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Happy Friday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re more than willing to test all 2020-themed ice cream flavors. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@thehill.com, njagoda@thehill.com and nelis@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @NJagoda and @NivElis.

 

Programming note: On The Money won’t be taking a summer vacation, but we’ll only be running once a week throughout August. We’ll still have plenty of coverage of Trump’s trade war, the state of the economy, the battle over Trump’s tax returns and far more at TheHill.com though.

 

THE BIG DEAL–Positive July jobs report: The U.S. added 164,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported Friday, a positive sign amid concerns about the long term health of the economy.

The July jobs report largely met expectations, showing a resilient but slowing labor market. The unemployment rate held even at 3.7 percent, and the labor force participation rate was little changed at 63 percent.

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The jobs report comes one week after the Commerce Department released data showing a notable slowdown in U.S. growth and sharp declines in business activity. 

While the labor market has rallied through many of those obstacles, the July jobs report showed unmistakable signs of a cooling economy, a potential challenge for President TrumpDonald John TrumpKentucky miners’ struggle is that of many working Americans Cummings releases statement on attempted break-in after Trump attacks PhRMA top lobbyist to leave post MORE as he seeks reelection. I explain why here.

• May’s dismal jobs gain of 72,000 was revised down to just 62,000, while a stellar June jobs gain of 224,000 jobs was cut to a less impressive 192,000 jobs. The 41,000-job reduction dragged down the average monthly gain over the past three months to 140,000 jobs.

• The economy also leaned heavily on the service sector for expansion, creating roughly 130,000 jobs, while goods-producing and construction industries stayed largely stagnant.

• The manufacturing sector added just 16,000 jobs, remaining largely unchanged, and wage growth has stayed flat since notching 3.2 percent in 2018. The lackluster employment figures follow a decline in U.S. industrial activity since the start of 2019 and a 5.2 percent decline in exports in the second quarter.

 

LEADING THE DAY

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Trump signs two-year budget deal: President Trump on Friday signed a sweeping budget deal that increases federal spending and lifts the nation’s borrowing limit, the White House said.

The new law suspends the debt ceiling through July 2021, removing the threat of a default during the 2020 elections, and raises domestic and military spending by more than $320 billion compared to existing law over the next two fiscal years.

Trump signed the measure without fanfare at the White House one day after the Senate voted 67-28 to send it to his desk. Last week, the House passed the budget package by a vote of 284-149 before starting its August recess. 

Fiscal hawks and some conservative Republicans decried the measure, which is projected to add nearly $2 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. 

Even so, Trump threw his support behind it in large part because it cleared the decks of a messy budget fight as the 2020 campaign kicks into high gear and because it boosts military spending.

 

…But a border fight is throwing a curveball: Lawmakers are bracing for a fierce fight over President Trump’s border wall as they work to prevent a shutdown showdown but with no plan on how to avoid it.

Government funding for Trump’s wall and agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become a landmine in spending bill negotiations, with talks late last year leading to a 35-day partial closure that marked the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Sen. Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Wellons Moore CapitoTrump border fight throws curveball into shutdown prospects The Hill’s Morning Report — Mueller testimony gives Trump a boost as Dems ponder next steps The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Muller testimony dominates Washington MORE (R-W.Va.), who chairs the Department of Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee, put her hand to her chin as though she were deep in thought when asked if there was a plan to avoid another battle over the wall and immigration-related issues.

“Hmm, that’s a good question. I think it’s going to be a problem,” she said. 

 

The issue: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is one of the 12 individual appropriations bills that need to pass Congress and be signed into law by Oct. 1 or be extended by way of a continuing resolution to buy lawmakers more time.

• Senators on both sides of the aisle say they have no appetite to repeat the knock-down, drag-out fight similar to last year’s funding bills.

• But appropriators responsible for moving funding legislation through Congress are struggling to find an offramp to avoid another high-stakes fight.

The Hill’s Jordain Carney tells us why here.

 

GOOD TO KNOW

• China threatened on Friday to levy retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. in response to President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would place new tariffs on Chinese goods beginning next month.

• President Trump on Friday announced a deal with the European Union to increase market access for U.S. ranchers… and then scared the heck out of U.S. Trade Representative Bob LighthizerRobert (Bob) Emmet LighthizerChinese, US negotiators fine-tuning details of trade agreement: report The Trump economy keeps roaring ahead Trump says no discussion of extending deadline in Chinese trade talks MORE with a joke about tariffs on European cars.

• “The American middle class is falling deeper into debt to maintain a middle-class lifestyle,” according to The Wall Street Journal. 

 

ODDS AND ENDS

• The merger of two major Kosher food brands is like General Motors buying Ford for some American Jews. 

 

RECAP THE WEEK WITH ON THE MONEY:

• Monday: Trump banks on Fed, China to fuel 2020 economy | Judge orders parties to try to reach deal in lawsuit over Trump tax returns | Warren targets corporate power with plan to overhaul trade policy

• Tuesday: Fed poised to give Trump boost with rate cut | Parties unable to reach deal in Trump tax return lawsuit | New York opens investigation into Capital One data breach

• Wednesday: Fed cuts rates for first time since financial crisis | Trump rips Fed after chief casts doubt on future cuts | Stocks slide | Senate kicks budget vote amid scramble for GOP support

• Thursday: Trump to hit China with new tariffs next month | Stocks plummet on latest trade threat | Senate sends budget deal to Trump | Judge orders NY not to share Trump’s tax returns for now

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A prominent conservative group is raising concerns about a potential budget deal that would raise spending caps and suspend the debt limit.

The Club for Growth is taking issue with the fact that a budget agreement could lead to an increase in the debt at a time when debt and deficit levels are already high. The group’s comments come after the Office of Management and Budget estimated that the deficit will be about $1 trillion this year.

“Congressional Leadership continues to aggressively pursue spending agreements that propel our country toward bankruptcy and fiscal crisis,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement Friday. “President TrumpDonald John TrumpCould Donald Trump and Boris Johnson be this generation’s Reagan-Thatcher? Merkel backs Democratic congresswomen over Trump How China’s currency manipulation cheats America on trade MORE will be running for reelection with an annual deficit over $1 trillion and without Congress having made any progress on America’s staggering national debt, which exceeds $22 trillion.”

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McIntosh added that the Club for Growth has been encouraged by people in the Trump administration who are interested in reining in deficits, but that “too many in Congress, especially those in Leadership, have no intention of showing fiscal restraint.”

Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinHow China’s currency manipulation cheats America on trade The Hill’s Morning Report: Trump walks back from ‘send her back’ chants Trump faces new hit on deficit MORE said Thursday that he and House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiDHS chief to Pelosi: Emergency border funding ‘has already had an impact’ The Hill’s Morning Report: Trump walks back from ‘send her back’ chants Trump faces new hit on deficit MORE (D-Calif.) have reached an agreement on the top-line numbers for defense and nondefense discretionary spending for a two-year budget deal. 

Mnuchin said that the administration and congressional leaders are still discussing what amount of spending cuts and revenue raisers would be included in the package to help pay for the agreement.

The Trump administration is pushing for about $150 billion in offsets to be included in the deal. The White House sent Capitol Hill a list of offsets on Thursday night.

A Democratic source close to the talks said that the White House’s list is a “starting point for negotiations on this aspect,” and that the administration understands that those levels are “nonstarters” for Democrats. Discussions about offsets remain ongoing.

The Committee for Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a budget watchdog group, said in a statement Friday that any budget deal shouldn’t add to the debt.

“Now is the chance for Congress to show they can support federal investments and national security without abandoning fiscal responsibility and leaving the bill for future generations,” CRFB President Maya MacGuineas said.

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Democratic presidential candidate Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegButtigieg on Biden’s Iraq War vote: ‘that vote was a mistake’ Buttigieg on Biden’s Iraq War vote: ‘that vote was a mistake’ Buttigieg on offers of foreign intel: ‘Just call the FBI’ MORE responded to remarks from President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump defends Stephanopolous interview Trump defends Stephanopolous interview Buttigieg on offers of foreign intel: ‘Just call the FBI’ MORE regarding offers of foreign intelligence, saying that in that case, the president should “call the FBI.”

The South Bend, Ind. mayor told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that it is not acceptable to receive information from a foreign government about a political opponent. 

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“Just call the FBI. It’s not hard. It’s not complicated,” he said. “If you think there’s a foreign effort to tamper with an American election and you’re an American who cares about America, you call the FBI.”

Buttigieg also said that this issue “isn’t hypothetical,” referring to Russian interference attempts in in past elections. 

“We were attacked by a hostile foreign power that decided that they could damage America, destabilize America, by intervening in the election to help him win. And they did and he did, and now America’s destabilized,” he said, apparently talking about Trump. “So this is not some academic exercise. This is something that has happened and will probably happen again.”

The presidential hopeful also questioned how a president who cares about the U.S. could allow a “potentially hostile foreign power” to interfere in its elections. 

“You have to draw a very clear line,” he said. “If you care about this country, if you believe in putting this country first, how could you ever talk about allowing a foreign- potentially hostile foreign power to interfere in the most sacred thing that we have in our civic tradition in America, which is our elections?” 

Buttigieg’s remarks come after President Trump said Wednesday that he would consider accepting information political opponents from foreign entities. 

“I think you might want to listen. There’s nothing wrong with listening,” Trump told ABC News. “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI.”

In the interview, ABC News host George StephanopoulosGeorge Robert StephanopoulosButtigieg on offers of foreign intel: ‘Just call the FBI’ Buttigieg on offers of foreign intel: ‘Just call the FBI’ Trump weighs in on UFOs in Stephanopoulos interview MORE noted that Trump’s FBI director, Christopher Wray, has said campaigns should report such contact from foreign entities to the bureau.

“The FBI director is wrong,” Trump responded.

 The president’s remarks received criticism from several lawmakers.   

 

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A British human rights watchdog has launched an investigation into the Labor Party following complaints about anti-Semitism.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said Tuesday the investigation will determine if the left-leaning party has “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimized people because they are Jewish.” 

It will also seek to determine if the party has responded to complaints efficiently and effectively.

The Labour Party has committed to fully cooperate with the investigation, the commission said in a release. 

A report of the investigation findings will be published once the probe is concluded. 

Accusations of anti-Semitism within the party and regarding party leader Jeremy Corbyn have been circulating since mid-2016, ahead of the Brexit vote, according to the BBC.

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In February, seven Labor Party lawmakers quit the party after claiming anti-Semitism was not adequately being addressed within its ranks.

Mike Katz, chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, told the BBC that the party’s response to anti-Semitism for years has been “woeful at best, and institutionally racist at worst.” 

“Last year we took the unprecedented step to refer the party to the EHRC, and we welcome their decision today to launch a full statutory inquiry,” Katz said. 

Accusations of racism among British politicians are not contained to one party. 

On Tuesday, The Muslim Council of Britain asked the watchdog group to launch an investigation into allegations of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party, the BBC reported.

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Facebook and Twitter said Tuesday that they are working to kneecap an escalating Iran-linked online campaign that was spreading misinformation in the U.S. since months before the 2018 midterms.

In a blog post, Facebook said it removed 51 Facebook accounts, 36 Pages, seven Groups and three Instagram accounts that originated in Iran and have engaged in “coordinated” inauthentic behavior. The pages had amassed about 21,000 followers by the time they were taken down. 

Facebook said the individuals behind the activity were pretending to be located in the U.S. and Europe, and at various points misrepresented themselves as journalists or news outlets in order to gain influence and amplify their messages bolstering Iran’s political agenda.   

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Twitter said it removed the network of 2,800 inauthentic accounts originating in Iran at the beginning of May. 

“Our investigations into these accounts are ongoing,” a Twitter spokesperson told The Hill. “As we continue to investigate potential wider networks and actors, we typically avoid making any declarative public statements until we can be sure that we have reached the end of our analyses.” 

Both of the company’s announcements came on the heels of a report from top cybersecurity firm FireEye, which on Wednesday published its report on an Iran-linked misinformation campaign it had identified on Facebook and Twitter.  

FireEye has been investigating a network of English-language social media accounts working to promote messages supporting “Iranian political interests” — mostly anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian and anti-Saudi sentiments. FireEye found that some of the accounts were impersonating real Americans, including some Republican political candidates who ran for the House in 2018, while others represented themselves as journalists. According to the FireEye report, some of the accounts successfully had letters to the editor and articles published in newspapers such as The New York Daily News.  

According to FireEye, most of the accounts they’d been tracking over the past year were suspended around May 9.

The firm said it had identified an inauthentic social media network “engaged in inauthentic behavior and misrepresentation and that we assess with low confidence was organized in support of Iranian political interests.”

“In addition to utilizing fake American personas that espoused both progressive and conservative political stances, some accounts impersonated real American individuals, including a handful of Republican political candidates that ran for House of Representatives seats in 2018,” the group wrote.

FireEye last year released a separate report on Iranian misinformation campaigns sweeping across top social media platforms; Tuesday’s report follows up on what it has noticed since then. 

Facebook said the accounts it removed included those identified by FireEye as well as some they found through their own investigation.

“Based on a tip shared by FireEye, a US cybersecurity firm, we conducted an internal investigation into suspected Iran-linked coordinated inauthentic behavior and identified this activity,” Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said in a blog post. 

The apparently falsified personas often represented themselves as journalists and activists, and at some points reached out to policymakers, reporters, academics, Iranian dissidents and others, according to Facebook and FireEye. 

FireEye said U.S. and Israeli newspapers in some instances published letters and articles submitted by personas identified as false in the misinformation network. 

On Twitter, FireEye found that Iran-linked accounts were posing as Marla Livengood, a Republican candidate for California’s 9th Congressional District in 2018, and Jineea Butler, a Republican candidate for New York’s 13th Congressional District last year. Those accounts promoted messages that align with Iran’s political interests alongside more general messages about U.S. politics, sometimes copied from the candidates’ real accounts. Those fake accounts were suspended this month. 

“We were not aware of it,” Scott Winn, one of the leaders of Livengood’s campaign, told NBC News. “This seems to be kind of an ongoing problem in campaigns … We have people that are looking at what happened in the 2016 election and trying to duplicate that on a local level.” 

The firm said it cannot identify whether the network is linked to the Iranian government. 

“If it is of Iranian origin or supported by Iranian state actors, it would demonstrate that Iranian influence tactics extend well beyond the use of inauthentic news sites and fake social media personas, to also include the impersonation of real individuals on social media and the leveraging of legitimate Western news outlets to disseminate favorable messaging,” the report says. 

Twitter in its statement criticized FireEye for failing to “share information or insights with Twitter” on its findings before it published a report.

“FireEye, a private cybersecurity firm, has issued a report and chosen not to share information or insights with Twitter prior to publication which is outside standard, responsible industry norms,” Twitter said. “Responsible disclosure should include notification and information sharing to protect against informing bad actors. Going public without these elements harms the credibility of the security research community, whose insights we support and appreciate.” 

–Updated at 5:10 p.m.

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Facebook CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergFacebook’s Zuckerberg and Sandberg reportedly refuse Canadian hearing summons Hillicon Valley: Facebook won’t remove doctored Pelosi video | Trump denies knowledge of fake Pelosi videos | Controversy over new Assange charges | House Democrats seek bipartisan group on net neutrality On The Money: Conservative blocks disaster relief bill | Trade high on agenda as Trump heads to Japan | Boeing reportedly faces SEC probe over 737 Max | Study finds CEO pay rising twice as fast as worker pay MORE could be held in contempt of Canadian Parliament if he continues to ignore requests from Canadian lawmakers to testify before their government, Canadian Conservative Member of Parliament Bob Zimmer said Tuesday. 

Canadian lawmakers voted Tuesday to issue an open-ended summons for Zuckerberg and Facebook Chief Financial Officer Sheryl Sandberg, meaning the two will face summons to appear before the Parliament the next time they step foot in Canada. If the executives fail to abide by those summons, Canadian lawmakers would vote on a motion to hold them in contempt of Parliament, Zimmer said. 

If approved, that motion could result in jail time for the powerful executives, though it is unlikely it would play out that way. 

“It’s only fitting that there’s an ongoing summons, so as soon as they step foot into our country they will be served and expected to [sit in front of] our committee,” said Zimmer, chairman of the Canadian House of Commons committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

He made the announcement after Zuckerberg and Sandberg flouted a subpoena to appear before the committee during a hearing attended by international lawmakers about privacy, misinformation and hate speech. Throughout the testy event, lawmakers expressed outrage at the executives for failing to comply with the subpoena, instead opting to send Facebook’s head of public policy in Canada Kevin Chan and its director of public policy Neil Potts.

Jo Stevens, a U.K. member of parliament, said at the hearing that members of the committee had crossed oceans to make it more convenient for Zuckerberg to testify. Potts said he and Chan have been tasked with representing the company. 

The international hearing included representatives from countries including Ireland, Singapore, the United Kingdom and more. The lawmakers hit Chan and Potts with scathing and detailed criticisms of Facebook’s business practices, including specific instances in which the platform was slow to take down hate speech or misinformation. 

Representatives from Google and Twitter were also in attendance and fielded questions, but the committee did not send summons to Google CEO Sundar Pichai or Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. 

“Shame on Mark Zuckerberg and shame on Sheryl Sandberg for not showing up today,” Zimmer said. 

Zuckerberg and Sandberg’s no-show marks the latest instance in which the top Facebook executives have declined to appear before governmental bodies. Zuckerberg previously declined to appear before the U.K. Parliament, infuriating top British lawmakers, and has repeated the tactic all over the world. 

Canadian lawmakers on Tuesday hit Zuckerberg as they quoted from a recent op-ed in which he vowed to sit down with lawmakers looking to regulate the tech giant.

Canada’s privacy watchdog last month accused Facebook of violating the country’s privacy laws in its handling of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Canada’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) vowed to take the company to court over its findings.

The OPC had launched the investigation last year after it was revealed that political consulting group Cambridge Analytica had obtained data on millions of Facebook users without their knowledge.

Facebook has said it does not agree with the OPC’s conclusions. 

A Facebook spokesperson after the meeting on Tuesday said, “We are grateful to the Committee for the opportunity to answer their questions today and remain committed to working with world leaders, governments, and industry experts to address these complex issues. As we emphasized, we share the Committee’s desire to keep people safe and to hold companies like ours accountable.” 

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President TrumpDonald John TrumpPapadopoulos on AG’s new powers: ‘Trump is now on the offense’ Pelosi uses Trump to her advantage Mike Pence delivers West Point commencement address MORE‘s decision giving Attorney General William BarrWilliam Pelham BarrPapadopoulos on AG’s new powers: ‘Trump is now on the offense’ House Democrats must insist that Robert Mueller testifies publicly Why Mueller may be fighting a public hearing on Capitol Hill MORE “full and complete authority” to declassify documents related to surveillance activities during the 2016 campaign has set off a wave of criticism in Washington.

Democrats and former intelligence officials are worried that the move could politicize the intelligence community and put sources and methods at risk, describing his action as “un-American” and “dangerous.” 

Trump on Friday defended his decision to grant Barr declassification authority in his investigation, declaring it would reveal the origins of special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Trump orders more troops to Mideast amid Iran tensions Trump: Democrats just want Mueller to testify for a ‘do-over’ Graham: Mueller investigation a ‘political rectal exam’ MORE‘s probe into Russia’s election interference. But Democrats, dismayed with Barr’s handling of the Mueller report, have raised concerns that the attorney general cannot be trusted with the task.

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“We still don’t have the full Mueller report, so of course the President gives sweeping declassification powers to an Attorney General who has already shown that he has no problem selectively releasing information in order to mislead the American people,” Sen. Mark WarnerMark Robert WarnerTrump declassification move unnerves Democrats Hillicon Valley: Assange hit with 17 more charges | Facebook removes record 2.2B fake profiles | Senate passes anti-robocall bill | Senators offer bill to help companies remove Huawei equipment Senators offer bipartisan bill to help US firms remove Huawei equipment from networks MORE (D-Va.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Friday.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffFive takeaways from Barr’s new powers in ‘spying’ probe Trump declassification move unnerves Democrats Trump appeals order siding with House Democrats bank subpoenas MORE (D-Calif.) called the move “un-American.”

John McLaughlin, the former deputy director of the CIA during the George W. Bush administration, called it “a really bad idea” to give Barr declassification authority.

“The agencies can cooperate but must retain their legal responsibility for protecting sources,” McLaughlin tweeted late Thursday. “Congressional intelligence committees need to stand in the door on this one.”

The White House issued a memo Thursday evening directing the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies and several departments that include elements of the intelligence community to cooperate with Barr’s review into intelligence activities related to the 2016 presidential campaigns, which the attorney general has described as “spying.”

The memo also states that Barr has the authority to declassify information or intelligence relating to his probe. It instructs him to consult with the heads of intelligence agencies “to the extent he deems it practicable.”

The White House asserted that the declassification process would “restore confidence in our public institutions.”

Director of National Intelligence Dan CoatsDaniel (Dan) Ray CoatsFive takeaways from Barr’s new powers in ‘spying’ probe Trump declassification move unnerves Democrats Hillicon Valley: Facebook co-founder calls for breaking up company | Facebook pushes back | Experts study 2020 candidates to offset ‘deepfake’ threat | FCC votes to block China Mobile | Groups, lawmakers accuse Amazon of violating children’s privacy MORE said in a statement on Friday that the intelligence community would provide the Department of Justice “all of the appropriate information” for its review. 

“I am confident that the Attorney General will work with the [intelligence community] in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk,” Coats said.

Trump has espoused that his campaign was improperly surveilled by intelligence officials who were biased against him during the 2016 election, an unproven theory echoed by some of his conservative supporters. He has bandied the word “treason” to describe the origins of the Russia investigation, and on Friday defended the declassification order.

“People have been asking me to declassify for a long period of time,” Trump said as he departed the White House for Japan. “I’ve decided to do it and you’re going to learn a lot. I hope it’s going to be nice, but perhaps it won’t be.”

In Barr, Trump has found an attorney general who has lent credence to some of his long-standing beliefs. The attorney general sparked a furor when he said he believed “spying” occurred in 2016, but that he didn’t know if it was done improperly.

Democrats and FBI Director Christopher Wray are among those who balked at Barr’s use of the term “spying.”

Democrats have further raised concerns that Barr is acting more as Trump’s personal attorney than the nation’s top law enforcement officer. A number of Democratic senators called on Barr to resign after it became clear that Mueller felt Barr mischaracterized the special counsel’s findings.

“Trump dangerously politicizes intelligence declassification—giving his henchman AG sweeping powers to weaponize classified info against political foes,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) tweeted Friday. “No safeguards, no accountability, no respect for intel sources—a deeply perilous recipe to distract from mounting troubles.”

Trump scoffed at the suggestion that the attorney general was untrustworthy or potentially compromised, calling it “so false and so phony” to raise Mueller’s frustrations with Barr’s portrayal of his findings.

“The attorney general is one of the most respected people in this country, and he has been for a long period of time,” Trump said.

But former intelligence officials wondered whether Trump’s desire to unearth the origins of what he has frequently derided as a “witch hunt” will negatively affect the intelligence community’s ability to do its job.

James ClapperJames Robert ClapperTrump declassification move unnerves Democrats Comey: ‘The FBI doesn’t spy, the FBI investigates’ How I learned to love the witch hunt MORE, a former director of national intelligence and a regular target of Trump’s scorn, said Thursday that the Mueller report already made a significant amount of information public. He suggested further declassification “might risk jeopardizing sources and methods.”

But Trump’s allies in Congress hailed the president’s decision. Several Republicans praised it as a move in support of transparency, and suggested it would validate their claims of anti-Trump bias among former government officials.

“Americans are going to learn the truth about what occurred at their Justice Department,” Rep. Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsFive takeaways from Barr’s new powers in ‘spying’ probe Trump declassification move unnerves Democrats Conservative blocks House passage of disaster relief bill MORE (R-N.C.) tweeted.

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamTrump declassification move unnerves Democrats Climate change is a GOP issue, too New Yorker cover titled ‘The Shining’ shows Graham, McConnell, Barr polishing Trump’s shoes MORE (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the declassification of documents “long overdue.”

“You’re going to find out the mentality of the people investigating the president,” he said on “Fox & Friends.” “You’re going to find out exactly what they did and said.”

Graham, who has made clear he intends to use his position to look into alleged surveillance abuses during the Obama administration, suggested the response when the documents are released will fall along partisan lines.

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Justice Department officials on Thursday announced 17 additional felony charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian AssangeJulian Paul AssangeSweden takes step toward seeking Assange extradition WikiLeaks says Assange papers, manuscripts will be given to US authorities: report Chelsea Manning ordered back to jail after refusing to testify in WikiLeaks probe MORE, a move that was met with near-universal outcry from press freedom groups.

A grand jury in Alexandria, Va., returned the superseding indictment charging Assange with conspiring with former Army intelligence officer Chelsea ManningChelsea Elizabeth ManningSweden takes step toward seeking Assange extradition WikiLeaks says Assange papers, manuscripts will be given to US authorities: report Chelsea Manning ordered back to jail after refusing to testify in WikiLeaks probe MORE to obtain, receive and disclose “national defense information,” in violation of the Espionage Act.

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He is also charged with publishing a select range of the classified documents that revealed the names of low-level, local sources utilized by the U.S. government, including Afghan and Iraqi nationals, as well as journalists, human rights activists, and religious leaders.

“These alleged actions disclosed our sensitive classified information in a manner that made it available to every terrorist group, hostile foreign intelligence service and opposing military,” said John Demers, the assistant attorney general for DOJ’s national security division.

“Documents relating to these disclosures were even found in the Osama bin Laden compound. This release made our adversaries stronger and more knowledgeable, and the United States less secure.”

The charges against Assange over the publication of those materials set the stage for a debate on whether individuals should be punished for releasing classified materials, and whether such charges could have a chilling effect on publishers who get their hands on top-secret documents.

Demers sought to get ahead of suggestions that the U.S. is charging Assange for publishing information, declaring that the WikiLeaks founder is “no journalist.”

“Some say Julian Assange is a journalist and that he is immune from prosecution for these actions. The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy,” said Demers. “Julian Assange is no journalist.”

But Barry Pollack, an attorney representing Assange in the United States, said in an emailed statement that Assange was charged “under the Espionage Act for encouraging sources to provide him truthful information and for publishing that information.”

“The fig leaf that this is merely about alleged computer hacking has been removed. These unprecedented charges demonstrate the gravity of the threat the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange poses to all journalists in their endeavor to inform the public about actions that have taken by the U.S. government,” Pollack wrote.

WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of documents obtained from Manning, including information on Guantanamo Bay detainees, classified State Department cables and Afghanistan and Iraq War combat guidelines.

The organization called the latest charges “madness,” tweeting that superseding indictment marks “the end of national security journalism and the first amendment.”

Press freedom groups almost immediately decried the charges as an attack on the First Amendment, and warned that they set a dangerous precedent for publishers and journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists resurfaced on Twitter its past warnings against such charges, including its call to reform the Espionage Act to stop the law from being used to prosecute reporters and whistleblowers.

The ACLU labeled the charges “an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the First Amendment.”

And whistleblower Edward Snowden called the charges a declaration of war by the Justice Department “not on Wikileaks, but on journalism itself.”

The charges will also likely to fuel the current battle to extradite Assange to the United States, a move the WikiLeaks founder is trying to fend off. He was arrested in London earlier this year on a conspiracy charge at the request of U.S. authorities, following his eviction from the Ecuadorian Embassy where he had sought refuge for several years.

Sweden is also seeking to extradite Assange to the country, where he is facing an allegation of rape.

The latest indictment also answers the question of why Manning has been summoned before grand juries investigating WikiLeaks twice this year in the Eastern District of Virginia.

She is currently incarcerated for the second time this year after a judge again ordered her to be held in contempt over her refusal to cooperate.

Manning pleaded guilty in 2013 to leaking classified information, and was sentenced to 35 years – a record sentence for a leaking conviction. Former President Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaBudowsky: 3 big dangers for Democrats HuffPost says president’s golfing trips to Trump properties cost taxpayers over 0 million in travel and security expenses Support for same-sex marriage dips 4 points from 2018 high: Gallup MORE commuted Manning’s sentence in 2017.

The indictment unveiled on Thursday alleges that, starting in 2009 and continuing until Manning’s arrest in 2010, Assange “encouraged Manning to steal classified documents from the United States and unlawfully disclose that information to WikiLeaks.”

The document features conversations between Manning and Assange, including those over classified assessment briefs on Guantanamo Bay detainees that Manning shared with WikiLeaks.

After Manning, then-an Army intelligence analyst, indicated that she didn’t have any more documents to share, Assange replied “curious eyes never run dry in my experience.” That quote was included in a previously unsealed indictment against Assange.

“Assange intended his statement to encourage Manning to continue her theft of classified documents from the United States and to continue the unlawful disclosure of those documents to Assange and WikiLeaks,” the document reads.

Manning later provided Assange with classified documents on rules of engagement for Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as classified State Department cables.

After Manning’s arrest in May 2010, Assange allegedly continued to publish classified documents he received from the analyst, such as reports that “included names of local Afghans and Iraqis who had provided information to U.S. and coalition forces.”

Some of the classified State Department cables also included the names of confidential U.S. sources across the world.

“By publishing these documents without redacting the human sources’ names or other identifying information, Assange created a grave and imminent risk that the innocent people he named would suffer serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention,” the document reads.

The indictment also states that Assange was warned by the State Department that releasing the names of informants could endanger those sources, and while he redacted some of the names, others were still released.

WikiLeaks was also at the center of concerns over Russian interference in the 2016 election, after it published damaging hacked Democratic emails in the run-up to the election. Neither Assange nor WikiLeaks have been charged in relation to the publication of those documents.

 

  

Updated at 6:08 p.m.

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The Premier League champions have pipped Chelsea and Tottenham to the signature of the 16-year-old, who will join the club in 2019

Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, the Irish club have confirmed.

Bazunu, 16, became the club’s youngest ever goalkeeper when he featured for Rovers against Bray Wanderers earlier this year, and the clubs have now reached a pre-contract agreement with the teenager.

He has kept a clean sheet in all of his four league appearances.

Reports in Ireland claim that City have paid an initial €400,000 to sign the teenager, who will finish his studies in Ireland befoe moving to England.

Indeed, the club have confirmed that “it is fair to say that this is the biggest transfer by an Irish club in the professional era”.

A statement added: “Shamrock Rovers F.C. can today confirm that the club has reached a pre-contract agreement with Manchester City F.C. for the transfer of goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. Gavin will remain with the first team squad at Shamrock Rovers and move to Manchester in 2019.

“The club has spent some time working with the player, Manchester City and Ashfield College to put in place the arrangements to allow Gavin to complete his Leaving Certificate next year.”

Both Chelsea and Tottenham have been heavily linked with the highly-rated Irishman, and it has been reported that Spurs made a number of bids for the player.

 

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The Manchester United midfielder’s initiative has bolstered its ranks with the world-famous freestyler

Freestyle football world champion Liv Cooke has joined Juan Mata’s Common Goal initiative.

Common Goal is a charitable movement run by streetfootballworld that was launched with the support of the Manchester United attacker.

Mata announced in an article for The Players’ Tribune that he was pledging one per cent of his salary to Common Goal, and called for other players to do the same.

The likes of Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa and Juventus’ Giorgio Chiellini have all signed up, along with Manchester United great Eric Cantona.

Cooke, the first British female professional football freestyler, has become the latest star to make the pledge, contributing to the rapidly growing football-based initiative tackling some of the world’s toughest social challenges.

A gifted young footballer, Cooke was part of the Blackburn Rovers Centre of Excellence before her promising potential career was cut short by injury.

She found the art of freestyle football via YouTube and quickly turned her hand to it. In August 2017, she became the youngest football freestyle champion in history, winning the Super Ball final in Prague.

On joining the initiative, she said: “One major thing I’ve learnt along the way is that football is more than just a game or a sport. Football can be a powerful force for good – used to tackle some of the world’s toughest social issues and make so many people’s lives better.

“I want to call freestylers from all over the world to come and join us, take the pledge, and help us make a difference.”

Common Goal co-founder and CEO, Jurgen Griesbeck, added: “It is great to have Liv on board at Common Goal with us. She is a world champion and a pioneer in women’s freestyle football – she represents everything we are trying to do here.

“I know she has a great passion to give back to those less fortunate, and I’m excited to work with her going forward.”