Transcript

3.7.26 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Saturday,
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March the seventh of twenty twenty six. It also happens
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to me my son's birthday and two friends' birthdays, so
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it is going to be a busy day singing Happy
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birthday to those I love. And here is well, of
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course RADIOI is for those blinder with disabilities making it
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difficult to read and hold printed material. And my name
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is Alice Stainer. So front page, top left, small letters,
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well not bold, but letters. Above a picture on the
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far left Hillary Clinton, her husband Bill Clinton, President Obama,
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Jill Biden, and President Joe Biden sitting in front of people.
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And they are all at the memorial service Friday in
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Chicago for the Reverend Jesse Jackson, which felt at times
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like a church service and others like a political rally.
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To the right of that is Russia giving irand targeting
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data to attack US assets includes ships and aircraft, sources say,
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a first sign of another world power getting involved. And
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split below that are two articles. Well, the first one
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is by Noah Robertson, Ellen Nakashima, and Warren Strubble. And
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then to the right of that, Trump rejects off ramp
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for war demands regimes full surrender. Below the picture of
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our former presidents. Justice Department seeks indictments on Cuban officials
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by Harry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck. Below the fold on
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the left held files with Trump allegations now public. Dj
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says Epstein records weren't originally shared because of a coding
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era by Mark Berman. And then there is a picture
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I don't I describe it. It looks like two people
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floating in the air. One is in a wheelchair, and
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it's entitled a showcase event in winter sports, a performance
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Friday during the opening ceremonies of the Milan Cortina Para
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Olympic Games. Athletes with cognitive disabilities are barred. Some hope
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to change that. In twenty thirty. These two are doing
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a performance and they really do look like they're floating
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in the air against a backdrop of black with red stripes,
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or they are the flags in the backdrop. The performers
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are in white. One is in the wheelchair up in
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the air with his back down, and below him is
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another person's holding on to the back of the one
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above him. He's also floating. Cancelation of Army units drills
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fueled speculation of deployment by Dan Lemoth, and then the
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final article Labor report flashes a warning light by Lauren
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Corey Gurley Employers shared ninety two thousand jobs in February,
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dimming rebound hopes. Let's start with the Washington Post exclusive
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Russia is providing Iran intelligence to target US forces. Officials say.
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The targeting information has included the locations of American warships
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and air craft in the Middle East. The official said,
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And there is a picture of high rise buildings, and
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there's one beside the US Navy's fifth Fleet Headquarters in Dufeir,
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Bahrain was damaged by an Iranian attack drone over the weekend.
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And you see the side of the building with black
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all around it as this drone is gone through the
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wall of the building. By Noah Robertson, Ellen Nakashima, and
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Warren Strubble, Russia is providing around with targeting information to
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attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication
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that another major US adversary is participating, even indirectly, in
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the war. According to three officials familiar with the intelligence.
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The assistance, which has not been previously reported, signals that
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the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America's cheap,
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nuclear armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities. Since the war
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began Saturday, Russia has passed around the locations of US
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military assets, including warships and the aircraft, said the three officials,
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who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the
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matter sensitivity. It does seem like it's pretty comprehensive, a
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pretty comprehensive effort, one of the people said. Reached by
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The Washington Post on Friday, Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman,
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declined to comment on the intelligence findings. Moscow has called
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for an end to the wall, which it labeled an
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unprovoked act of armed aggression. The extent of Russia's targeting
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assistance to Iran was not entirely clear. The Iranian military's
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own ability to locate US forces has been degraded. Less
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than a week into the fighting, the official said, six
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US troops were killed and several others were injured by
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an Iranian drone attack Sunday in Kuwait. Iran has fired
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thousands of one way attack drones and hundreds of missiles
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at US military positions, embassies, and civilians. Even as the
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joint American Israeli campaign has hit more than two thousand
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Iranian targets, including ballistic missile sites, naval assets, and the
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country's leadership. The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed, said
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a White House spokesman Anna Kelly, with a commenting on
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any Russian aid to Iran, adding their ballistic missile retaliation
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is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out,
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their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly
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putting up a fight. The CIA and the Pentagon declined
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to comment. When asked this week about his message to
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Russia and China, which are among Iran's most powerful backers,
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he didn't have one
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and that they're not really a factor here. Two of
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the officials familiar with Russia's support for Iran said that
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China did not appear to be aiding Iran's defense despite
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close ties between the two countries. In a statement, the
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Chinese embassy in Washington referred to Beijing's diplomatic efforts to
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engage with partners in the region since the war began
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and said that the conflicts should be immediately ceased. Analysis
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said that the sharing of intelligence would fit the pattern
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of Iran strikes against US forces, including command and control, infrastructure, radars,
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and temporary structures, like the one in Kuwait where six
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service members were killed. The CIA station at the US
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embassy in Ria and Saudi Arabia's capitol was also struck
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and destroyed. In recent days, parts of the embassy building
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have been left unrecoverable and must be sealed off, according
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to an Internal State Department assessment. The assessment, which was
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reviewed by the Post, said that other parts of the
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embassy would not be habitable for at least another month.
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Iran is making very precise hits on early warning radars
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or over the horizon radars. Sadhara Massacut, an expert on
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the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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She added, their due this in a very targeted way.
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They're going after command and control. Iran possesses only a
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handful of military grade satellites and no satellite constellation of
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its own, which would make imagery provided by Russia's much
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more advanced space capabilities highly valuable, particularly as the Kremlin
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has honed its own targeting after years of war in Ukraine,
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Massicott said. Niko Krazywski, who studies Iran's cooperation with Russia
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at the Harvard School Kennedy School Spell First Center, said
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that there had been a high level of sophistication in
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the Iranian retaliatory strikes, both in what Tehran has targeted
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and in its ability in some cases to overwhelm US
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and Allied defenses. They're getting through air defenses, she said,
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noting that the quality of Iran strikes appeared to have
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improved even from its twelve day war with Israel last summer.
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The Pentagon is quickly burning through its supply of precision
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arms and air defense interceptors, people familiar with the matter
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have told the Post, underscoring concerns raised by General dan Kin,
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chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, as President Donald
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Trump deliberated whether to approve the operation, the administration has
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sought to downplay Kane's assessment. Russia's assistance reshuffles how various
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countries have engaged in a proxy war since Russia's twenty
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twenty two full scale invasion of Ukraine. Throughout that conflict,
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US adversaries including Iran, China, and North Korea have provided
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Russia with either direct military aid or material support for
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Moscow's vast defense industry. The United States is in Ukraine
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tens of billions of dollars worth of military equipment and
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shared intelligence on Russian positions to improve Kiev's targeting. On Thursday,
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Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky posted on x that the Trump
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administration had requested assistance in helping protect against Iranian drones
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that Kiv would provide specialists in response. Iran has been
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one of Russia's chief backers during the Ukrainian War, sharing
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the technology to produce cheap one way attacks produce cheap
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one way attack drones that have repeatedly been used to
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overwhelm Kiev's air defenses and exhaust Western stocks of interceptors
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donated to protect Ukrainian cities. The Russians are more than
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aware of the assistants that were giving the Ukrainians. I
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think they were very happy to try to get some payback,
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said one of the officials familiar with Moscow's support for Tehran.
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The quality of Russia's intelligence collection is not on par
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with Americas, but still ranks among the world's best, this
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person continued. The Post has previously reported that despite the
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blow to one of its closest partners, the cremency's possible
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advantages in a prolonged war between the US and Iran,
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including higher oil revenue and an acute crisis that distracts
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America and Europe from the war in Ukraine. Iran, whose
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supreme leader was killed early in the conflict, could become
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the latest country to lose a pro Russian government in
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recent years, following Assyrian uprising in the late twenty twenty
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four that hosted longtime dictator Bashah al Asad and the
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US military raid deceased Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro in January. Still,
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the lack of direct military involvement from Moscow is in
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part a sign of its need to focus elsewhere, Massacot said.
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The Kremlin, she said, is very much considering this is
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not their problem and not their war. From a strategic
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calculus perspective, Ukraine is still far and away the number
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one priority. Cancelation of army exercise fuel speculation of amid
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these troop deployments, the Elite eighty second Airborne Division, which
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specializes in grown to combat and other fraud missions. Is
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awaiting new orders after the unexpected change of plans. And
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they are in Poland. That the eighty second Airborne Division
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is in Rola because in the Kia Poland. Oh, there's
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a mature of them in Poland in twenty twenty two.
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I don't know where they are now. By Dan Lemoth.
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The Army in recent days abruptly counseled a major training
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exercise for the headquarters element of an elite paratrooper unit,
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officials said, fueling speculation within the Defense Department that soldiers
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specializing in ground commet and a range of other missions
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may be sent to the Middle East as the conflict
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with Iran widens. The eighty second Airborne Division at Fort
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Bragg in North Carolina includes a brigrade combat team of
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about four thousand five thousand soldiers ready to deploy an
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eighteen hours notice for missions as varied as seizing airfields
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and other critical infrastructure, reinforcing US embassies, and enabling emergency evacuations.
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Its headquarters element is responsible for coordinating how those operations
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are planned and executed. No deployment orders had been issued
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as a Friday official said, speaking like some others on
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the condition of aninity to discuss this situation. They noted
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that the Army is expected to announce soon a previously
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scheduled Middle East deployment for a helicopter unit with the
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eighty second, but that won't happen until later in the spring.
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Other soldiers with the eighty second continued training in Louisiana
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in recent days, but the unexpected change of plans for
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the headquarters staff the unit was told to stay put
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in North Carolina instead of joining the training event at
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Fort Polk in Louisiana, and the eighty seconds high profile
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role in passed conflicts has heightened the expectations that the
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division's Immediate Response Force, that is, the Capital I Immediate
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Capital R Response Capital F Force, could be called upon.
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Officials familiar with the issue said, we're all preparing for
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something just in case. Army officials referred questions to the Pentagon,
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which issued a brief statement declining to provide details. The
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statement said, due to operation security, we do not discuss
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future are hypothetical movements. Officials with US Central Command, which
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oversees operations in the Middle East, declined to comment. President
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Donald Trump has offered shifting explanations for his decision to
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start the conflict with Iran, and said publicly that US
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ground troops probably would not be needed as part of
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the ongoing campaign. He and his top aides have repeatedly
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declined to rule that possibility. However, the Immediate Response Force
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has been called upon in recent years to reinforce security
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at the US embassy in Baghdad, just ahead of the
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military's killing in twenty twenty of Kassim Solimani, the Iranian
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Quad's force commander, blamed for hundreds of deadly attacks on
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American personnel in the Middle East. It was central also
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to the evacuation of Afghanistan in twenty twenty one and
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the show of US force in Eastern Europe as Russia
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prepared to invade Ukraine in twenty twenty two. Since hostilities
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began nearly a week ago, US commanders have relied on
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airstrikes and naval strikes to target military sites in Tehran's
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arsenal of missiles, attack drones, and navy vessels. As many
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Iranian defenses have crumbled, US forces increasingly are flying directly
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over Iran, dropping munitions with fighter jets, bombers, and other aircraft.
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White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters Wednesday that
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sending American ground troops into Iran was not part of
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the current plan, but I'm not going to remove an
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option for the president that is on the table. At
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a Pentagon news briefing earlier in the day, General Dan Cain,
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the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to
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comment when asked abate US boots on the ground, saying
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that's a question for policymakers. I don't make policy, I
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execute policy, Cain added. As The Post reported last week,
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Caine had worn the White House that munitions shortfalls and
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a lack of broad military support from other US allies
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would add considerable risk to any operation in Iran and
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the personnel put in harm's way. The Trump administration has
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sought to downplay those concerns. Cain appeared at Wednesday's news
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conference along Defense Secretary Pete hag Seth, who earlier in
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the week also refused to rule it the possibility that
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ground combat troops could be sent into Iran. Admiral Charles
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brad Coopa, who oversees the campaign is head of Central Command,
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said in a news conference Thursday in Tampa, Florida, that
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US combat power in the region is still building as
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Iran declines. Fewer and fewer Iranian missiles and drones have
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been launched in the past few days, he said. By
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flying directly over Iran, coopers said, US forses are hitting
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its center of gravity directly with overwhelming power and reach.
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That includes, he said, B twobambas dropping two thousand pound
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bombs on underground ballistic missile launches. More than fifty thousand
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US troops are involved in the operation, and six US
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soldiers have been killed as Iran has mounted a ferocious
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counter attack target them American positions and interest throughout the
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Middle East. Trump has said there will likely be more
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US military fatalities before the campaign concludes, adding that's the
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way it is. The president and his top aides have
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been noncommittal on a timeline for ending the conflict. Trump
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has said it could last four to five weeks, but
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we have the capability to go far longer than that.
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One prevailing concern, officials say is the military's limited stockpile
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of certain key weapons. The Pentagon is rapidly burning through
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its supply of precision arms and air defense interceptors. People
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familiar with the matter have said, Senior Pentagon officials have
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denied there any problems, noting that with Iranian defenses crumbling,
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US forces are shifting heavily to strikes from manned aircraft
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with munitions that are plentiful. We've got no shortage of munitions,
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heg Seth said Thursday, speaking alongside Koopo, adding our stockpiles
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of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this
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campaign as long as we need to. If the administration
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elects to send ground forces into Iran, one early target,
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analyst have said, could be Karg Island, located about fifty
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miles from the mainland in the Persian Gulf. The island
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is home to some of Tehran's most significant oil infrastructure,
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with about ninety percent of the country's oil exports moving
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through facilities there. A US seizure of Carg Island would
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give the Trump administration control of the centerpiece of the
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Iranian economy, would leave US troops vulnerable to attack. Michael Rubet,
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a senior fellow at the Conservative American Enterprise Institute, called
22:00
securing Kurrigan Alan no brainer and said it appears that
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the Trump administration appears to be coming around to the
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idea that Iran is a much greater problem set than
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perhaps they went in thinking. While US troops could take
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incoming fire if deployed there, Rubin said capturing the island
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would give the United States significant strategic advantages, including potentially
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choking off Tehran's ability to pay its military. Securing Around's
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most significant oil infrastructure also would follow a pattern for Trump,
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who has previously sought to secure oil wealth for the
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United States through the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
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in January an intervention in Syria during his first term
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in office. Still, deploying ground forces into Iran could pose
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significant political risk for the president, who is facing anti
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war opposition from Democrats and a wing of his own
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Republican Party. A poll by CNN published Sunday found that
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twelve percent of respondents favoures sending ground troops to Iran,
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while sixty percent opposed and twenty eight percent are unsure.
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Continuing with Iran, Trump demands full caps unconditional surrender from Iran,
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US evacuate citizens from Middle East. On day seven of
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the war, Israel at launched a tax on Tehran and
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bombarded Lebanon. Iran retaliated against Israel and the Region by
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Victoria krah Lear, Sroka Mohammadel Chama, Suzanne Hama, Damas Habika Faruk,
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Mafuz sham Shamalaika, Amy B. Wong, and Adam Taylor. President
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Donald Trump rejected the idea of an immediate diplomatic off
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ramp to the war and Iran on Friday, saying there
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would be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender four caps,
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hours after Iran's president raised the prospect of mediation efforts
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after that and the selection of a great and acceptable
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also in four caps, leaders, we and many of our
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wonderful and very brave allies and partners will work highestly
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to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making
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it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before, Trump
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said in a post on truth Social Iranian president must
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Sued Pezyskin earlier Fridays said some countries have begun mediation efforts,
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without elaborating on which ones. Let's speak clear. We are
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committed to a lasting peace in the region, yet we
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have no hesitation in defending our nation's dignity and sovereignty,
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Kazuskian said in a post on x, adding mediation should
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address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.
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A day earlier, Trump said, Iranian leaders have been seeking
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an agreement to end the war, and he should have
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a say in choosing Iran's next leader. They're calling, They're saying,
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how do we make a deal? Trump said Thursday, you're
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being a little late. Trump said, we want to fight
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now more than they do. On day seven of the war,
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now spanning multiple fronts across the Middle East, Israel and
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Iran traded attacks and Russia is providing Iran with information
25:53
to attack American forces, the first indication that another major
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US adversary is participating in the conflict, even indirectly. Here's
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what we know about the war in the Middle East.
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One Iran or Israel launches new strike on Tehran bunker
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of slain leader Kamenijmeni, an Israeli operation involving fifty Air
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Force jets destroying the sprawling underground bunker of around slain
26:26
Supreme leader Ayatola Ali Hamini. The Israel Defense Forces said Friday,
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Hamieni was killed before he could use his bunker, but
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it was used by senior Iranian regime officials. Israel said
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in a statement. Previously published satellite images show multiple buildings
26:45
across Hameni's compound were destroyed after the US and Israel
26:49
launched joint air strikes against the country last Saturday. Iranian
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authorities did not immediately comment on the latest strikes. Israeli
26:58
official said Friday they also had struck more than four
27:01
hundred targets elsewhere in Iran, including ballistic missile launchers and
27:06
drone storage facilities. Two Fighting between Israel Hasbelah intensifies in Lebanon.
27:14
The regional conflict that began last week after the US
27:17
Israeli attacks on Iran has reignited the long running fight
27:21
between Israel and Hasbela, the Iranian fact Shiite Muslim militant
27:26
group and political party in Lebanon. As Israel bombards Beirut
27:32
and the Israel Defense Forces move into new positions in
27:36
southern Lebanon, the country has become a focal point of
27:39
the border conflict. Israel on Friday said it launched strikes
27:44
on the southern suburbs of Beirut, hitting several Hasbela command centers,
27:49
and issued additional evacuation warnings for four towns in the
27:53
country's east much of southern Lebanon. Areas in the east
27:57
and Barut southern suburbs already on evacuation notice after Israel
28:02
told residents to fleet. The Lebanese government city would open
28:07
public schools and universities to hose displaced people. So far,
28:12
fighting between Israel and Hasbalosha no sign of fading, despite
28:17
a French ceasefire initiative of nine by French President Emmanuel
28:21
Macron on Thursday. Israeli strikes have killed at least two
28:26
hundred and seventeen people and injured debate eight hundred so far,
28:30
according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, which does not distinguish
28:34
between civilians and combatants. Another five people were killed Friday
28:39
by Israeli strikes on an office building in the southern
28:42
city of Siddan. Authorities said the building included a Red
28:47
Cross office, but none of its employees were injured. The
28:50
nonprofit said some one hundred and ten thousand people in
28:55
Lebanon have been displaced, according to the latest official tally,
28:59
probably an undercount given the territory under Israel's evacuation directives.
29:05
The Norwegian Refugee Council estimates about three hundred thousand have
29:09
been displaced on Friday. The effects of the displacement could
29:13
be felt across Bay Route as mopeds littered sidewalks, trash
29:18
piled up in dumpsters, and traffic came to a standstill.
29:23
Am Be roots upscale Central District. Hundreds of displaced people
29:27
camped out in parking lots. The government has said it
29:31
would retrofit several stadiums to increase shelter capacity. People are
29:36
still sleeping on the streets. Mustapha Haji's, mayor of the
29:41
southern port city of Sa'dan, said in a statement, adding
29:46
that the city shelters are at capacity. Three Iranian attacks
29:52
spread to twelve countries. Iran has attacked twelve countries and
29:58
continues to deliberately target Sibilians throughout the Middle East. According
30:04
to Navy Admiral Brad Koopa, head of US Central Command,
30:08
which oversees operations in the Middle East. United Arab Emirates
30:13
officials said that the country was targeted by one hundred
30:16
and twelve drones Friday. Air defense systems intercepted one hundred
30:20
and nine of them, while three fell within the country's territory.
30:25
According to the UAE Defense Ministry in Saudi Arabia Air
30:31
defenses destroyed at least one cruise missile east of Al
30:35
Kharsh early Friday. Saudifos has also intercepted at least three
30:40
drones east of Riad, downed another drone in the eastern province,
30:46
and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base.
30:51
Parts of the US embassy and riod are unrecoverable and
30:56
must be sealed off after being struck in a suspected
30:59
Iranian own attack earlier this week, according to an Internal
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State Department assessment reviewed by the Washington Post. Officials in
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Bahrain said its forces had destroyed seventy eight missiles and
31:13
one hundred and forty three drones targeting the kingdom since
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the start of the treacherous aggression, according to a statement
31:20
from the General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force. Gutha's
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emir Air Defense forces also intercepted a drone targeting al
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Udeid Air Base, the Defense Ministry said. In all, Katari
31:36
officials said its forces have intercepted nine drones, while one
31:41
drone struck an uninhabited area without causing any casualties. Kuwait's
31:46
armed forces said they intercepted several attacks including a missile
31:50
that penetrated the country's airspace. Shrapnel from the interception caused
31:55
material damage, but no industry injuries or casualties. According to
32:00
the Army four US evacuation efforts underway. The State Department
32:07
is continuing its efforts to charter flights to evacuate US
32:11
citizens from the Middle East, amid criticism it did not
32:15
provide enough advance warning before strikes began on Iran. Nearly
32:20
twenty four thousand American citizens have returned to the United
32:23
States from the Middle East since February twenty eighth, a
32:27
figure that does not include those who relocated to other
32:30
countries or who are in transit. State Department spokesman Dylan
32:35
Johnson said Friday. Some evacuating Americans arrived Friday in Washington
32:40
on a plane emblazoned with the New England Patriots logo,
32:44
although the State Department paid for the flight and the
32:47
NFL team was not involved, according to the State Department.
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A senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of
32:55
anonymity to discuss ongoing plans, said that they expect a
33:00
significant increase in the numbers of charter flights in the
33:03
coming days. The officials said that between thirty and forty
33:07
percent of US citizens were declining the options presented to
33:10
them by the State Department, and that there were empty
33:13
seats on flights that had left. This was partly due
33:17
to practical issues like timing, but also because commercial options
33:22
are broadly available in the region and increasing in most
33:26
of the region. The senior official said the State Department
33:30
is urging US citizens Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE,
33:35
United Arab Immirants Katara, Saudi Arabia and Israel in need
33:39
of travel assistance to complete a crisis intake form and
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five what else to know? One Rain denied targeting the
33:49
US embassy in Riod. Iran denied targeting US embassy and Riod,
33:56
according to Semi official news agency Mayor Affected. Iranian drone
34:01
hit the CIA station at the Embassy in Rod on Monday.
34:05
An internal State Department alert obtained by The Washington Post
34:09
said the drone attack collapsed part of the embassy's roof
34:13
and contaminated the inside with smoke. I'll make that ab
34:20
Australian personnel were on board the US submarine that sank
34:24
an Iranian frigate this week. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed.
34:29
Albanese said the Australian personnel were on board for training
34:33
but did not participate in any offensive action against Iran.
34:38
C the son of Israeli Finance Minister Basilio Samotric, was
34:46
among eight IDF troops wounded in the Hesbal rocket attack
34:50
near Lebanon, Samotrix's office said Friday. The Galilee Medical Center
34:57
in Naharia, Israel, confirmed that Naya Sumitrich was slightly lightly
35:03
injured in being treated there. Bazel Samitric, a hard line
35:07
member of Natayahu's coalition, had threatened on Thursday to destroy Dahia,
35:14
a southern suburb of Beirut where Hesbi law is influential.
35:19
You wanted to bring hell upon us, but you brought
35:21
hell upon yourselves. Dahia will look like kang Yunis, he said, then,
35:28
referring to his city in the Gaza Strip, decimated by
35:32
Israeli bombardment. My husband was in Teyran at the fall
35:38
of the Shah. I have a picture of him with
35:41
the Shah decades ago when he was working in Iran,
35:48
and he met many many influential people in Lebanon, and
35:53
it was the Beirut was the banking center of the
35:57
Middle East at the time in the seventies was beautiful
36:01
and back to the topics of the month. Justice Department
36:06
releases missing Epstein documents with Trump allegations. The agency said
36:12
the records were not previously leased because they were incorrectly
36:16
coded by Mark Berman. The Justice Department on Thursday publicly
36:22
posted additional records related to convicted sex offended Jeffrey Epstein,
36:28
according including some that include allegations against President Donald Trump,
36:33
following sharp criticism of the agency's handling of the issue.
36:38
The agency said the files, which include details from FBI
36:42
interviews with a woman who told authorities she had been
36:45
sexually assaulted by Trump and Epstein, had not been previously
36:49
released because they were incorrectly determined to be duplicates of
36:53
other records. The Justice Department has posted millions of pages
36:58
of Epstein related records on line, including investigative materials, following
37:03
the passage of a law last year mandating their release.
37:08
The woman, who was interviewed by the FBI in twenty nineteen,
37:12
accused Trump of sexually assaulting her decades earlier, when she
37:15
was a minor. No evidence has emerged publicly to corroborate
37:20
that accusation. The White I is called the allegations against
37:23
Trump completely based his accusations backed by zero credible evidence.
37:30
Additional records were posted as Trump and his administration have
37:33
struggled to combat controversies involving the release of files connected
37:38
to Epstein, who died in federal custody in twenty nineteen
37:42
while facing charges of sex tract pitying, and abusing girls.
37:47
The Justice Department has faced particular criticism over its response
37:51
to the Epstein Files. Transparency Act, a measure passed by
37:55
Congress last year that demanded the agency make public a
37:59
wide array of records by mid December. While the agency
38:03
did release more than a one hundred thousand pages by
38:06
that point, it did not make public most of its
38:09
files until weeks later, well after the deadline. Lawmakers have
38:14
faulted the Justice Department for missing the deadline in failing
38:19
to redact some information related to victim's identities and retracting
38:24
other information. Last month, after multiple media outlets reported that
38:29
summaries of the women's account had not been included, the
38:33
Justice Department said it was examining whether it was wrongly
38:37
withheld records containing allegations against Trump, who had been friends
38:42
with Epstein for years before they had a falling out.
38:46
On Thursday, the Justice Department said in a social media
38:50
post that it had discovered that fifteen documents were incorrectly
38:54
coded as duplicativity. Among the records were notes from multiple
38:58
FBI interviews with the WORL, who spoke to authorities following
39:01
Epstein's arrest in twenty nineteen. According to the interview notes,
39:06
the woman told investigators that she had been sexually assaulted
39:10
by Epstein and Trump during separate incidents in the nineteen
39:13
eighties when she was a minor. The Washington Post has
39:17
been unable to corroborate these allegations or reach the woman.
39:22
Those summary reports of three of her FBR interviews were
39:25
not included in files previously released by the administration. The
39:30
Justice Department had already posted a report on one of
39:33
the interviews, as well as a summary file referencing the
39:37
woman's allegations against Trump. Caroline Levitt, the White House Press Secretary,
39:42
pushed back against the allegations. In his statement Friday, Levitt
39:46
said the total baselessness of these accusations is also supported
39:52
by the obvious fact that Joe Biden's Justice Department knew
39:56
about them for four years and did nothing with them.
40:00
As they knew. President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. As
40:04
we have said COUNSELSS Times, President Trump has been totally
40:09
exonerated by the release of the Epstein files. The Justice
40:14
Department this week said it had not deleted any files
40:18
from the library, and a spokeswoman called it the most
40:22
transparent Department of Justice in history. In addition to the
40:26
FBI interviews, the Justice Department said Thursday that federal officials
40:30
in South Florida had separately concluded that five prosecution memos
40:36
initially marked as privileged could be released while still protecting
40:40
the privileged materials. Those were also released, the agency said.
40:46
The release of the FBI interviews and other documents came
40:49
a day after the Host Oversight and Government Reform Committee
40:53
voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi, escalating tensions between
40:58
Congress and the administration. Bondy, testifying last month before Congress,
41:04
said the Justice Department spent thousands of hours painstakingly reviewing
41:09
millions of pages to comply with Congress's law. It was
41:13
not clear how Bondy intends to respond to the subpoena,
41:16
which compels her to appear before the committee for a
41:19
closed door deposition about the Justice Department's release of the
41:24
Epstein records. Going inside, mass firings leave national security ranks
41:32
thinned as war raises threats. FBI and Justice departments have
41:38
lost decades of experience over the past year in key
41:42
security positions by Perry Stein. Last week, FBI Director Cash
41:49
Pattel fired roughly a dozen agents and staff members who
41:53
once had ties to an investigation of Donald Trump. Among
41:58
them were agents whose specialized in addressing threats from Iran
42:03
and its proxies. Three days after the firings began, the
42:08
US was bombarding Iran. The fighting abroad poses a major
42:13
test for Justice Department and FBI reeling for mass firings, reassignments,
42:18
and departures during Trump's fourteen months in office for his
42:22
second term. According to current and formal officials familiar with
42:27
the matter, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity,
42:32
either out of concern retaliation or to discuss continuing investigations,
42:39
The FBI and Justice Department still have skilled leaders in
42:43
many key national security positions, the people said, but they
42:46
warned that the bench of expertise has significantly thinned over
42:50
the past year, and the number of leaders with deep
42:53
expertise in handling domestic threats has diminished. Thinner ranks, especially
42:59
of experienced staff members, can matter in multiple ways, the
43:04
current and former official said. When the US is engaged
43:08
in conflict abroad, domestic law enforcement goes into high alert.
43:13
FBI agents with national security experience shift through scores of
43:17
possible threats, determining which are worth investigating further, which may
43:22
be tied to terrorist groups, and which do not need
43:26
to be followed up on. For serious threats, FBI agents
43:31
often coordinate with Justice Department prosecutors to determine whether and
43:36
how to execute warrants to surveil and arrest people before
43:40
any possible violence occurs. Today, experienced agents and prosecutors are
43:46
more scarce at the FBI. The recent terminations came on
43:50
top of scores or firings of agents and field field
43:55
office leaders that Patel has ordered during his tenure, often
43:58
without explanation. One former prosecutor, who spoke on the condition
44:04
of anonymity to broadly discuss an investigation that has not
44:08
been made public, said he worked last year with more
44:11
than half a dozen FBI agents to surveil a man
44:14
who officials feared may have been planning a violent attack.
44:19
FBI agents surveiled the man twenty four to seven, the
44:22
former prosecutor said, but Patel reassigned those agents to work
44:26
on immigration, and the FBI's capability to trail that suspect
44:31
around the clock waned. The prosecutor said. As of October,
44:36
roughly twenty five percent of FBI agents have been assigned
44:39
to immigration enforcement, stretching thin and already busy workforce. Each
44:45
termination of an experienced agent also reads the Bureau of
44:48
years of source building. The current and former official said.
44:53
It's impossible to know for sure what impact such departures
44:57
have on the ability to track threats. They said, but
45:00
they said each of the Iranian experts the FBI has
45:03
lost probably had sources in and around Iranian American communities
45:08
that they used to help monitor specific threats and people.
45:13
Such source relationships, which are built on trust, cannot easily
45:17
be transferred and are typically severed when agents leave. FBI
45:22
spokesman Ben Williamson defended the bureau on social media. The
45:27
recent firing of agents happened because they acted on ethically
45:32
and violated the mission, he said, adding that three agents
45:35
for the RAND expertise were oasted. The Bureau did not
45:38
answer questions about how the agents acted on ethically or
45:42
violated the FBI's mission. While we do not comment on
45:47
personnel matters, the FBI maintains a robust counterintelligence operation with
45:53
personnel all over the country who delivered record results in
45:57
twenty twenty five, including a thirty five percent an increase
46:00
in counter intelligence arrest, six of the ten most wanted
46:05
fugitives captured, and multiple foil terrorism plots just in December alone,
46:12
Williamson said in a statement, adding our teams remained fully
46:17
engaged across the country and prepared to mobilize any security
46:22
assets needed to assist federal partners as well as state
46:26
and local law enforcement. There's no question, however, that the
46:31
administration's firings across the Justice Department and FBI have created
46:35
big gaps in expertise that cost the law enforcement agency.
46:40
The staffing losses have been widespread, hitting US attorneys' offices,
46:45
FBI field offices, and critical divisions at headquarters in Washington.
46:50
The Justice Department has struggled to fill many of those
46:53
slots with qualified people. The Washington Post has reported the
46:58
firings started on day one of the Trump administration. Top
47:02
Justice Department leaders pushed at Bruce Swartz, the Deputy for
47:06
International Affairs in the Criminal Division, who had worked at
47:10
the department for decades. Michael Nordwal, who headed the FBI's
47:15
Criminal and Cyber Investigations Division, and Robert Wells, whose portfolio
47:20
included all of national security for the FBI, were also
47:24
pushed out. At the time, The Post reported that Brian Driskell,
47:29
the acting FBI Director of while Patel was awaiting Senate confirmation,
47:33
fought to keep Norwald and Wells, saying their expertise was needed.
47:39
Driscoll lost that fight. He subsequently was also pushed right
47:43
by Patel. George Toscas, a veteran national security prosecutor who
47:49
in previous administrations would have been overseeing the threat's cases,
47:53
was also hosted. Some of the removed leaders had been
47:58
placed with replaced with others who have years of experience
48:01
in the department. The people interviewed said. In many cases, however,
48:06
talented employees were promoted before they otherwise would have been,
48:10
cutting short their training for senior positions. Others they said
48:15
are unqualified for their jobs, further stretching the national security leadership.
48:20
Matthew Blue, the chief of the Justice Department's Counter Tourism Section,
48:25
is an Air Force veteran who has been serving in
48:28
the DC National Guard since August. Trump deployed the DC
48:32
National Guard to tackle out of control crime in the
48:36
nation's capital. One of Blue's deputy chief's longtime Justice Department
48:42
prosecutor has been serving as acting chief in his absence.
48:47
Firings in other parts of the Justice Department can also
48:52
have a ripple effect. Kyle Boynton, the Formo Civil Rights
48:56
Division prosecutor, an FBI agent who left the Justice Department
49:00
in twenty twenty five, noted that prosecutors who have a
49:05
reason to fear a person is planning a violent act
49:08
can sometimes bring charges of an attempt to commit a
49:11
hate crime before they carry at a violent attack. That
49:15
can be a critical tool in preventing attacks, he said.
49:19
As a prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division, Boyton said
49:23
he would receive calls from FBI agents when they were
49:26
tracking a threat against a synagogue, for example, he would
49:30
help determine what search wants or surveillance measures they could
49:34
legally request. Boyton said he fears that few people remain
49:39
in the division's criminal section who have handled such investigations.
49:44
The entire leadership of the Criminal Section of the Civil
49:47
Rights Division has departed or been wasted in recent months.
49:52
Two people familiar with staffing in the division said Poynton
49:57
said it requires an an normous amount of manpower to
50:01
tract people before they commit a crime. What you're looking
50:05
for is evidence of intent and evidence that they have
50:08
taken substantial steps in furtherance of attent. That requires an
50:13
enormous amount of attention and scrutiny by FBI agents and
50:17
DOJ prosecutors. Current and former Justice Department attorneys said they
50:24
are frustrated that the Trump administration, including Pattel and Attorney
50:28
General Pambundi, did not appear to carefully consider the long
50:32
term ramifications of their staffing decisions. We are now in
50:38
a heightened threatned situation, not just in the Midiest but
50:43
also here in the US. Iran acting though through its proxies,
50:49
has long sought to carry out a terrorist attack or
50:52
assassination inside the country, said one long time former senior
50:57
national security official. The danger today is that we have
51:03
lost so much of our capability to uncover and stop
51:07
such an attack. We have let down our guard at
51:11
the worst time, the official said. I'll see if I
51:16
can get through this article. Democrats join legal challenge to
51:20
Trump's planned two hundred and fifty foot arch. This is
51:25
straightforward issue of who's in charge, Senator Angus King, independent
51:30
of Maine said, citing a law that certain monuments must
51:34
receive Congress's approval. And there's a picture of Donald Trump
51:39
holding a model of an arch during a Baldwin fundraising
51:42
dinner on October the fifteenth at the White House by
51:46
Dan Diamond. Congressional Democrats have joined a legal challenge to
51:51
President Donald Trump's planned two hundred and fifty foot triumphal arch,
51:55
arguing in u s District Court that the project must
51:59
receive con congressional approval before moving forward. The top Democrats
52:04
on committees overseeing federal lands and natural Resources filed on
52:08
Amika's brief Friday, citing the Commemorative Works Act, a forty
52:13
year old federal law that governs the design and placement
52:17
of memorials in Washington. Under the law, certain parts of
52:21
the city, including Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout near Arlington
52:27
National cemetery, which Trump is eyeing for his planned arch.
52:31
A considered protected land and monuments built there would require
52:36
congressional authorization. The circle sits narrowly inside the boundaries of
52:41
Washington Washington, d C. Is not the President's backyard to
52:47
renovate re landscape and build in as he sees Fitt.
52:51
Senators Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Angus King of Maine
52:56
and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Representatives Jared Huffman of California,
53:03
yasmin and sarre Arizona and Maxine Dexter, Oregon, wrote in
53:08
their brief King, as an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
53:14
King also requested a review from the Congressional Research Service,
53:18
the nonpartisan think tank that serves lawmakers, which independently concluded
53:24
that an arch built in Memorial Circle would require a
53:27
congressional authorization. King Zafas shared the review with The Washington Post.
53:34
This is a straightforward issue of who's in charge. The
53:38
law is clear that any structure in this zone, of
53:42
which Memorial Circle is certainly part, has to have the
53:46
express approval of Congress, King said in an interview Friday.
53:55
And there is a picture of where that Memorial Circle is.
54:00
It's at the end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, just
54:04
at the entrance to the Arlington National Cemetery, and at
54:08
the opposite end is the Lincoln Memorial and then you
54:10
see the Washington Monument and the US Capital in kind
54:14
of a wide v going across the Potomac Memorial Bridge is,
54:22
Huffman said. The President's plans raise moral and political questions,
54:27
including whether the arch is a vanity project rather than
54:30
a necessary monument. This is not peonyang, Huffman said, invoking
54:36
the capital of North Korea. Most Americans want to be
54:39
able to appreciate the view of Arlington Cemetery without a
54:42
massive assault. The White has criticized Democrats' legal challenge, saying
54:47
that the party is opposed to anything that celebrates the
54:51
greatness of our country and marking them as america last losers.
54:57
The triumphal arch in Memorial Circle is going to be
55:00
one of the most iconic landmarks, not only in Washington,
55:04
d C. But throughout the world, spokesman Davis Ingall said
55:08
in a statement, adding it will enhance the visitor experience
55:12
at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans. The foul families of
55:16
the fallen and all Americans alike, serving as a visual
55:20
reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American
55:24
heroes throughout two hundred and fifty year history, so we
55:28
can enjoy our freedom is today the way it hosts
55:33
did not respond to questions about whether officials would seek
55:36
congressional approval of their planned arch. Many veterans and historic
55:41
Preservation ensued the Trump administration last month, arguing that Trump's
55:46
planned arch would to obstruct key views when visiting Arlington
55:49
national semetry and interfere with the intent of nearby monuments.
55:54
Public Citizen, a government watchdog organization, is seeking to halt
55:58
the project until the administration secures approval from Congress and
56:03
federal review panels. The White House has yet to formally
56:07
propose its archers seek those approvals, but Trump has repeatedly
56:12
said that construction will soon begin. He has also tied
56:16
the arch to the nation's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary,
56:19
with Freedom two fifty, a Trump Alliance group helping plan
56:23
commemorative activities this year helping guide the project's development. We're
56:30
doing one that will be more magnificent and larger than
56:33
the Arc de Triton from Paris, the president said in
56:37
the interview last month with NBC News. Invoking the famous
56:41
one hundred and sixty foot tall arch in France, Trump
56:45
said that his planned arch would be about two hundred
56:50
and fifty feet high. My final article, should the practice
56:56
of sedating the elderly and nursing homes be loosened amid
57:00
lobbying pressure? The Trump administration considers easy nursing home rules
57:05
that discouraged the use of mental health drugs. By Christopher Rowland,
57:10
a man upset with the death of his wife kept
57:13
a blanket over his head in his Minnesota nursing home.
57:16
Staff gave him a powerful antipsychotic drug. Another man in
57:21
the Philadelphia facility yelled at during two evening ships he
57:24
also got an anti psychotic, and in Michigan, the man
57:28
was left sitting in his own waist for hours because
57:31
he was so over medicated with one of the drugs
57:34
he couldn't hit a call button to summon staff for help.
57:37
That sampling of alleged abuses reported in a Minnesota state
57:41
inspection report, a Justice Department lawsuit, and a complaint to
57:45
a Michigan State ombudsman help explain why the federal government
57:49
for the last decade has penalized nursing homes over the
57:52
use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to control the behavior of
57:57
residence with dementia. But now President Donald Trump's administration is
58:02
reviewing whether to loosen restrictions on these medications, saying it
58:06
wants to recognize benefits when the drugs are used appropriately.
58:10
The move comes after a sustained lobbying campaign by groups
58:14
backed by the manufacturers of antipsychotics. Such chemical restraints render
58:21
residence docile, often to the point of deep sedation, lightening
58:25
the load on nursing home operators. In some cases the
58:29
drugs can benefit patients, that they increase risk of falls, strokes,
58:34
and death, and their overuse is seen as inhumane and sadly.
58:39
With that, I close today's reading of the Washington Post
58:44
for Saturday, the seventh of March of twenty twenty six,
58:48
and I need to call my friends to wish them
58:50
happy birthday. My son, being in California, won't get a
58:54
phone call until ten o'clock this morning. Have a great weekend,
59:00
get outside, I have opened windows and welcome in the
59:04
fresh air. Be back next week. Take care Bye.