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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. “Let’s see what ruse the White House will use.”The capability is space based and would violate an international space treaty, to which more than 130 countries have signed onto, including Russia. The White House said it would look to engage the Russians directly on the concerns. Even as the White House sought to assure Americans, Kirby acknowledged it was a serious matter.

Persons: John Kirby, that’s, Kirby, ’, Mike Turner, Biden, Turner “, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, ” Peskov, ” Kirby Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, National Security, White House, Republican, House Intelligence, Ohio, Kremlin, U.S, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Washington

☆ Israel Rebuts Genocide Charge by Declassifying Cabinet Decisions
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel has declassified more than 30 secret orders made by government and military leaders, which it says rebut the charge that it committed genocide in Gaza, and instead show Israeli efforts to diminish deaths among Palestinian civilians. The release of the documents, copies of which were reviewed by The New York Times, follows a petition to the International Court of Justice by South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide. Much of South Africa’s case hinges on inflammatory public statements made by Israeli leaders that it says are proof of intent to commit genocide. Part of Israel’s defense is to prove that whatever politicians may have said in public was overruled by executive decisions and official orders from Israel’s war cabinet and its military’s high command. The court, the U.N.’s highest judicial body, began hearing arguments in the case this month, and is expected to provide an initial response to South Africa’s petition — in which it could call for a provisional cease-fire — as soon as Friday.

Persons: Israel, — Organizations: The New York Times, International Court, Justice Locations: Israel, Gaza, South Africa, South

☆ Opinion: McCarthy’s downfall offers a clear lesson for Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Stuart Ross | Opinion Geoff Duncan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —As the dust settles on the tenure of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, there are lessons the Republican Party should learn. As the Republican caucus considers its next steps, they must choose a leader whose stewardship signals a clear break from the past. Here are the ways that Trump triggered the events that fueled McCarthy’s downfall. In 2022, Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, a former football star whose controversial candidacy was fueled by his connection to the former president, met the same fate. Fast forward less than a year and Trump was nowhere to be found when McCarthy’s fate as speaker hung in the balance.

Persons: Geoff Duncan, Kevin McCarthy, Geoff Duncan Geoff Duncan, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Jim Jordan of, That’s, McCarthy, MAGA, Matt Gaetz, Republican Sens, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, Herschel Walker, Vance of Ohio —, Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, speakership, Joe Biden, “ Organizations: CNN, GOP, America’s Conservative Party, Republican Party, Republican, Trump, Republicans, Senate, ” Voters, Democratic, Trump - Locations: Jim Jordan of Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Arizona , New Hampshire , Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington ,

☆ Russia and North Korea in ‘Actively Advancing’ Talks on Weapons, U.S. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The White House has accused North Korea of supplying rockets and missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, which Pyongyang has denied. North Korea and Iran are largely cut off from international commerce because of American and international sanctions, meaning neither country has much to lose by making deals with Russia. “What we’re seeing in this counteroffensive is it’s a gunfight and both sides are blazing away with artillery,” Mr. Kirby said. Putin has achieved — let me count it — zero of his strategic goals in Ukraine,” Mr. Kirby said. Also on Wednesday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, apparently a reaction to joint military drills by the United States and South Korea.

Persons: John F, Kirby, Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, ” Mr, “, Mr, Kirby’s, Iran —, Biden, Kim, “ Mr, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, ” Organizations: National Security Council, North Korean, ”, United, United States, Slovakian, United Nations Locations: States, Russia, North Korea, Moscow, Ukraine, Pyongyang, United States, Iran, U.S, Korea, China, Beijing, Ukrainian, South Korea, Japan, Britain

☆ No direct evidence COVID started in Wuhan lab - US intelligence report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 23 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies found no direct evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic stemmed from an incident at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, a report declassified on Friday said. "The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both (natural and lab) hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting," the ODNI report said. The report said that while "extensive work" had been conducted on coronaviruses at the Wuhan institute (WIV), the agencies had not found evidence of a specific incident that could have caused the outbreak. U.S. President Joe Biden in March signed a bill declassifying information related to the origins of the pandemic. As of March 20, four other U.S. agencies still judged that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two were undecided.

Persons: WIV, Joe Biden, Biden, Christopher Wray, Dan Whitcomb, Rosalba O'Brien, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Wuhan, of Virology, National Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, coronaviruses, Wall, U.S . Energy Department, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wuhan, United States, Beijing, China

☆ Trump lacked power to declassify secret nuclear arms document, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks following his arraignment on classified document charges, at Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president’s claim. The special status of nuclear-related information further erodes what many legal experts say is a weak defense centered around declassification. “The president is the executive branch and so he can declassify anything that is nuclear information,” he said. And it takes forever,” said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive.

Persons: Donald Trump, Amr Alfiky, Trump, ”, Steven Aftergood, David Jonas, Elizabeth Goitein, it’s, Thomas Blanton, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Amy Stevens, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: U.S, Trump National Golf Club, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Atomic Energy, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Federation of Atomic Scientists, Prosecutors, Trump, Republican, Atomic Energy Act, DOE, Pentagon, AEA, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Brennan Center for Justice, Constitution, DOD, National Security, Thomson Locations: Bedminster , New Jersey, U.S, declassify, declassification, United States, Florida

CNNHouse Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan on Sunday fiercely defended Donald Trump against his federal indictment, repeatedly claiming that the former president had the ability to declassify documents at any time. But Jordan repeatedly countered that saying he “could have” declassified material as president was not the same as saying he “didn’t” already declassify the material. “He has said time and time again, he's declassified all this material,” Jordan said. Trump is facing his first federal indictment for retention of classified documents and conspiracy with a top aide to hide them from the government and his own attorneys — a total of 37 counts. According to the indictment, classified documents were allegedly kept at various places in Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, including a public ballroom, bathroom and bedroom.

Persons: Jim Jordan, Donald Trump, “, CNN's Dana Bash, ” Jordan, Jordan, Trump, didn’t, he's, —, CNN's Daniel Dale Organizations: CNN, Sunday, Ohio Republican, Union, Justice Department Locations: Trump's Mar, Lago

☆ Trump waved classified military documents in front of a writer and a member of his PAC, and said 'it is like, highly confidential', feds allege
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Paul Squire | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Donald Trump knew he wasn't supposed to share classified docs, prosecutors allege in an indictment. But he showed off a classified battle plan after he was president, saying "Look what I found," feds allege. He also showed a classified map to a member of his political team at Mar-A-Lago, the indictment says. Look, look at this." Trump also claimed — as his lawyers have in previous media interviews — that he always had the ability to declassify documents.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Trump, official's, NICHOLAS KAMM, Biden, Jack Smith, Smith, I'm, Sean Hannity Organizations: feds, Mar, Service, White, Getty, PAC, Justice Department of, Records, Fox News, Trump Locations: Lago, Florida, Bedminster , New Jersey, Palm Beach , Florida, Mar

☆ The twice-impeached Trump now faces his second criminal indictment as he looks to recapture White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Donald Trump, who has often lied, unquestionably told the truth when he said Thursday was a “dark day” for America. Why the new indictment could be more serious than the firstAmazingly, this was not the first time Trump was indicted. This undercut his arguments that he declassified everything he took from the White House. — On Thursday, CNN’s Zachary Cohen revealed that a key former White House official who worked in both the Trump and Obama administrations was interviewed by special counsel prosecutors earlier this year. “The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society,” he tweeted before making his own White House pitch.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, it’s, Simply, Joe Biden –, he’s, Trump’s, “ It’s, That’s, ”, Stormy Daniels, Jim Trusty, Kevin McCarthy, “, Elise Stefanik, parroted, Joe Biden, GOP Sen, Josh Hawley, Jack Smith’s, —, Andrew McCabe, Smith, Mark Meadows, CNN’s Zachary Cohen, thrall, Alvin Bragg’s, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence –, – Organizations: CNN, Republican, Justice Department, Biden’s Justice Department, Trump, “, ”, ” New York, GOP, — CNN, FBI, Mar, White, New York Times, White House, Obama, Biden’s, Florida Gov, DOJ, Republican Party Locations: America, Miami, Manhattan, United States of America, Missouri, Iran, Washington ,, Florida, —, Georgia

☆ Exclusive: Former White House official told federal prosecutors Trump knew of proper declassification process and followed it while in office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Zachary Cohen Paula Reid | Zachary Cohen | Paula Reid | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes. Speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, the former official said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office. Sources previously told CNN that Trump’s team returned some materials but not the document pertaining to Iran. “Nothing approaching an order that foolish was ever given,” Kelly told CNN. Most recently, Trump told CNN at a town hall that materials were “automatically declassified” when he took them.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Trump’s, ‘, John Eisenberg, Eisenberg, “, Don McGahn, John Kelly, McGahn, Jack Smith, Donald Trump's Mar, Kelly, ” Kelly, Mark Meadows, Jack Smith’s, Meadows, Robert O’Brien, O’Brien, National Intelligence Richard Grenell, Robert Hur, Hur, Kathy Chung, empaneled, Mike Pence’s Organizations: Washington CNN, White House, CNN, Trump, Obama, Mar, The Justice Department, National Security Council, White, National Archives, Department of Justice, Trump’s, Trump’s Mar, Prosecutors, National Intelligence, Biden Locations: Delaware, Russia, Iran, Lago

☆ US senator presses for declassified report on Al Jazeera reporter's killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Chris Van Hollen called on Monday for declassifying a government report on the death of Al Jazeera's Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was shot and killed while covering an Israeli army raid last year. The U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority (USSC) conducted an investigation, but the report remains classified. In a statement, Van Hollen, a Democrat on the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, said the report contains important insights into her death. In December, Al Jazeera made a submission to the International Criminal Court over Abu Akleh's killing. Israel insists that its soldiers do not deliberately target journalists and has refused to identify the soldier who may have shot Abu Akleh.

Persons: Chris Van Hollen, Al Jazeera's Shireen Abu Akleh, Abu Akleh, Abu Akleh's, Van Hollen, Al Jazeera, Biden, Rami Ayyub, Don Durfee, David Gregorio Our Organizations: declassifying, West Bank, U.S . Security, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Democrat, Senate's Foreign Relations, Israel Defense Forces, U.S . State Department, International Criminal, Thomson Locations: Palestinian, American, Jenin, Israel

☆ Reports of bombshell Trump recording suggests prosecutors may have grounds to charge him under the Espionage Act
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CNN reported Trump was captured on audio in 2021 admitting he took a classified document. Federal prosecutors investigating Trump's handling of documents have the recording, CNN said. The recording included Trump saying he was not sure he was able to declassify records after leaving the presidency, two sources said. The sources said Jack Smith, the special counsel leading the Justice Department's investigations into Trump, has focused on the summer 2021 meeting in which the audio recording was taken. Legal experts respond to reports of the audio recording"This is absolutely blockbuster evidence," Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on Twitter of the reported audio.

Persons: Trump, —, Donald Trump, Jack Smith, President Trump, Renato Mariotti, …, Peter Strzok, Ryan Goodman, Goodman, Richard W, Painter, George W, Bush Organizations: CNN, Service, The New York Times, CBS, Trump, FBI, Justice, Justice Department, Twitter, New York University, White, DOJ Locations: Iran, Lago

☆ Surprise resort trips and empty hotel rooms reveal how Russia's plan for an easy victory in Ukraine fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While Russian intelligence services ramped up operations, the US intelligence community started declassifying intelligence about Russian plans. In an unprecedented move, the US revealed Russia's intentions and informed Kyiv about the Russian intelligence operations inside Ukraine. Once Russia's military secured the city, its special-operations forces would begin what the report calls "repressive operations." The Kremlin even compiled a target deck full of unwanted people to be "liquidated" once the Russian forces were in control of the country. Preparing the battlefieldA member of the Ukrainian military in front of a destroyed Antonov An-225 at the airport in Hostomel in July 2022.

CNN —Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell testified Thursday before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. Grenell was subpoenaed to testify in special counsel Jack Smith’s ongoing criminal probe, according to a source familiar with the matter. While serving in the administration, Grenell embarked upon an effort to declassify documents that were of interest to Trump because the then-president believed they could delegitimize the Russia investigation. Grenell remained in Trump’s orbit even after the former president left office and has been seen at his Mar-a-Lago resort as recently as last week. Grenell has also commented publicly about Trump’s retention of classified documents and the former president’s still-unproven claims that the materials he kept had been declassified.

☆ An Austin Powers movie helped inspire the US strategy of exposing Russia's tactics in Ukraine, a national security advisor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

advisor took inspiration from Austin Powers as Russia prepared its invasion, Politico said. The situation reminded him of a scene in the cult comedy movie where a steamroller moves forward. He said in November 2021, he had been discussing a scene in the 1997 spy comedy "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," with Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer. Sullivan said that he and other top national security officials settled on the unprecedented strategy of declassifying US intelligence about Russia's plans. It was a gamble that this would work," Emily Horne, a former National Security Council spokeswoman told the publication.

The Pentagon would not confirm that the balloon in the photo was the surveillance balloon. The Biden administration is working on declassifying U.S. intelligence that includes details of China flying surveillance balloons above dozens of other countries around the world, according to three administration officials. The effort comes just days after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina following its trek across the continental United States. They said Biden administration officials plan to brief the dozens of countries that the U.S. believes have been subject to surveillance by China's balloons violating their airspace. The U.S. believes there are more than 40 countries that have been had Chinese surveillance balloons flown in their airspace, two officials said.

☆ DOJ grants immunity to Trump adviser Kash Patel to compel his grand jury testimony in Mar-a-Lago case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has granted immunity to Trump adviser Kash Patel after a judge ruled that was the only way to compel his grand jury testimony in the Mar-a-Lago case, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News. Patel has said that former President Donald Trump declassified certain documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate before leaving office. NBC News reported in February that the archives found classified material among the boxes of White House documents that Trump improperly took to Mar-a-Lago. Patel told Breitbart News in May that the documents had been declassified by Trump but their markings were not updated. "Trump declassified whole sets of materials in anticipation of leaving government that he thought the American public should have the right to read themselves," Patel said then.

☆ Trump aide Kash Patel appeared before a grand jury investigating the documents the former president was keeping at Mar-a-Lago, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trump aide Kash Patel appeared before a grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago case. He faces potential legal repercussions over Trump's retention of government records, CNN reported. The DOJ believes Trump may have broken the law by keeping government records after leaving office. According to CNN, Patel, who still works for Trump, spent several hours before the grand jury in Washington, D.C., on October 13. The DOJ believes that Trump and his aides may have obstructed its probe into the retention of the records.

In a filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to reject Trump's request because he has not pointed to any "clear error" in the lower court's decision or shown how he is harmed by it. Cannon had temporarily barred the Justice Department from examining the seized documents until the special master she appointed, Judge Raymond Dearie, had identified any that could be considered privileged. The Justice Department has "attempted to criminalize a document management dispute and now vehemently objects to a transparent process that provides much-needed oversight," Trump's lawyers added. At issue in the 11th Circuit's ruling were documents bearing classified markings of confidential, secret or top secret. In an interview on Fox News last month, Trump asserted that he had the power to declassify documents "even by thinking about it."

☆ Biden Advised to Declassify Full Intelligence Report on Khashoggi Murder
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Dustin Volz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi leadership, was brutally killed in Istanbul in 2018. President Biden hasn’t declassified a full U.S. intelligence report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite a government panel recommending its release to the public, according to documents and people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House declined to comment on the panel’s recommendations or the administration’s reasons for not declassifying the report.

☆ Trump’s Declassification Defense Draws Skepticism From Judges
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—Former President Donald Trump’s assertion that he declassified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago has come under judicial scrutiny this week, as judges highlighted the limits of that defense and noted a lack of courtroom evidence substantiating it. Mr. Trump has for weeks said he declassified materials taken to Mar-a-Lago, his home in Florida. In a Fox News interview that aired on Wednesday night, he said a sitting president doesn’t need to have a formal process for declassifying documents, and can carry out such an order “even by thinking about it.”

☆ Trump baselessly claimed he could have declassified documents just by thinking about declassifying them
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump claimed that he could instantly declassify documents during his time in office. Trump said that, as president, he could get documents classified just by thinking about it. I declassified everything," Trump claimed, adding that he believed the National Archives and Records Administration was run by a "radical left group." While sitting presidents can declassify documents, there is a process to get these documents declassified that involves proper documentation. This refusal to provide evidence earned a solid rebuke from Dearie, who told Trump's lawyers that they cannot "have your cake and eat it."

☆ Trump is stretching his declassification defense in the Mar-a-Lago case further still, making an argument his lawyers have gone nowhere near in court
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The claim has been his chief argument in defense of accusations he mishandled the information and imperiled US national security. In a court appearance Tuesday, special master Raymond Dearie, the official assigned to review the documents, pushed Trump's lawyers to provide evidence for the declassification claim. But Trump's lawyers didn't, arguing that making the evidence public could damage their defense if the case came to trial. "As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it," Dearie said, indicating that he was losing patience with the declassification claim. In a ruling Wednesday, an Atlanta appeals court reinstated the DOJ's access to the classified information, and dismissed the declassification argument as a "red herring" that did not exculpate Trump even if true.

Trump's lawyers, however, have stopped short of stating in court that he declassified the documents, though they have not conceded that they are classified. Trump's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dearie pressed Trump's lawyers to make clear whether they plan to assert that the records had been declassified as Trump claims. Trump's lawyers proposed Dearie to serve as special master. Dearie on Thursday asked trump's lawyers to provide any evidence backing this up.

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