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Trump Reportedly Relocates Obama Portrait

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President Donald Trump has reportedly moved the official White House portrait of Barack Obama to an area that is generally off-limits to visitors, according to a Sunday CNN report. The painting now hangs at the top of the Grand Staircase, alongside portraits of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, making it far less visible to the public during White House tours.

This is the second relocation of Obama’s portrait under Trump’s direction. In April, it was moved to make room for a photograph depicting the immediate aftermath of the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The portrait’s latest move comes amid renewed scrutiny of the Obama administration’s handling of intelligence during the 2016 election. On July 18, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released documents and a memo accusing Obama’s national security team of “manufacturing and politicizing” intelligence in what she described as a “years-long coup” against Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton.

Gabbard followed up days later by announcing she had referred Obama to the Justice Department for potential criminal charges related to the so-called “Russiagate” probe. She alleged that the former president played a central role in shaping the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump—a claim heavily questioned in the years since.

Special Counsel John Durham’s May 2023 report concluded that the FBI failed to corroborate allegations from the discredited Steele Dossier, which was nonetheless used to obtain surveillance warrants against members of Trump’s campaign, including Carter Page. Former FBI analyst Brian Auten testified in 2022 that the bureau offered dossier author Christopher Steele $1 million to verify its contents, but Steele was unable to do so.

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Trump Issues Ultimatum to Putin as Russian Drones Breach NATO Airspace; Putin Agrees to Meet in Alaska

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Eastern Europe is once again on edge as Russian drones—some armed with explosives—have breached NATO airspace, triggering security concerns and drawing a pointed warning from U.S. President Donald Trump. President Trump has demanded a resolution to the escalating tensions, giving Russian President Vladimir Putin until Friday to make “meaningful progress” in peace negotiations or face sweeping sanctions targeting Russia’s war economy.

The warning comes as NATO allies in Eastern Europe grow increasingly uneasy over a string of drone incursions and missile strikes brushing up against alliance borders.

In recent days, an explosive-laden drone believed to have originated from Belarus entered Lithuanian airspace, traveling over 100 kilometers before crashing inside a military training zone near the capital, Vilnius. The drone was carrying approximately two kilograms of explosives and came within one kilometer of the Lithuanian president’s residence.

Another drone incident occurred earlier in July, when an unidentified aircraft crashed near the Šumskas border crossing, prompting the evacuation of government officials. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė called the latest breach “unprecedented and alarming,” urging NATO to take the situation seriously and increase regional air defense cooperation.

“This is not merely about Lithuanian airspace—this is NATO territory,” Šakalienė warned. “We need a collective response that reflects the seriousness of the threat.”

Meanwhile, a separate Russian missile strike hit a Ukrainian gas depot just half a mile from Romania’s border, again raising questions about NATO’s preparedness. Although Romania’s air force scrambled F‑16s to patrol the skies, no drone crossed into Romanian airspace during the incident—an outcome Romanian officials attribute to new legislation passed in May that allows for immediate interception or destruction of unauthorized drones.

Romania’s swift response stood in stark contrast to NATO’s broader posture, which has remained muted despite multiple airspace breaches over the past year.

Experts say the incidents reflect a shift in Russia’s military strategy—away from conventional warfare and toward so-called “hybrid” tactics that blend psychological warfare, cyberattacks, and ambiguous military provocations.

“This is the future battlefield,” said Eitvydas Bajarūnas, former Lithuanian ambassador. “It’s not about tanks rolling across borders, it’s about uncertainty, pressure, and the erosion of public confidence in security guarantees.”

Bruno Kahl, head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, has repeatedly warned that Russia is testing the limits of NATO’s unity, using drone incursions and disinformation to gauge how the alliance might respond to more serious provocations. “Russia doesn’t believe NATO will act on Article 5 unless directly challenged,” Kahl said earlier this summer, referencing the alliance’s foundational principle of collective defense.

Amid growing anxiety in Europe, Donald Trump has taken a more confrontational approach. Speaking during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump said Putin’s military adventurism was being fueled by high energy prices and vowed to collapse Russia’s oil-dependent economy if necessary.

“Putin will stop killing people if you get energy down another $10 a barrel,” Trump said. “He’s going to have no choice because his economy stinks.”

Trump warned that unless peace talks show tangible progress by the end of the week, he would push for aggressive sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector—measures that could cut into the Kremlin’s ability to fund its ongoing war in Ukraine.

While Trump’s ultimatum may place renewed pressure on Moscow, some analysts worry it may also expose cracks in NATO’s deterrence strategy.

Andrew D’Anieri, a regional security expert with the Atlantic Council, noted that repeated incursions without any firm NATO response risk undermining the credibility of the alliance’s collective defense commitments.

“The concerning part is not just the drone flights,” D’Anieri said. “It’s the silence that follows.”

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Putin-Trump Meeting to Occur in Alaska on 8/15/25

By Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet next week in Alaska to discuss an end to the three-year Russian war on Ukraine in the first in-person session between the two world leaders since Trump returned to the White House in January.

“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump wrote on Aug. 8 in a post on Truth Social. “Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The announcement comes on the same day a Trump-imposed deadline on Putin to end the war in Ukraine expires. Talks have been floated for months and were initially supposed to include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with Trump facilitating the negotiations. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Trump Orders a New Census

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President Donald Trump has directed the Commerce Department to conduct a new census, one that counts citizens of the United States and omits illegal aliens.

“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday.

The 2020 Census was alarmingly inaccurate, resulting in faulty congressional representation in Washington D.C. From the Heritage Foundation:

In a shocking report that has not received the attention it deserves, the U.S. Census Bureau recently admitted that its 2020 Census count of the American population was incorrect in at least 14 states.

And those mistakes were costly to certain states in terms of congressional representation, number of electors, and money those states are likely to receive from the federal government during the next decade. To put the scope of these mistakes into perspective, contrast the errors in the Census Bureau’s latest recount (the 2020 Post-Enumeration Survey, or PES) with the recount from a decade ago (the 2010 Post-Enumeration Survey)—in which there was a net overcount of a mere 0.01 percent (36,000 people), a statistically insignificant error.

As explained below, as a result of these errors, Florida did not receive two additional congressional seats and Texas did not receive one more congressional seat. Meanwhile, two other states, Minnesota and Rhode Island, each retained a congressional seat that they should have lost, and Colorado gained a new seat to which it was rightfully not entitled.

(Read more from “Trump Orders a New Census” HERE)

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Trump Signs Executive Order Cracking Down on ‘Debanking’: ‘Incompatible with a Free Society’

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President Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at preventing banks from refusing to offer financial services to people based on their political beliefs or lawful business activities – a practice known as “debanking.”

“It is the policy of the United States that no American should be denied access to financial services because of their constitutionally or statutorily protected beliefs, affiliations, or political views, and to ensure that politicized or unlawful debanking is not used as a tool to inhibit such beliefs, affiliations, or political views,” Trump wrote in his order.

“Banking decisions must instead be made on the basis of individualized, objective, and risk-based analyses,” he added.

Earlier this week, Trump accused JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America of rejecting more than $1 billion of his deposits for political reasons.

“The banks discriminated against me very badly,” he told CNBC on Tuesday.

Former Republican Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback recently alleged he was “debanked” by JPMorgan over his conservative religious views – a claim the bank denied. (Read more from “Trump Signs Executive Order Cracking Down on ‘Debanking’: ‘Incompatible with a Free Society’” HERE)

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Trump Announces 100% Tariff on Semiconductors Made Outside the U.S. in Potential Blow to Domestic Businesses

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President Trump announced plans Wednesday for a 100% tariff on “all chips and semiconductors” — insisting that there would be an orderly economic transition despite potential major impacts on US businesses.

“We’ll be putting a tariff, approximately 100%, on chips and semiconductors,” Trump said at an Oval Office event with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who arrived to announce plans for $600 billion in new investments in the US.

Trump said he would exempt companies that have plans to transition their manufacturing to the US — a hint that the world’s largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan’s TSMC, which is building massive manufacturing plants in Arizona, would be spared.

“If you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge, even though you’re building and you’re not producing yet in terms of the big numbers of jobs and all of the things that you’re building. If you’re building there will be no charge,” Trump said.

“So 100% tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States. But if you’ve made a commitment to build, or if you’re in the process of building, as many are, there is no tariff.” (Read more from “Trump Announces 100% Tariff on Semiconductors Made Outside the U.S. in Potential Blow to Domestic Businesses” HERE)

Federal Grand Jury Investigates Ex-Obama Officials Over Alleged Trump-Russia Hoax

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A federal grand jury has been convened to investigate whether former Obama-era officials coordinated efforts to promote what turned out to be false claims of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 election cycle, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department’s probe is centered around the early days of “Crossfire Hurricane,” the FBI’s investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives — an inquiry that ultimately resulted in no findings of collusion after years of scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The investigation, which could lead to criminal charges, is said to focus on key intelligence figures including former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. All three served under President Barack Obama and were involved in initiating or advancing the Russia probe.

President Trump and current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have both called for accountability, alleging the Russia narrative was a politically motivated operation designed to derail Trump’s presidency. Gabbard, a former Democrat congresswoman, submitted a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, citing alleged misconduct by Obama-era intelligence officials and suggesting the former president himself may have orchestrated the effort.

Obama-Era Intelligence Under Scrutiny

Central to the investigation are claims that the infamous Steele dossier — a collection of salacious and unverified allegations compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele — was knowingly used to legitimize the Russia narrative. The dossier was funded by opposition research firm Fusion GPS, on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Documents obtained during the inquiry reportedly contradict Brennan’s 2023 congressional testimony, in which he claimed the CIA opposed inclusion of the Steele dossier in an intelligence assessment. At the time, Brennan had allegedly supported its inclusion, according to internal agency communications.

Comey is also facing renewed scrutiny following his 2023 interview with Secret Service agents regarding an image he posted online, interpreted by some as a threat against Trump. Republican lawmakers have long accused Comey of providing false testimony to Congress in 2017, which carries a potential five-year prison sentence — although that charge is subject to a statute of limitations.

Legal Hurdles and Political Fallout

The grand jury inquiry comes at a legally complex moment. In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts — a decision that likely shields Obama from direct legal consequences related to presidential directives.

However, DOJ officials are exploring whether lower-level officials knowingly misled Congress or manipulated intelligence for political ends. Treason, while historically rare and difficult to prove, remains on the table as a charge with no statute of limitations.

“Following the compelling case outlined by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which exposed clear and blatant weaponization by corrupt intelligence officials acting at the behest of the Democrat Party and likely former President Obama, the Administration remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation,” said White House spokesman Harrison Fields.

Trump, who has faced multiple indictments himself in recent years, has argued that he was too forgiving of political rivals during his first term — referencing his decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State.

“I let her off the hook for what?” Trump said during a recent interview. “Now we know they actually meant it — and it was all a hoax. I think they should pay a price.”

Political and Historical Significance

The grand jury proceedings signal a significant shift in how past political investigations may be scrutinized in future administrations. While many legal experts caution that pursuing charges against former national security leaders could further politicize the justice system, supporters argue it’s necessary to restore public trust.

The Justice Department has not announced a timeline for potential indictments, and sources say the location of the grand jury — whether in Washington, D.C. or another jurisdiction — remains undisclosed for now.

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Jack Smith Under Federal Investigation for Alleged Election Interference, Hatch Act Violations

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Federal authorities have launched a formal investigation into former Special Counsel Jack Smith following allegations that he may have violated the Hatch Act — a law designed to prevent political activity by government officials while performing official duties.

According to documentation reviewed by the New York Post, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent agency charged with enforcing the Hatch Act, has initiated the probe through its Hatch Act Unit. Senior Counsel Charles Baldis reportedly confirmed the investigation via email.

At the heart of the allegations are concerns that Smith may have used his position within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to influence the 2024 presidential election — specifically in a manner detrimental to former President Donald Trump.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who also chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, applauded the move in a public statement.

“I commend the Office of Special Counsel for treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves. Jack Smith is not above the law,” Cotton said. “His conduct appears to have been politically motivated and aimed squarely at undermining President Trump’s campaign.”

He also criticized Smith’s attempt to bypass normal judicial channels and take the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court without sufficient justification.

“The goal wasn’t justice. It was speed — and the motive was clearly political,” Cotton added. “This was campaign interference dressed up as legal process.”

The Office of Special Counsel has not publicly commented beyond confirming that a review is underway.

Smith, appointed as Special Counsel under the Biden administration, previously led two high-profile federal investigations into Donald Trump — one focused on Trump’s retention of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, and the other examining his role in the events surrounding January 6, 2021. Both investigations have since concluded without resulting in a conviction, and the cases have been dropped.

Cotton is now urging OSC to complete its investigation and, if warranted, hold Smith accountable for what he describes as “an unprecedented attempt to sway the outcome of a presidential election through federal authority.”

“These weren’t the decisions of a neutral public servant,” Cotton concluded. “They were the calculated moves of a partisan figure operating from inside the Department of Justice.”

The outcome of the investigation could have major implications, not only for Jack Smith personally but also for future interpretations of the Hatch Act and its role in maintaining political neutrality within the federal government.

Trump Fires BLS Commissioner Over Alleged Job Report Discrepancies Ahead of 2024 Election

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President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer following the release of a weaker-than-expected July jobs report and accused the agency of previously misreporting employment data ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

According to the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%. Both figures fell short of economists’ expectations and prompted immediate scrutiny from the White House.

On Truth Social, President Trump, who recently began his second term, expressed concerns over what he called “manipulated” employment figures. He cited discrepancies in past job growth reports, particularly in the months leading up to the 2024 election, which he alleged had been overstated in favor of then-Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

“I was just informed that our Country’s ‘Jobs Numbers’ are being produced by a Biden Appointee… who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory,” Trump wrote. He further claimed that job growth was overstated by over 800,000 positions in early 2024 and again in the fall.

In his statement, Trump directed his administration to remove McEntarfer from her post, stating she would be replaced “with someone much more competent and qualified.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich confirmed the firing and defended the move, citing a pattern of “routinely getting economic data wrong.” Budowich added, “Policy makers look to these reports to inform decisions… We need accuracy, and President Trump will restore competency and accuracy to this critical agency.”

Stephen Miran, a senior White House economist, acknowledged the weak jobs report and said part of the downward revision — including a 258,000-job adjustment to the previous two months — was due to statistical factors, not deliberate manipulation.

“About 60 percent of the downward revision is due to quirks of the seasonal adjustment process,” Miran told CNN. He also noted that despite the setback, long-term fundamentals of the labor market remained “strong.”

McEntarfer, appointed under the Biden administration, had served as BLS commissioner during a period of economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. While she has not issued a public statement in response to her dismissal, labor economists have pointed out that monthly jobs data is often revised as more information becomes available, and fluctuations are not uncommon.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the Department of Labor, plays a key role in compiling data that influences federal monetary policy, market forecasts, and public trust in the economy.

This marks the first high-profile dismissal from a federal agency under Trump’s new term, and it has renewed debate over political influence in the presentation and interpretation of economic data.

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REPORT: DOJ Official Tied to Left-Wing Activism Approved $2 Million Settlement for Russiagate FBI Agents Strzok and Page

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A former top Department of Justice official — now linked to prominent left-wing legal advocacy groups — approved a stunning $2 million payout to disgraced former FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump messages became central to accusations of political bias in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.

According to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Center to Advance Security in America, Brian Netter, then Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Merrick Garland, greenlit the settlement agreements in 2024. The revelations were first reported by The Federalist.

Netter, who has since taken a role as Legal Director of Democracy Forward, a progressive legal nonprofit chaired by Clinton-aligned election lawyer Marc Elias, has long been affiliated with Democratic legal causes. Democracy Forward’s mission includes challenging GOP-backed election reforms and advocating for “social progress through litigation.”

The group’s website explicitly claims that individuals “responsible for January 6th have returned to power” — signaling its partisan orientation.

The settlement comes despite the controversial roles of Strzok and Page in the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign. Their leaked texts from 2015-2017, obtained from government-issued phones, included open disdain for then-candidate Trump and alarming references to an “insurance policy” in the event he were to win the presidency.

“I want to believe the path you threw out in [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s] office—that there’s no way he gets elected—but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk,” Strzok wrote to Page in one infamous 2016 exchange. “It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

Republican lawmakers and watchdogs said the messages suggested the FBI was politicized at the highest levels — undermining its role as a neutral investigative agency.

Strzok, who was later fired by the FBI, and Page, who resigned, sued the DOJ, alleging their privacy was violated when their texts were leaked in 2017. The DOJ ultimately awarded $1.2 million to Strzok and $800,000 to Page, according to Politico.

Netter’s involvement adds a layer of political intrigue to the case. While at DOJ, he actively fought against Trump’s attempt to block the release of presidential records to the House January 6 Committee.

According to The New York Times, Garland officiated Netter’s wedding to Karen Dunn, a Democratic legal operative who later co-founded a firm with Jeannie Rhee — a former Clinton Foundation attorney and senior lawyer on Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

Mueller’s final report found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, though the investigation itself inflicted political damage and remained a dominant narrative throughout Trump’s presidency.

Adding to the controversy, newly released transcripts from the House Judiciary Committee show the FBI ignored intelligence suggesting that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign planned to fabricate links between Trump and Russian operatives — information allegedly included in the Durham report’s annex.

Critics now say that the DOJ, under Garland, is not only protecting former operatives who pushed the discredited Russia narrative — but actively rewarding them using taxpayer dollars.

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Declassified Report Links George Soros to Early Trump-Russia Narrative

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A newly unsealed intelligence appendix to the Durham Report has raised serious questions about the origins of the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, and it may implicate one of the world’s most influential political financiers.

The declassified annex, released Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee under the direction of Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), suggests that key players within the U.S. intelligence community were warned as early as 2016 that a coordinated effort was underway to tie Donald Trump to the Kremlin, before the FBI formally launched its “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation.

According to the document, those early signals came from credible foreign intelligence sources. Those sources were reportedly tied to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

The appendix, which was part of Special Counsel John Durham’s broader review of the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe, reveals that multiple foreign entities believed the FBI and senior Obama-era officials were preparing to promote a disinformation campaign aimed at Trump. These claims were flagged before July 31, 2016, the date the FBI officially opened its investigation.

One explosive email cited in the document allegedly comes from Leonard Bernardo, a senior figure at the Open Society Foundations. The message outlines a strategic plan to link Trump with Russian cyberattacks as a means of diverting public attention from then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email controversy.

“HRC approved Julie’s idea about Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections… this should distract people from her own missing email,” one message reads, as quoted in the annex.

Another message reportedly describes plans to funnel disinformation through private cybersecurity firms like CrowdStrike and ThreatConnect, both of which would later become central players in pushing the DNC hacking narrative to major U.S. news outlets.

Sources familiar with the appendix told Fox News Digital that the foreign intelligence warnings, while not fully understood at the time, now appear “alarmingly specific” in their foresight.

“Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire,” one foreign operative is quoted as saying in a now-public message, referencing the plan to amplify the Trump-Putin narrative.

These revelations call into question not only the impartiality of the original investigation but also the media and institutional alignment that enabled it.

While it remains unclear how directly involved Soros himself was, the appendix does note that two hacked communications appear to originate from Open Society accounts.

The fallout from the Durham investigation continues to ripple across Washington. The final report concluded that the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane operation was launched without sufficient evidence, findings that many conservatives have pointed to as proof of a politically motivated witch hunt.

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