This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump’s allies were in pursuit of a tantalizing prospect last year: tape recordings of Joe Biden speaking to Ukrainian officials while he was vice president, conversations they believed could help them damage Biden’s current bid for the White House.The previously undisclosed hunt for tapes of Biden and other recordings in Ukraine, described by several people who were involved, came as the president’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, was casting a wide net for material to undermine...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump’s allies were in pursuit of a tantalizing prospect last year: tape recordings of Joe Biden speaking to Ukrainian officials while he was vice president, conversations they believed could help them damage Biden’s current bid for the White House.The previously undisclosed hunt for tapes of Biden and other recordings in Ukraine, described by several people who were involved, came as the president’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, was casting a wide net for material to undermine...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations.The matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies May 15, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations.The matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies May 15, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump said Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, a nearly 30-year-old pact designed to reduce the chances of an accidental war by allowing mutual reconnaissance flights for members of the 34-country agreement.Speaking on the White House lawn before flying to Michigan, Trump said the United States was pulling out because .“Until they adhere, we will pull out,” he said.The Trump administration will issue a formal notification Friday that the United States intends to withdraw,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump said Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, a nearly 30-year-old pact designed to reduce the chances of an accidental war by allowing mutual reconnaissance flights for members of the 34-country agreement.Speaking on the White House lawn before flying to Michigan, Trump said the United States was pulling out because .“Until they adhere, we will pull out,” he said.The Trump administration will issue a formal notification Friday that the United States intends to withdraw,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA pair of Republican Senate committee chairmen released a report Wednesday that revived attacks on the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and argued his position with a Ukrainian energy company was “problematic,” but the report did not show that it influenced the then-vice president’s behavior or changed the Obama administration’s policy toward Ukraine.Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa)...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA pair of Republican Senate committee chairmen released a report Wednesday that revived attacks on the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and argued his position with a Ukrainian energy company was “problematic,” but the report did not show that it influenced the then-vice president’s behavior or changed the Obama administration’s policy toward Ukraine.Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa)...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe State Department last month revoked the visa of a Ukrainian political fixer who aided President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in his gambit last year to dig up information from Ukraine that would damage former vice president Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to U.S. officials.The revocation of Ukrainian fixer Andrii Telizhenko’s visa comes as U.S. officials crack down on Russian efforts to influence the November vote. The revocation, which hasn’t previously been reported, came shortly before...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe State Department last month revoked the visa of a Ukrainian political fixer who aided President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in his gambit last year to dig up information from Ukraine that would damage former vice president Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to U.S. officials.The revocation of Ukrainian fixer Andrii Telizhenko’s visa comes as U.S. officials crack down on Russian efforts to influence the November vote. The revocation, which hasn’t previously been reported, came shortly before...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA Ukrainian lawmaker who met with Rudolph W. Giuliani late last year released recordings of private phone calls several years ago between Vice President Joe Biden and Petro Poroshenko, then Ukraine’s president, in a new broadside against the presumptive Democratic nominee for U.S. president that has raised questions about foreign interference in the 2020 election.Andriy Derkach, an independent member of Ukraine’s parliament who previously aligned with a pro-Russian faction, said at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA Ukrainian lawmaker who met with Rudolph W. Giuliani late last year released recordings of private phone calls several years ago between Vice President Joe Biden and Petro Poroshenko, then Ukraine’s president, in a new broadside against the presumptive Democratic nominee for U.S. president that has raised questions about foreign interference in the 2020 election.Andriy Derkach, an independent member of Ukraine’s parliament who previously aligned with a pro-Russian faction, said at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSpeaker Nancy Pelosi told her House colleagues Friday that she had spoken to the Pentagon’s top general about keeping an “unstable president” from accessing the nuclear codes, as Democrats openly considered impeaching the commander in chief for the second time in just over a year.The discussion with Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, came after President Trump directed thousands of angry supporters to the Capitol on Wednesday as he refused to concede his election defeat. The crowds in an...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSpeaker Nancy Pelosi told her House colleagues Friday that she had spoken to the Pentagon’s top general about keeping an “unstable president” from accessing the nuclear codes, as Democrats openly considered impeaching the commander in chief for the second time in just over a year.The discussion with Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, came after President Trump directed thousands of angry supporters to the Capitol on Wednesday as he refused to concede his election defeat. The crowds in an...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Pentagon placed tight limits on the D.C. National Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests this week, trying to ensure the use of military force remained constrained, as the Guard carried out a narrow, unarmed mission requested by the city’s mayor to help handle traffic ahead of planned protests.In memos issued Monday and Tuesday in response to a request from the D.C. mayor, the Pentagon prohibited the District’s guardsmen from receiving ammunition or riot gear, interacting with protesters unless necessary for self-defense,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Pentagon placed tight limits on the D.C. National Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests this week, trying to ensure the use of military force remained constrained, as the Guard carried out a narrow, unarmed mission requested by the city’s mayor to help handle traffic ahead of planned protests.In memos issued Monday and Tuesday in response to a request from the D.C. mayor, the Pentagon prohibited the District’s guardsmen from receiving ammunition or riot gear, interacting with protesters unless necessary for self-defense,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareRussia is once again threatening to become a major factor in a U.S. presidential election as long-standing fears about President Trump’s deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin crystallize in a scandal over alleged Russian bounty payments targeting U.S. forces in Afghanistan.The emergence of Russia as an election theme comes four years after its operation to hack and release emails of Trump’s Democratic rivals put the Kremlin front and center during the last presidential campaign.The possibility that Russia...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareRussia is once again threatening to become a major factor in a U.S. presidential election as long-standing fears about President Trump’s deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin crystallize in a scandal over alleged Russian bounty payments targeting U.S. forces in Afghanistan.The emergence of Russia as an election theme comes four years after its operation to hack and release emails of Trump’s Democratic rivals put the Kremlin front and center during the last presidential campaign.The possibility that Russia...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe Army initially pushed to reject the D.C. government’s request for a modest National Guard presence ahead of the Jan. 6 rally that led to the Capitol riot, underscoring the deep reluctance of some higher-ups at the Pentagon to involve the military in security arrangements that day.In an internal draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, the Army said the U.S. military shouldn’t be needed to help police with traffic and crowd management, as city officials had requested, unless more than 100,000 demonstrators were...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe Army initially pushed to reject the D.C. government’s request for a modest National Guard presence ahead of the Jan. 6 rally that led to the Capitol riot, underscoring the deep reluctance of some higher-ups at the Pentagon to involve the military in security arrangements that day.In an internal draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, the Army said the U.S. military shouldn’t be needed to help police with traffic and crowd management, as city officials had requested, unless more than 100,000 demonstrators were...WW…