International

Trump had top secret papers about foreign nation’s nuclear defences at Mar-a-Lago, report says

Published

2 years ago

September 7, 2022

Former president Donald Trump

The FBI seized files detailing the nuclear capabilities of a foreign country when its agents executed a search warrant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and residence last month, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted sources saying that the documents were so secret that only the president, some members of his Cabinet or a near-Cabinet level officials would be allowed to authorise other government officials to see them.

The Post said that the papers included information about the nuclear defence readiness of a foreign country, but did not say which one.

The stunning implications of such documents — which are classified at some of the highest levels existing in federal law — being held at a private residence where concerns have been raised about the organisation and security of their keeping cannot be overstated. The allegation suggested a reason for why US intelligence agencies would need to conduct an assessment of any risks to national security in the wake of the FBI raid.

If accurate, the report also shreds any defence by Mr Trump and his allies claiming that the documents seized by the FBI were harmless and solely intended for his use in a memoir, presidential library, or other project. It’s hard to imagine a valid need for a former president to have such information on hand.

Mr Trump’s closest defenders have made such arguments for weeks — Sen Marco Rubio, who represents the state in which the raid occurred, said only this week that the investigation amounted to a mere records issue. Tuesday’s report by the Post would put the Justice Department squarely in the territory of investigating the potential mishandling classified materials, to say nothing of the records act violations Mr Trump could be accused of as well.

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The Independent has reached out to the former president’s office for comment.

Reacting shortly after the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago on 8 August, Mr Trump denied that there had been any nuclear secrets among the papers reportedly found at his home, calling the claims “a hoax”. He also suggested the FBI had planted documents there, although he has since acknowledged that they were there, subsequently claiming he had personally “declassified” them.

In the weeks since the FBI’s raid Mr Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the Biden administration, and in particular the federal law enforcement apparatus for his latest legal predicament. At a recent rally in Pennsylvania alongside his chosen candidates in key state races, the former president denounced what he said were “vicious” actions by the DoJ.

Adding to his ire at the agencies is the recent revelation from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg that his company and Twitter voluntarily censored news on their platforms regarding a laptop previously owned by Hunter Biden during the 2020 election. Conservatives long claimed that the computer contained incriminating information (though Mr Biden does not stand accused of any crimes by law enforcement) and Mr Trump himself has espoused the belief recently that the inability of the story to reach more voters cost him votes in the 2020 election.

The former president also harbours hatred of the DoJ and FBI over their investigation of his 2016 presidential campaign and the unprecedented effort by Russian agents to damage the reputation and candidacy of his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

He has not, however, provided any coherent explanation for why classified materials were at his private residence and resort in Florida, preferring instead to lob baseless accusations in the same vein at his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Mr Trump has also, along with his allies including Marjorie Taylor Greene, unleashed withering criticism after criticism against the FBI which the agency along with the Department of Homeland Security warned last month was leading to an increase in threats of violence against federal agents and property. An Ohio FBI office was even attacked, leading to the death of the assailant in a gun battle with law enforcment.

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The political implications of indicting a former president, especially one considered a leading candidate for his party in the next presidential cycle, are now at the top of the minds of both political analysts in the Washington media as well as prosecutors at the Justice Department, who abide by an unwritten rule to not take politically-sensitive actions during election seasons.

A potential reaction to such an act by the Justice Department was spelled out by GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, who recently predicted “riots” in the streets should Donald Trump be criminally charged. His words were called a veiled threat by his enemies on the left, while Mr Graham defended them as an honest depiction of the reality of the situation.

The documents seized by FBI agents will now be placed into the hands of a court-appointed special master unless the Justice Department appeals a decision by Judge Aileen Cannon to allow the yet-unnamed official to review them for privileged information or files. DoJ officials have said that they are weighing their options.

The Independent

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International

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

Published

4 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

“Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way,” he said.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organisation. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK, among many others, as it started as a splinter group of al-Qaeda, which it broke away from in 2016.

Sharaa said HTS was not a terrorist group.

They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves to be victim of the crimes of the Assad regime.

He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

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Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

He said he believed in education for women.

“We’ve had universities in Idlib for more than eight years,” Sharaa said, referring to Syria’s north-western province that has been held by rebels since 2011.

“I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%.”

And when asked whether the consumption of alcohol would be allowed, Sharaa said: “There are many things I just don’t have the right to talk about because they are legal issues.”

He added that there would be a “Syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution. They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law”.

Sharaa was relaxed throughout the interview, wearing civilian clothes, and tried to offer reassurance to all those who believe his group has not broken with its extremist past.

Many Syrians do not believe him.

The actions of Syria’s new rulers in the next few months will indicate the kind of country they want Syria to be – and the way they want to rule it.

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

BBC

International

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

Published

4 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

JERUSALEM: Israel said Thursday it struck ports and energy infrastructure it alleges are used by Houthi militants, after intercepting a missile fired by the group.

Israel’s military said it “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen — including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Houthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.”

The announcement came shortly after Israel said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.

Al-Masira, a media channel belonging to the Houthis, said a series of “aggressive raids” were launched in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.

It reported raids that “targeted two central power plants” in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, while in Hodeidah it said “the enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port… and two raids targeting” an oil facility.

The strikes were the second time this week that Israel’s military has intercepted a missile from Yemen.

On Monday, the Houthis claimed a missile launch they said was aimed at “a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa” — a reference to Israel’s Tel Aviv area.

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Also Monday, an Israeli navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean after it was launched from Yemen, the military said.

The Houthi militants have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and pledged Monday to continue operations “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

On December 9, a drone claimed by Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by United States and sometimes British forces.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the group had become a “global threat,” pointing to Iran’s support for the militants.

“We will continue to act against anyone, anyone in the Middle East, that threatens the state of Israel,” he said.

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

International

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

Published

4 days ago

December 19, 2024

Trends Admin

A Palestinian boy looks as others inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

CAIRO: The United States, joined by Arab mediators, sought on Wednesday to conclude an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the 14-month-old war in the Gaza Strip where medics said Israeli strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians overnight.

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said on Wednesday that mediators had narrowed gaps on most of the agreement’s clauses. He said Israel had introduced conditions which Hamas rejected but would not elaborate.

On Tuesday, sources close to the talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, said an agreement could be signed in coming days on a ceasefire and a release of hostages held in Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people in a house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya while six were killed in separate airstrikes in Gaza City, Nuseirat camp in central areas, and Rafah near the border with Egypt.

In Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said four people were killed in an airstrike on a house. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military spokesman.

Israeli forces have operated in the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya as well as the nearby Jabalia camp since October, in a campaign the military said aimed to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping.

Palestinians accuse Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate the northern edge of the enclave to create a buffer zone. Israel denies it.

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Hamas does not disclose its casualties, and the Palestinian health ministry does not distinguish in its daily death toll between combatants and non-combatants.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it struck a number of Hamas militants planning an imminent attack against Israeli forces operating in Jabalia.

Later on Wednesday, Muhammad Saleh, director of Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, said Israeli shelling in the vicinity damaged the facility, wounding seven medics and one patient inside the hospital.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

In the Central Gaza camp of Bureij, Palestinian families began leaving some districts after the army posted new evacuation orders on X and in written and audio messages to mobile phones of some of the population there, citing new firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from the area.

CEASEFIRE GAINS MOMENTUM

The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month.

In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Adam Boehler, US President-elect Donald Trump’s designated envoy for hostage affairs. Trump has threatened that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by Jan. 20, the day Trump returns to the White House.

CIA Director William Burns was due in Doha on Wednesday for talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on bridging remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, other knowledgeable sources said. The CIA declined to comment.

Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday looking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal Biden outlined in May.

There have been repeated rounds of talks over the past year, all of which have failed, with Israel insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas refusing to release hostages until the troops pulled out.

The war in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw more than 250 abducted as hostages, has sent shockwaves across the Middle East and left Israel isolated internationally.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

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