Why is Taiwan training for war with China?
[unable to retrieve full-text content] The increase in Taiwan’s annual drills against invasion from mainland China is crossing paths with civilian life.
Analysis: PKK recalibrates from armed struggle to politics in Turkiye
“We voluntarily destroy our weapons … as a step of goodwill and determination,” said senior Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Bese Hozat, speaking in front of a gathering of the group’s fighters. The footage, filmed last Friday in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah, then shows the fighters – about 30 of them – placing their weapons inside a cauldron, where they were set alight. The ceremony may have been symbolic, but it capped what might be one of the most consequential periods in Turkiye’s recent political history. It wraps up a carefully planned sequence of gestures and messages, and shows that both sides are not just coordinating symbolically, but are also politically aligned in their intent to move from armed conflict to political dialogue. The choreography of the build-up to the ceremony unfolded with remarkable precision, revealing both political coordination and calculated restraint. Such an alignment would have been impossible without mutual recognition between the PKK and Turkiye of the importance of what was about to happen, as well as the consequences of any failure. On July 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received his country’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party delegation for the second time in four months. A smiling group photo from the meeting was widely circulated, signalling both the normalisation of dialogue and the symbolic approval of the process at the highest level. Two days later, on July 9, Abdullah Ocalan – the imprisoned PKK leader and founder – appeared in a seven-minute video released by ANF, the PKK’s affiliated media outlet. It marked his first public visual appearance in 26 years and carried a simple but historic message: The time for arms has ended. Advertisement In it, Ocalan emphasised that the movement’s original aim, the recognition of Kurdish identity, had been achieved, and that political engagement must now replace armed resistance. The message was as much to the PKK as it was to the public. Lastly, on July 13, Erdogan addressed the governing AK Party’s retreat, reaffirming his commitment to the disarmament process and announcing that a parliamentary commission would be established to address its legal framework. His message aimed to reassure the broader public, especially his supporters, that the process would strengthen national untiy and benefits all of Turkiye’s citizens, whatever their ethnicity. Message to the Kurdish public Ocalan’s rare video message aimed to reassure his Kurdish supporters that this was not a defeat, but a recalibration: a shift from armed struggle to political engagement. The message was carefully measured and stripped of triumphalism; it sought to redefine the past, rather than glorify it. The dignified tone of the weapons-burning ceremony allowed both the PKK and state narratives to coexist. It did not alienate those who had sacrificed for the PKK’s struggle – activists, politicians in prison or exile, and the families of the disappeared. Instead, it signalled that their voices had been heard. Despite his years of isolation, Ocalan’s words still carry weight. Not only because of his symbolic authority, but because his message reflects what many Kurds now seek: dignity without martyrdom, a voice without violence, and a future beyond armed struggle. Public support for disarmament is growing, even among those long sceptical of the state’s intent. Recent surveys show that more than 90 percent of DEM voters, as well as those who identify as Kurdish or Zaza (a Kurdish-adjacent minority group) in Turkiye, support the process. Belief that the PKK will fully disarm is also significantly higher than the national average. The PKK’s decision to disarm is not a retreat but a recalibration. Since its founding in 1978, the group has waged a protracted armed struggle against the Turkish state, demanding autonomy and rights for Kurds. But after decades of rebellion, the regional landscape has changed. In northern Iraq and Syria, the PKK’s operational space has altered. While the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key PKK-linked actor, remains active in northeastern Syria, its future hinges on shifting US commitments and delicate understandings with the new government in Damascus, an ally of Turkiye. Advertisement At the same time, Iran’s weakening regional influence, sustained Turkish military pressure, and a quiet but growing preference among Western actors for a stable Turkiye have all contributed to reshaping the group’s strategic calculus. Crucially, this recalibration does not conflict with the United States and Israel’s core interests in curbing Iranian influence and maintaining a manageable status quo in Syria. Against this backdrop, a disarmed and politically engaged Kurdish movement in Turkiye is not an isolated anomaly. In this context, the PKK has opted to step off the battlefield and into the political arena. As Ocalan expressed in his July 9 message, “I believe in the strength of peace, not the force of arms.” The weapons-burning ceremony is not the end of the disarmament process. A Turkish parliamentary commission is expected to define the conditions for the reintegration of PKK fighters into civilian and political life in Turkiye, while a verification mechanism involving the Turkish Armed Forces and intelligence agency will monitor disarmament and issue a report to guide further steps. Hozat, the PKK senior leader, framed the ceremony as a political milestone, and reaffirmed the group’s ambition to enter civilian politics, expressing an aim to become “pioneers of democratic politics in Amed [Diyarbakir], Ankara, and Istanbul” – a deliberate reference to key centres of Kurdish representation in Turkiye and national political power. Yet this transition hinges on comprehensive legal reforms and credible guarantees that are both socially and politically viable, and civil society groups and humanitarian organisations in Turkiye are likely to play an active role in the forthcoming stages of full disarmament. Turkish political support In Turkiye, there is broad buy-in for the peace process with the PKK from across the political spectrum. This is largely because the process benefits nearly all political actors by reducing the securitised political climate, easing judicial pressure, and offering a chance to reset deeply polarised governance. With “terrorism” charges having been used expansively in recent years, even members of the opposition
Felix Baumgartner death: Witnesses heard loud boom before crash
Felix Baumgartner’s fatal paragliding crash was preceded by large boom as it spun to the ground, according to witnesses. Beachgoers knew something was wrong when they heard a loud boom ring out as a paraglider spun out of control, before killing its only occupant, extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, when it crashed next to a swimming pool near the Adriatic Sea. A 30-year-old mother watched the deadly descent unfold Thursday afternoon from nearby with her two young children, who were entranced by the constant traffic of paragliders above the beach town of Porto Sant’Elipido in central Italy’s Marche region. “Everything was normal, then it started to spin like a top,’’ Mirella Ivanov said on Friday. “It went down and we heard a roar. In fact, I turned around because I thought it crashed on the rocks. Then I saw two lifeguards running, people who were running toward” the crash site. When she saw people trying to revive the occupant, she hustled her two children away. The city’s mayor confirmed the death of 56-year-old Baumgartner, who was renowned as the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound. The cause of the paragliding accident was under investigation. Police did not return calls asking for comment. “It is a destiny that is very hard to comprehend for a man who has broken all kinds of records, who has been an icon of flight, and who travelled through space,” Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella told The Associated Press. Ciarpella said that Baumgartner had been in the area on vacation, and that investigators believed he may have fallen ill during the fatal flight. Baumgartner’s social media feed features videos of him in recent days flying on a motorised paraglider – known as paramotoring – above seaside towns, and taking off from a nearby airfield surrounded by cornfields. Workers stand near the swimming pool of the ‘Le Mimose’ resort, where skydiver Felix Baumgartner’s paraglider crashed, killing him and injuring a hotel employee on the ground, in Porto Sant’Elpidio, Italy [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters] The Clube de Sole Le Mimose beachside resort where the crash occurred said in a statement that an employee who was “slightly injured” in the accident was in good condition. No guests were injured, and the pool has been reopened. Advertisement In 2012, Baumgartner, known as “Fearless Felix,” became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. He wore a pressurised suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 24 miles (39 kilometres) above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico. The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, topped out at 843.6 mph (1,357.6km/h) – the equivalent of 1.25 times the speed of sound – during a nine-minute descent. At one point, he went into a potentially dangerous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds, his crew later said. In 2012, millions watched YouTube’s livestream as Baumgartner coolly flashed a thumbs-up when he came out of the capsule high above Earth and then activated his parachute as he neared the ground, lifting his arms in victory after he landed. Baumgartner’s altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace set new marks for the highest free-fall jump and greatest free-fall distance. Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and famed landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. In 2003, he flew across the English Channel in a carbon fibre wing after being dropped from a plane. In recent years, he performed with The Flying Bulls, an aviation team owned and operated by Red Bull, as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe. Red Bull paid Baumgartner tribute in a post Friday, calling him “precise, demanding and critical. With others, but above all toward yourself.” The statement underlined the research and courage with which Baumgartner confronted “the greatest challenges.” “No detail was too small, no risk too great, because you were capable of calculating it,’’ Red Bull said. Adblock test (Why?)
Canceled Baylor LGBTQ+ study stirs strong reactions in Waco
A grant to help churches better minister to LGBTQ+ people prompted fury. A decision to return the grant then spurred disappointment.
House committee alleges Biden admin used funds to back anti-government protests in Israel
The Biden-Harris administration is accused of misusing taxpayer dollars to fund protests in Israel against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to Oct. 7. The House Judiciary Committee recently released a memo outlining the allegations and showing a possible money trail. “The Committee’s oversight has revealed that the Biden-Harris Administration provided grant funds to groups that contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government,” the committee wrote in the memo. NETANYAHU EXPLAINS HOW HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH TRUMP IS ‘DIFFERENT’ THAN PAST PRESIDENTS Netanyahu shared one of the charts from the memo on his X account and decried the “massive foreign intervention in an attempt to replace the right-wing government in Israel.” “An official document published by the U.S. Congress reveals astonishing information that confirms what many have long suspected: the previous U.S. administration transferred nearly a billion dollars to left-wing NGOs in Israel, with the aim of undermining the rule of the government,” Netanyahu wrote in Hebrew. APP USERS CLICK HERE TO READ THE MEMO In March, the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs sent letters to six American and Israeli NGOs asking for “documents related to any grants, cooperative agreements, or other awards received from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or State Department.” According to the Judiciary Committee’s memo, the organizations have produced a total of 380 documents so far. The six NGOs were Blue White Future (BWF), Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Jewish Communal Fund (JCF), Middle East Peace Dialogue Network (MEPDN) and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. OFFICIALS IN BIDEN ADMIN WORKED TO UNDERMINE NETANYAHU AFTER CEASEFIRE TALKS COLLAPSED, FORMER AIDE SAYS Before Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, Israel was embroiled in an internal battle over judicial reform measures. This sparked a heated debate and widespread protests throughout the country. The House Judiciary Committee noted that then-President Joe Biden condemned the reform measures and appeared to express support for the protests. “Like many strong supporters of Israel, I’m very concerned. I’m concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. I’ve sort of made that clear,” Biden told reporters in March 2023, according to CNN. Part of the quote also appears in the memo. The committee claims BWF received funds from NGOs, including some U.S. grant recipients, and funded the coalition headquarters for the protests. Additionally, the committee alleges the Biden-Harris administration gave $42,000 to MQG to conduct activism training in Israeli high schools. ISRAELI MINISTER PUSHES BACK AGAINST US, INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM OVER JUDICIAL OVERHAUL PEF Israel Endowment Funds is accused in the memo of providing over $884M to groups involved in anti-democracy protests. Similarly, the committee said the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors “likely provided portions of its $20 million in federal grants” to groups funding the protests. Additionally, the committee questions whether MEPDN violated its 501(c)(3) status “by funding anti-democracy protest.” When it comes to JCF, the committee claims the organization gave over $42.8M to the protest headquarters and the two main funders of the protests. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The committee noted in the memo that the investigation is ongoing and that more American and Israeli NGOs will be added. Fox News Digital reached out to the six NGOs mentioned in the memo and did not receive responses in time for publication.
India’s BIG statement on EU sanctions against Russia, says, ‘There should be no double standards…’
India has responded to recent sanctions announced by the European Union, stating that it does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures and emphasizing the importance of avoiding double standards, especially in the domain of energy trade.
Republican who lost to Tim Walz in 2022 announces another Minnesota gubernatorial bid
Former Minnesota state Sen. Dr. Scott Jensen, the Republican who lost the state’s 2022 gubernatorial contest to incumbent Gov. Tim Walz, has announced another bid for the governorship. “Two decades of liberal policies have made Minnesota too expensive, too dangerous, and thrown our culture outta whack. Tim Walz made it worse. A leader must take responsibility. Tim Walz didn’t. And so he shouldn’t be governor,” Jensen said in a campaign video posted on Thursday. Then-former President Donald Trump endorsed Jensen before the Minnesotan lost in the 2022 gubernatorial contest. 21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY TRY TO SUCCEED TRUMP IN THE 2028 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION “Minnesota finally has a chance to have a great Governor. His name is Dr. Scott Jensen, the Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, and he will bring Minnesota back from the brink,” Trump said in an October 2022 Truth Social post. “Strong on both fighting Crime and delivering Solid and Sensible Education, the results will be quickly seen – and there won’t be any more fiery takeovers of police precincts. Minnesota will be Great Again. Dr. Scott Jensen has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” he continued. WALZ URGES DEMOCRATS TO ‘BE A LITTLE MEANER,’ ‘BULLY THE S–T’ OUT OF TRUMP: ‘A CHALLENGING FEW YEARS’ Walz, who is currently serving his second consecutive term, could run again next year since the state does not have a gubernatorial term limit. MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR, VOWS TO ‘FIX’ WHAT TIM WALZ ‘BROKE’ Walz served as then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last year during the 2024 presidential election.
GOP senator reveals the ‘dirty’ secret to Trump’s Make America Healthy Again movement
FIRST ON FOX: For one lawmaker, the path to making Americans healthier starts in the dirt. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., has styled himself as an early adopter of the Make America Healthy Again movement, a political slogan born on the 2024 campaign trail that has since seen major companies tweak their products to nix artificial additives. But Marshall sees the initiative, commonly known as MAHA, as one that can start sooner than switching the oil in deep friers or swapping out high-fructose corn syrup for cane sugar in soda. SENATORS PUSH BACK AGAINST VOUGHT’S CALL FOR MORE PARTISAN SPENDING PROCESS He has his own four pillars of MAHA, which include dialing up efficiency in agriculture; healthier, more nutrient-rich food; affordable access to primary care healthcare; and addressing mental health challenges among young people. But it all starts below the surface with soil health. “Soil is a dirty topic, you know, pun intended,” Marshall told Fox News Digital in an interview. MAHA diehards and farmers are, at a surface level, at odds with one another, he said. For example, returning to an entirely organic food production process devoid of fertilizers would create healthier food, but also crank up the costs on consumers and strain farmland. TWO REPUBLICANS VOTE AGAINST TRUMP’S $9 BILLION CLAWBACK OF FOREIGN AID, NPR FUNDING Earlier in the week, Marshall held a roundtable with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to try and bridge that gap. “Soil health seems to be the common ground,” he said. “So healthy soil meets healthy food meets healthy people. Rather than MAHA telling these farmers what you can and can’t do, we wanted to say, ‘What’s our goal here?’ If we have the same goals, then we’re going to figure this out. Well, the goal is healthy soil.” Getting those two in a room together, along with experts on regenerative agriculture, which is a more holistic approach to farming that targets soil health by restoring and enhancing ecosystems, is just a part of his plan. He also intends to drop a massive package of bills that is divided up into categories that echo his four pillars, including legislation geared toward health care, mental health, nutrition and agriculture. Among the nearly 30 bills and amendments in the package is one Marshall is particularly keen to see codified. The Plant Biostimulant Act would spur usage of organisms that can be placed into the soil and that latch onto the roots of plants that absorb nitrates and more water, he said. ‘LONG OVERDUE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM THROUGH TRUMP’S CLAWBACK PACKAGE WITH CUTS TO FOREIGN AID, NPR The bill ties in directly with his passion for regenerative agriculture, which uses fewer fertilizers, water and other status-quo farming techniques to produce healthier foods on more sustainable farmland, which, in turn, would yield a cheaper, more nutritious diet for Americans. “It’s growing more with less,” he said. Among the various, bipartisan pieces of legislation from both chambers are bills that would push mobile cancer screenings with grant funding, add mental health warnings for kids scrolling through social media, require more transparency in food ingredients, expansion of employer healthcare coverage for chronic diseases, and measures that would allow bleeding edge soil health technology and processes to be considered conservation practices and eligible for Farm Bill funding, among others. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Most bills need to get 60 votes to pass in the Senate, Marshall noted, and that led to a desire to incorporate as many bipartisan measures in the package as possible. It’s also a topic that, in spite of the political polarization in Washington, “unites us, rather than divides us.” Still, with President Donald Trump in office, he sees the chance for the measures to pass as a kind of now or never moment. “We’re seeing a time in our lives where the incidence of cancer, the age of cancer, is growing younger and younger, the age of Alzheimer’s onset is growing younger and younger, and we believe it’s an inflammatory reaction to the food that we’re eating that leads to all that,” he said. “We think heart disease, hypertension, is really an inflammatory reaction… to the food we’re eating and the constantly high sugar levels in our blood system,” he continued. “So absolutely, I think, seize the moment. This is it.”
Biden DOJ actively sought ‘federal hook’ for school board memo about ‘domestic terrorists,’ documents reveal
FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group revealed a tranche of correspondence on Friday from the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) shedding new light on the behind-the-scenes discussions about a controversial directive former Attorney General Merrick Garland gave about school boards. The document dump included an email from a deputy attorney general aide that said the DOJ was searching for a “federal hook” to use to address a letter by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) raising alarm about parents who were, at the time, expressing outrage at school board meetings across the country over COVID-19 mandates, critical race theory, and transgender policies. “We’re aware; the challenge here is finding a federal hook. But WH has been in touch about whether we can assist in some form or fashion,” deputy attorney general aide Kevin Chambers wrote to a colleague on Oct. 1. EXCLUSIVE: CONSERVATIVE GROUPS URGING TRUMP ADMIN TO EXPOSE ANTI-CHRISTIAN ‘PATTERN’ IN BIDEN FBI Garland issued a directive to the FBI in October 2021 about a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against school administrators. Garland said during a congressional hearing soon thereafter that he had issued the order just after the NSBA sent a letter to the White House, which the NSBA later retracted, that had asked the White House to investigate parents displaying threatening behavior at school board meetings as possible “domestic terrorists.” The emails were uncovered by America First Legal, a conservative group aligned with President Donald Trump. The organization’s president, Gene Hamilton, said in a statement that the emails revealed a “conspiracy that was ultimately aimed at depriving parents of two fundamental rights–the right to speak, and the right to direct the upbringing up their children.” The revelation comes as the White House has changed its posture during the Trump administration to overtly coordinate with the DOJ, including to investigate the president’s political opponents. Trump signed executive orders in April directing the DOJ to investigate former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor and former cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs. Fox News Digital reported this week that the White House counsel’s office is coordinating with the DOJ to investigate Biden’s use of an autopen. One recently fired DOJ employee of nearly two decades alleged to CBS News that the Trump administration had done away with policies on coordinating with the White House. “There used to be a line, used to be a very distinct separation between the White House and the Department of Justice, because one should not interfere with the work of the other,” the ex-employee said. “That line is very definitely gone.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Obama admin ‘manufactured’ intelligence to create 2016 Russian election interference narrative, documents show
EXCLUSIVE: The Obama administration “manufactured and politicized intelligence” to create the narrative that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election, despite information from the intelligence community stating otherwise, Fox News Digital has learned. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Friday declassified documents revealing “overwhelming evidence” that demonstrates how, after President Donald Trump won the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, then-President Barack Obama and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong Trump–Russia collusion probe. FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES Documents revealed that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community consistently assessed that Russia was “probably not trying…to influence the election by using cyber means.” One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s talking points stated: “Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome.” Fox News Digital obtained a declassified copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, which was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, with reporting from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and open sources, for Obama, dated Dec. 8, 2016. “We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure,” the Presidential Daily Brief stated. “Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states.” But the brief stated that it was “highly unlikely” the effort “would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result.” EX-OBAMA INTEL BOSS WANTED ANTI-TRUMP DOSSIER INCLUDED IN ‘ATYPICAL’ 2016 ASSESSMENT DESPITE PUSHBACK “Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes,” it stated. The brief noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that any Russian activities “probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates.” The brief stated that cyber criminals “tried to steal data and to interrupt election processes by targeting election infrastructure, but these actions did not achieve a notable disruptive effect.” Fox News Digital obtained declassified, but redacted, communications from the FBI on the Presidential Daily Brief, stating that it “should not go forward until the FBI” had shared its “concerns.” Those communications revealed that the FBI drafted a “dissent” to the original Presidential Daily Brief. The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed that Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “based on some new guidance” decided to “push back publication” of the Presidential Daily Brief. “It will not run tomorrow and is not likely to run until next week,” wrote the deputy director of the Presidential Daily Brief at Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose name is redacted. The following day, Dec. 9, 2016, a meeting convened in the White House Situation Room, with the subject line starting: “Summary of Conclusions for PC Meeting on a Sensitive Topic (REDACTED.)” WHITE HOUSE WANTS OBAMA INTEL OFFICIALS ‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ FOR ROLE PEDDLING 2016 RUSSIA HOAX The meeting included top officials in the National Security Council, Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, among others, to discuss Russia. The declassified meeting record, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that principals “agreed to recommend sanctioning of certain members of the Russian military intelligence and foreign intelligence chains of command responsible for cyber operations as a response to cyber activity that attempted to influence or interfere with U.S. elections, if such activity meets the requirements” from an executive order that demanded the blocking of property belonging to people engaged in cyber activities. After the meeting, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Clapper’s executive assistant emailed intelligence community leaders tasking them to create a new intelligence community assessment “per the president’s request,” that detailed the “tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.” “ODNI will lead this effort with participation from CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS,” the record states. Later, Obama officials “leaked false statements to media outlets” claiming that “Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election.” By Jan. 6, 2017, a new Intelligence Community Assessment was released that, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “directly contradicted the IC assessments that were made throughout the previous six months.” Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital that the ICA was “politicized” because it “suppressed intelligence from before and after the election showing Russia lacked intent and capability to hack the 2016 election.” Officials also said it deceived the American public “by claiming the IC made no assessment on the ‘impact’ of Russian activities,” when the intelligence community “did, in fact, assess for impact.” “The unpublished December PDB stated clearly that Russia ‘did not impact’ the election through cyber hacks on the election,” an official told Fox News Digital. The official also said that the ICA assessed that “Russia was responsible for leaking data from the DNC and DCCC,” but while “failing to mention that FBI and NSA previously expressed low confidence in this attribution.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital Friday that they have been investigating the matter for months. Officials told Fox News Digital that the new assessment “was based on information that was known by those involved to be manufactured i.e. the Steele Dossier or deemed as not credible.” Officials said that the intelligence was “politicized” and then “used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump’s victory, the years-long Mueller investigation, two Congressional impeachments, high level officials being investigated, arrested, and thrown in jail, heightened US-Russia tensions, and more.” Gabbard told Fox