,” she said. 

“We have met lots of exhibitors from different categories; mattresses, F&B, horeca (hotels, restaurants, cafes) suppliers, tableware, textiles, hotel amenities.” 

Indian manufacturers see the Jeddah event as their opportunity to enter the Saudi market, especially after businesses from the Kingdom and the wider Gulf region showed interest for their products at the event in Noida. 

“If we get an opportunity to work with the Saudi people we will love to do that. We have got few clients, few enquiries from the Saudi people. There is another show that is happening in Jeddah and we are definitely going to participate in that show,” Pawan Kumar Verma, owner of 17 Nakshtra Art Works manufacturer, told Arab News. 

“Saudi is a big market, it’s a big lucrative market. Definitely we will look forward to seeing that market and we are very keen to work with the Saudi people … there are new hotels, upcoming hotels. So we will have good opportunities out there.” 

Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to develop the tourism industry — its second largest after oil — to make the Kingdom one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the world. 

The government’s strategy appears to focus on building high-end properties, with global real estate consultancy Knight Frank expecting more than 58,000 new hotel rooms developed in the next five years. 

Yash Nagpal, owner of a mirror manufacturing company, sees the Saudi pivot to upscale properties as an opportunity for his products. 

“Saudi Arabia has taken a lot of initiative towards tourism and all that. It is good to see a country improving in terms of tourism. It is helping us also that the hospitality industry is growing,” he told Arab News. 

“From the past few years it has been one of the main markets for Indian business exports … I would like to work with Saudi Arabia, even with the mirrors, we have a luxury feel, so (in line) with the Saudi Arabian vibes.” 

Navneet Kamra, owner of Delhi-based Iris Hotel Craft, also sees the Saudi market as key to his business growth. 

“Saudi Arabia is a good country, they are expanding. It’s a bigger opportunity for us. There is a huge demand in the coming years and we can fulfil,” he told Arab News. 

“Saudis are growing so we can also grow with them.” 


Spain favors European options over US-made F-35 fighter jets

Spain favors European options over US-made F-35 fighter jets
Updated 06 August 2025
Follow

Spain favors European options over US-made F-35 fighter jets

Spain favors European options over US-made F-35 fighter jets
  • The decision comes after the tension between Madrid and Washington
  • The aircraft are made by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin

MADRID: Spain has decided against purchasing US-made F-35 fighter jets and will instead opt for European-made options, the defense ministry said Wednesday, confirming a report in El Pais newspaper.

The decision comes after the tension between Madrid and Washington over Spain’s refusal to raise defense spending to 5.0 percent of economic output, as demanded by US President Donald Trump.

El Pais reported earlier Wednesday, citing unnamed government sources, that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s leftist government had shelved plans to buy the F-35 jets and would explore European alternatives.

The government had earmarked 6.25 billion euros ($7.25 billion) in its 2023 budget to buy new fighter jets. British defense publication Janes had reported that Spain was considering the purchase of up to 50 F-35 units, the newspaper said.

But government’s plan to spend the bulk of the additional 10.5 billion euros in defense spending announced for this year rules out the purchase of the F-35 jets, it added.

The aircraft are made by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.

A defense ministry statement said the Spanish option involved the European-made Eurofighter and fighter jets made by the European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, whose primary industrial partners are Dassault Aviation and Airbus.

Sanchez announced earlier this year plans to increase spending on defense to this year meet the NATO target of 2.0 percent of economic output set in 2024.

But he later refused to raise spending in the longer run to 5.0 percent, prompting Trump to threaten Spain with additional tariffs.


Kremlin calls Putin-Witkoff talks ‘constructive’ ahead of US sanctions deadline

Kremlin calls Putin-Witkoff talks ‘constructive’ ahead of US sanctions deadline
Updated 48 min 22 sec ago
Follow

Kremlin calls Putin-Witkoff talks ‘constructive’ ahead of US sanctions deadline

Kremlin calls Putin-Witkoff talks ‘constructive’ ahead of US sanctions deadline
  • Witkoff held around three hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin

MOSCOW: Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were “useful and constructive,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday.

Witkoff held around three hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions.

Ushakov told Russian news outlet Zvezda that the two sides discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the potential for improving US-Russia relations. He said Moscow had received certain “signals” from Trump and had sent messages in return.