Trump DOJ's bid to smear Biden could backfire with the release of secret Jack Smith report

President Donald Trump's drive to keep Jack Smith's report on his alleged illegal activity secret could be undone by his own Justice Department's push to release recordings of former President Joe Biden.Two transparency groups filed briefs with a federal appeals court this week, asking it to lift the order blocking the public release of former special counsel Jack Smith's report on Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents.The groups — American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University — argue the appeals court has both the power and the obligation to act, according to reply briefs filed in the 11th Circuit.Court records show the report has been blocked from public release since January 2025, when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, sitting in Florida, barred the Justice Department from releasing it to protect the fair-trial rights of Trump's co-defendants, Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. The criminal case collapsed weeks later — but Cannon made the order permanent in February 2026 anyway.Earlier this year, according to court filings, Trump's Justice Department reversed a years-long policy. It moved to release audio recordings of Biden's private conversations with his biographer, framing the move as a push for government transparency. Trump personally pushed to make the recordings available as a part of his years-long smear campaign against the former president."I'd like to see it," Trump said at a May Cabinet meeting. "The man was grossly incompetent."Biden sued to block the release. On July 21, according to CBS News, a federal appeals court in Washington denied his request in a 2-1 ruling, finding he had not shown that privacy laws barred the recordings from disclosure."If the government does not oppose that motion, and the court grants it, that information, no matter its public import, will remain forever hidden because there is no avenue for a third party to challenge the order," American Oversight wrote in its reply brief, calling the Biden case "curiously familiar" and turning the ruling directly against Trump's injunction.The Washington court had also found that the public holds a "weighty" and "significant" interest in scrutinizing special counsel investigations — even when no charges are brought, American Oversight noted. The group argued that interest is even stronger when charges were filed, and a prosecution proceeded before the case collapsed.The Knight First Amendment Institute separately noted in its own reply brief that neither Trump's legal team nor the Justice Department has attempted to argue that the public's right of access has been overcome — and that silence, the group argued, is enough for the court to rule against them.The 11th Circuit now holds the question.

US walks out on France at UN Security Council meeting, tears into ally: ‘Condescending and disrespectful’

The U.S. walked out as France addressed a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Monday (July 27), accusing its longtime ally of “disingenuous grandstanding” over French comments comparing the U.S. to North Korea, Russia and other authoritarian states regarding votes on human rights issues.

It’s easier than ever to trap young people in debt. What is the White House doing about it?

The White House hones in on financial literacy through Trump Accounts as more Zoomers turn to social media influencers amid rising debt. The gap between Boomers’ and […]

Joint Base Charleston to Become Joint Base Lindsey Graham in Honor of the Late Senator

Pentagon to rename Charleston base for Graham: Report

The Pentagon will reportedly rename a South Carolina military base after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an Air Force veteran, citing his “decades of distinguished service” to Congress and the armed services. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink in a July 27 internal memo ordered staff to begin work with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston…

Hidden Pentagon data reveals 70 US casualties in a single day of Trump's Iran war

The Pentagon never told the public that 70 American troops were wounded in a single day during President Donald Trump's Iran war, according to newly obtained records.The War Horse obtained the records through a Freedom of Information Act request — a demand for government documents — covering the first six weeks of the war, from Feb. 28 through April 8.The data logged more than 400 casualties in that window and included details the Pentagon's public system has never provided — each service member's branch, rank, injury type, and the date they were wounded, the War Horse reported.Head trauma was the most common injury by far, accounting for at least 170 cases, according to the War Horse. Troops also suffered shrapnel wounds, broken bones, and smoke inhalation.Army soldiers made up most of the casualties — more than 270 troops, roughly one-third of them reservists — along with 64 officers, the War Horse reported.The single largest casualty day in the data came on March 18, roughly 24 hours after a U.S.-Israeli airstrike killed Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian political figure, the War Horse reported.Seventy casualties were recorded that day, according to the data. More than two dozen were classified as resulting from enemy attack. The Pentagon never announced the toll.Task & Purpose reported that the Pentagon revealed Saturday an overhaul of its Defense Casualty Analysis System — the official public database — pushing the total number of troops wounded or killed since February to 624, more than 200 higher than what had been publicly disclosed just days before.Earlier that week, the Pentagon had scrubbed four soldiers killed in July from the official count and removed 65 injured service members from the tally, Task & Purpose reported.The reason, experts say, traces to the War Powers Act — a 1973 law requiring the president to get congressional approval to continue military operations beyond 60 days. The Washington Examiner reported that the Pentagon split the war into two separate lists to reset that clock.One list covers Operation Epic Fury, which the administration says ended July 7. A second, new list — "Overseas Operations" — picks up casualties after that date, the Washington Examiner noted."It would have made it look like it was extended after 60 days," Alex Plitsas, an Army veteran and Atlantic Council expert, told the Washington Examiner."The Pentagon is pretending there have been two Iran wars separated by a brief cease-fire," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on X. "The reality: By going more than 90 days without congressional authorization, War Secretary Pete Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable."

Pentagon to rename Joint Base Charleston in honor of Lindsey Graham

The U.S. Air Force will rename Joint Base Charleston, the largest Air Force-run base in South Carolina, after the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham, who passed away on July 11 from an aortic dissection, served for 33 years in the U.S. Air Force, including multiple years of active duty service to the branch […]

Judge orders Trump to turn over financial documents in BBC defamation case

A federal judge on Monday ordered President Trump to turn over financial documents to BBC from his trust, a partial success for the broadcaster that forces the president to provide evidence for his claims of financial loss. It would provide insight on his crypto and stock profit, as well as business transactions from hundreds of…