Trump on Obama: “This was treason”

Trump addressed the issue from the oval office during his meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.—clearly angry at the targeting of him by President Obama and his national security team. The Hill: President Trump on Tuesday said that former President Obama should be targeted directly by the Department of Justice after his administration’s report alleged Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 election. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has sent criminal referrals to the DOJ related to the report released on Friday that asserted the Obama officials engaged in a “treasonous conspiracy.”  When asked in the Oval Office on Tuesday, during a visit with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., about whom the DOJ should target, Trump pointed to Obama. “Based on what I read, and I read pretty much what you read, it would be President Obama. He started it,” Trump said. “And [then-vice president Joe] Biden was there with him and [former FBI director James] Comey was there and [former DNI director James] Clapper, the whole group was there. [Former CIA director John] Brennan. They were all there in a room, right here, this was the room.” He added, “If you look at those papers, they have him stone-cold and it was President Obama. It wasn’t lots of people all over the place, it was them, too. But the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama, have you heard of him?” “He’s guilty, it’s not a question,” Trump said. “This was treason, this was every word you can think of” (The Hill).

Intelligence Officials Pressed Back on Brennan, Who Insisted: “The assessment will stay the same”

The former CIA Director was insistent on maintaining the line that Russia had substantially interfered in the 2016 election on behalf of Trump. Mollie Hemmingway: senior intelligence officials pointed out the lack of evidence to substantiate the claim. “We have no intelligence to directly support this ‘aspiration’ point,” said one member of the small group of individuals working with Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on the assessment of Russian activity in the lead-up to the 2016 election…. “Can you really prove Moscow was trying to get Trump elected?” the official asked in late December 2016. Brennan called the dissenting individuals into his office on Dec. 30, 2016, and had a lengthy meeting in which they articulated their serious concerns. “The assessment will stay the same,” Brennan reported at the end of the meeting…. The new records reviewed exclusively by The Federalist buttress recent claims from the CIA and Director of National Intelligence that career officers’ opposition to including an assessment that Russia sought to help Trump was much stronger than previously reported in government reviews of the Russia collusion hoax (Federalist).

House to Adjourn Down Early Amidst Epstein Issue

New York Sun: the House is now forced to leave town early on Wednesday due to consternation over the Jeffrey Epstein files drama, giving lawmakers an early start on their five-week recess. Conservatives have vowed to keep up the fight to force the files’ release, even if they have to wait until September. The House majority whip, Congressman Tom Emmer, announced Tuesday morning that House votes will be canceled on Thursday, allowing members to leave town a day early for their August recess. They are not expected to return to Washington until the first week of September (New York Sun). Politico: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, as he headed into a House GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning, said in a brief interview that Republican leaders and others are now trying to “expedite” the administration’s release of information over the August recess. “I think a lot of members are frustrated that for years, Democrats covered for Epstein. But ultimately, they also know that President Trump’s in court right now trying to unseal the documents, and for whatever reason, the courts have sealed a lot of those records,” Scalise said. “We hope they unseal those and show them to the public,” said Scalise, “and we’re trying to get that expedited” (Politico).

House Panel Subpoenas Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell

Maxwell was convicted in 2022 for her role serving as an accomplice to Epstein in the sexual exploitation of multiple minor girls. The Hill: A House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee voted Tuesday to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, as the Republicans on Capitol Hill push for the publication of more information related to Epstein’s case. During an unrelated subcommittee hearing, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) moved to direct the panel to authorize and issue a subpoena for Maxwell to appear for a deposition, which passed by voice vote. “Recently, Rep. Burchett sent a letter to Chairman Comer requesting a subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell’s testimony. In response, Chairman Comer directed Rep. Burchett to introduce a motion to subpoena Ms. Maxwell for a deposition, allowing the Committee to formally consider whether to proceed,” a spokesperson for the committee said in a statement…. Justice Department leadership announced Tuesday that it has begun to coordinate with Maxwell’s attorney about setting up a meeting. “This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement shared on X. “President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” he added. “Therefore, at the direction of Attorney General Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department.  I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days” (The Hill).

China Detaining US Citizens

New York Times: Chinese authorities have blocked a U.S.-based Wells Fargo banker from returning home, and separately sentenced a Japanese executive to more than three years’ imprisonment for espionage. Although few details of the cases have been made known, they are a reminder of China’s expansive security apparatus and what to some executives, business groups and foreign governments is an opaque legal system that makes traveling to the country risky. In a separate case, a U.S. government employee who had traveled to China on a personal trip has also been prevented from leaving the country for many weeks, said two people with a detailed knowledge of the case (New York Times). David Strom: China may have modernized over the past 30 years, but it remains a modern totalitarian country. Its gloss of wealth and power hides an underbelly of corruption and the arbitrary exercise of power–and a seeming indifference to the rights even of foreigners who enter their borders…. All this brings into sharp relief a fact we often miss: free markets depend on free societies. You cannot have free markets if coercion is a normal way of doing business in other realms of life. If governments can exercise arbitrary powers such as detaining people with flimsy or no reasons, it’s a fool’s errand to do business in that country. At least not to the extent that your own business depends on that relationship. Lie down with mangy dogs, and you will wake up covered in fleas. Decouple with China (Hot Air). 

Is the Drone Threat Our New Pearl Harbor Vulnerability?

Recent war actions by Ukraine in Russia and by Israel in Iran have given new profile to a question strategists and planners have been looking at for some time now: Are we ready for hostile drone attack—whether on the homeland or on our naval and military assets around the planet? Center for Maritime Strategy: like aircraft, U.S. warships are vulnerable to drones, especially when moored pier side. While underway, America’s advanced fleet has enough firepower, watch standers, and detection methods to track, identify, and defeat a Ukrainian-style drone attack. The inherent mobility of ships at sea, as well as their stand-off distance from land, also protect against short-range UAS. A true, coordinated swarm could overwhelm these defenses, and a prolonged conflict would deplete America’s limited stock of expensive, high-tech missile interceptors…. The threat to American warships in port, however, remains significant. The Navy primarily designed its current security infrastructure to prevent surface attacks, including those involving waterborne improvised explosive devices. Installed in part after al-Qaeda’s suicide bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, this infrastructure includes harbor patrol craft, waterline security lights, and port security barriers. These security elements may stop an unmanned surface vessel; nevertheless, they will not impede a UAS flying at an altitude of 100 feet (Maritime Strategy). Austyn Jeffs: The experts I spoke to for my latest Free Press documentary told me that a drone attack on U.S. soil is all but inevitable. In fact, there may have already been attempts. In November, a man was arrested for allegedly planning to attack Nashville’s power grid using a drone carrying an explosive device. In May, a Michigan man was arrested after allegedly flying his drone over a military base. The Department of Justice claims he was conducting reconnaissance for a planned mass shooting on the behalf of ISIS (Free Press). Wall Street Journal yesterday looked at how drones have changed warfare in Ukraine: It’s a different war today, he said. “The lions from 2022-2023, who were real warriors, no longer exist,” he said. Heavy losses have reduced the quality of soldiers on both sides. “The men now are not capable of the same feats. Now it’s a war of drones” (Wall Street Journal). The Pentagon is setting up a new interagency task force: The new interagency group is being created in part because the military “cannot move fast enough in this space,” according to Gen. James Mingus, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. Mingus revealed the new task force while speaking at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The exact details on the task force and its makeup weren’t specified but Mingus compared the risks that UAS pose to the dangers of improvised explosive devices during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Task and Purpose).

Two-Year Delay in Latest Aircraft Carrier Elevates Concerns for Defense Posture Relative to CCP

New York Sun: Two weeks ago, the Navy announced that the delivery of its newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, United States Ship John F. Kennedy, would be delayed another two years. And in a head-scratching example of who-could’ve-seen-it-coming timing, the delay was announced just weeks before the ship was to be delivered. The delay has serious strategic-readiness implications: it will leave the Navy one carrier-group short of the 11 that Congress has mandated. Typically, the Navy can deploy just four carrier groups at once — with the others undergoing maintenance. Reducing fleet availability by one carrier is significant: When the Navy deployed a second carrier group to support Israel in its action against Iran, it had to remove the Nimitz battle group from the high-priority South China Sea. And showing weakness — or limited resources — to Communist China is never a smart move. The problem was exacerbated last week when the Navy quietly disclosed that two “big deck” amphibious assault ships currently under construction would also be delayed by a year. These vessels — 844 feet long and displacing some 45,000 tons — are slightly smaller than U.S.S. John F. Kennedy…. The stakes are too high to accept the status quo which allows the Navy’s shipbuilding oligopoly to continue business as usual. China may be counting on just that. (New York Sun). The Naval Institute looks to the subsequent carrier’s delivery date delay: The latest budget books show that the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80) is also facing a nearly one-year delay. The carrier is now slated to deliver in July of 2030 instead of last year’s projection of September 2029 (USNI).

Milei’s Remarkable Achievement in Argentina

Niall Ferguson looks at the turnaround of south America’s most encouraging success story. After summarizing Milei’s initial moves: The result of this shock therapy has been a stunning recovery. Milei has brought monthly inflation down from 13 percent to 2 percent. The economy is now growing at an annual rate of 7 percent. Investors no longer shun Argentine bonds and stocks—indeed, they were among the best investments you could have made over the past two years. After a brief upward jump, the poverty rate has fallen from 42 percent, when Milei was elected, to 31 percent. There is much work still to be done, but a new program from the IMF will provide $12 billion of new lending upfront and potentially another $2 billion, which should enable Milei to remove the remaining capital and exchange controls without reigniting inflation…. For those unable to distinguish a populist from a radical libertarian, Milei provided clarification with his extraordinary lecture at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024. “Collectivist experiments,” he told his audience of somewhat bewildered globalists, “are never the solution to the problems that afflict the citizens of the world. Rather, they are the root cause.” Echoing Friedman, he went on: “Socialism is always and everywhere an impoverishing phenomenon that has failed in all countries where it’s been tried out. It’s been a failure economically, socially, culturally, and it also murdered over 100 million human beings.” By contrast, “free enterprise capitalism is not just the only possible system to end world poverty, but also . . . the only morally desirable system to achieve this….” —we must all wish el Loco luck. It’s not only Latin America that could use a libertarian success story. The whole world needs one. Much more than “the gaiety of nations and the public stock of harmless pleasure” is at stake (Free Press).

US Olympic Team to Comply With Trump Executive Order Protect Women’s Sports

A win for women. Fox News: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) updated its policies to suggest it will comply with President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. The USOPC’s transgender eligibility policy page now includes a note that reads, “As of July 21, 2025, please refer to the USOPC athlete safety policy.” That policy does not lay out any clear guidelines regarding trans inclusion in women’s sports. However, it does include one paragraph that directly cites President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order (Fox News). Independent Council on Women’s Sports: The next critical step is for the USOPC to implement sex screening protocols. This will ensure that women are guaranteed equal, fair, and safe opportunities in athletic competition. ICONS will not rest until every girl, at every level, in every sport has access to fair competition and privacy in locker rooms. The U.S. has a chance to be a leader in standing up for the fair treatment of women around the world. Next stop: the International Olympic Committee. Women across the world deserve the opportunity to compete on a level playing field and to become champions in their own right (ICONS)

A Refreshing Face in Professional Sports: Scottie Scheffler

The current world leading golfer was in the news most recently for his win at the British Open—his 17^th PGA tour victory. But what keeps getting attention is his character, his priorities, his sense of perspective and his conviction that golf is not the most important thing in life—even when you’re playing at the game’s highest level. Federalist, beginning with a quote from Scheffler: “I love the challenge. I love being able to play this game for a living. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life. But does it fill the deepest, you know, wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not,” Scheffler explained. If winning doesn’t drive the best golfer in the world, what does? Longtime fans of Scheffler already know his Christian faith “defines” him. A close second, however, is his role as a husband and father. In the same interview that Scheffler repeated the Psalm 39 recognition that life is “fleeting,” he declared that “if my golf ever started affecting my home life, or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or with my son, that’s gonna be the last day that I play out here for a living.” (Federalist). Nike celebrated the win with a post on X: Priorities unchanged. Another major secured. The wins keep coming on and off the course for Scottie Scheffler (Nike). When Nike’s messaging celebrates fatherhood, cultural change may well be afoot. Golfweek: Webb Simpson, a past U.S. Open champion, co-hosts a podcast and in one episode Scheffler was the guest and Simpson articulated what he thinks make Scheffler different from so many other athletic stars. “It’s super rare in sports to see the top of the top, who are the best at their sport, faithfully walk with God,” Simpson told Scheffler. “A lot of young listeners, high school guys or even college kids around us, they are fearful that if they walk with the Lord they’re going to lose their competitive edge. Somehow, somebody thought a long time ago that because you’re a Christian means you’re a soft competitor. But you embody a faithful man of God who is a fierce competitor” (Golfweek).