Donald Trump Revives 100% Tariff Threat Over Digital Services Tax
Donald Trump has renewed his warning that any country imposing a digital services tax on American companies will face a 100% tariff on all goods. In a social media post, Trump stated that this tariff would override any existing or future trade agreements with the United States.
“Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies,” Trump said. “Some of these Countries are close to actually doing this. Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America.
“This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not,” he added. “Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed.”
Last month, a US trade court rejected Trump's attempt to impose a 10% global tariff, ruling that broad tariffs were not justified under a 1970s trade law. Despite court setbacks, Trump has continued to threaten tariffs, recently announcing tariffs between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the UK, EU, and Australia, citing alleged forced labor violations.
Trump has also blamed Iran for a drone strike on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday morning, describing it as a "foolish violation" of a ceasefire agreement.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”
Earlier, a United Nations agency recommended the evacuation of ships through the strait after the British military reported a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers using a UN-backed route.
John Bolton’s Guilty Plea and Legal Context
Following John Bolton’s guilty plea, his lawyer Abbe Lowell compared Bolton’s case to the 2023 indictment of Donald Trump for illegally retaining classified documents after his presidency.
Lowell said, “Bolton did what real leaders do. He took responsibility for a mistake he made. By contrast, President Trump thumbed his nose at the classified information laws, took actual classified documents to his Florida mansion, interfered with the investigation of that conduct, and has never accepted any accountability for his conduct.”
“Bolton kept a record to preserve history, but Donald Trump kept secrets to serve himself,” Lowell added.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hayden O’Byrne emphasized the seriousness of mishandling classified information.
“As national security adviser to the president of the United States, Mr Bolton had access to and was responsible for safeguarding the most sensitive national defense information, including classified material.
Mr Bolton knew how to handle classified information, where it should be stored, how it should be stored, and with whom he could share that information.
He also knew the damage to national security that could be caused by mishandling that sensitive information.
Nevertheless, as Mr Bolton just admitted, he put our national security at grave risk in violation of the law … and the national defense information at issue in this case was classified at the highest classification levels.
The document in Count 12, for example, revealed intelligence about an adversary’s plans for an attack conducted against US forces in another country. It contained human intelligence using sensitive sources and methods, and it discussed a covert action program.
As Mr Bolton admitted, he shared more than 1,000 pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the national security adviser, including information related to the national defense, with two individuals who neither had the security clearances nor the need to know that information and remarkably he did so using his personal email account and non-government messaging applications.”
US Attorney Kelly Hayes stated after Bolton’s hearing:
“The rules governing classified and national defense information apply equally to everyone, regardless of position and regardless of how long you have served with the United States government.”
While Bolton’s plea agreement may allow him to avoid imprisonment, the judge will determine his sentence. The agreement recommends a maximum prison term of five years, but the judge is not bound by this recommendation. Bolton may withdraw his plea if the sentence exceeds five years or if a fine greater than $2.25 million is imposed.
According to the plea deal, a Department of Justice prosecutor informed Judge Theodore Chuang that Bolton faces a $2.25 million fine, half of which must be paid within five days of sentencing, up to three years of supervised release, and forfeiture of his federal pension. Sentencing is scheduled for 28 October.
Trump Forced to Drain the Pool Swamp – Podcast
As previously reported, the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool will require draining again. Donald Trump has attributed the failure to maintain the water’s “American flag blue” color to vandalism. However, this small body of water may symbolize the president’s inability to evade reality.
In the latest Politics Weekly America podcast, Jonathan Freedland discusses with Arwa Mahdawi why this costly project has become an embarrassing failure for a president focused on image.
Ex-Trump Adviser Turned Critic John Bolton Pleads Guilty in Classified Information Case
John Bolton, who served as Donald Trump’s national security adviser during his first term before becoming a vocal critic, pleaded guilty in federal court in Maryland to one count of retaining classified national security information. This case carries a potential prison sentence of up to five years.
The charge relates to diary entries Bolton compiled about his work during Trump’s first term for his memoir, which was critical of Trump. He was accused of transmitting some of these materials to two relatives, reported by multiple outlets as his wife and daughter.
Bolton initially pleaded not guilty in October last year but later agreed to a plea deal with the Department of Justice, admitting to the single count of retaining classified information and agreeing to pay a fine exceeding $2 million.
If Bolton had proceeded to trial and lost, he could have faced decades in prison. A trial also risked exposing significant classified information as part of his defense, which was cited as a reason for the plea deal.
Bolton is expected to seek no prison time, but the Department of Justice may pursue incarceration, setting the stage for a contentious sentencing scheduled for a later date.
Meanwhile, the ongoing issues with the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool continue. A company involved in a 2010 renovation, New Jersey-based Sika Corporation, reportedly declined to participate in Trump’s project due to demands that the work be completed by the Fourth of July and that the pool bottom be blue, which they deemed “unfeasible.”
Less than a month after the blue lining was applied, it began peeling. Trump blamed vandalism rather than acknowledging the rushed job and sent contractors to repair the damage. He has made several unsubstantiated claims, including allegations of a gash hundreds of feet long and illegal chemical pollution.
Algal blooms have also affected the water color. The Interior Department prematurely declared victory over the algae, likening it to a US victory over Iran, but the problem persists.
Johnson Says He Will Send Housing Bill to Trump's Desk
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would send a bipartisan housing bill to President Trump’s desk, a day after Trump abruptly canceled its signing to pressure the Senate to pass the unrelated Save America Act.
After a lengthy meeting with Trump, Johnson told reporters they are “on exactly the same page,” although he did not specifically mention the housing bill.
Trump has not yet committed to signing the legislation, despite its broad bipartisan support and his party’s interest in using it to demonstrate efforts to reduce living costs ahead of the November midterms.
By formally sending the bill to the president, Johnson has triggered a 10-day window (excluding Sundays) for Trump to sign or veto the legislation. If Trump takes no action, the bill will become law without his signature.
Following the meeting, Trump urged House GOP hardliners to stop “grandstanding” after they halted most activity in the House over the Save Act.
“House should unify, and stop voting down ‘Rules’ or, threatening to do so. Giving power to the Radical Left Dumocrats in the House to control what goes up for a Vote will make our outcomes worse, not better. No more grandstanding, please! They are the Dumocrats, and we can’t let them WIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Despite Trump’s support, Johnson faces challenges. Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna, leading the hardline rebellion, said after the meeting that she submitted an amendment to attach the Save Act to the annual defense bill but did not promise to support the rule if leadership blocks it.
Alarm Over ‘Extreme’ Sentences for Anti-ICE Protesters Convicted of Terrorism
The prolonged sentencing of eight activists convicted of terrorism and other charges related to a Fourth of July protest last year at the Prairieland detention facility in Alvarado, Texas, has raised widespread concern due to the unusually severe sentences and the apparent harsh criminalization of protest under the Department of Justice.
The eight protesters received sentences ranging from 50 to 100 years in prison. A ninth individual, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada, husband of one of the demonstrators who did not participate in the protest, was sentenced to 30 years after being convicted of moving boxes containing left-wing zines and other materials following a prison phone call from his wife.
“These sentences are a travesty and totally unjustified, but that’s the point. Americans hate the fascist Trump regime, so the only way they can try to cling to power is brute force,” said Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan. “More bullshit ‘terrorism’ charges like these are coming.”
Sanchez-Estrada’s sentence has been particularly condemned by First Amendment advocates, who argue it sends a chilling message about permissible ideological materials.
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, stated:
“[The zines Sanchez-Estrada was punished for moving are] no different from the pro-Revolution pamphlets this country’s founders had in mind when they drafted the first amendment’s press clause.”
Sanchez’s case exemplifies the Trump administration’s efforts to criminalize dissenting ideologies and writings, conflating protest with terrorism and targeting immigrants who report on protests or criticize US-backed wars.
Experts caution that such sentences threaten not only immigrants, leftists, or so-called antifa members but represent a broader threat to civil liberties.
Opening Summary
Welcome to the live blog.
John Bolton, former national security adviser to Donald Trump, is expected to plead guilty on Friday to charges of unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information. The agreement with federal prosecutors includes a $2.25 million fine, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Bolton is pleading guilty to one count of retaining classified information related to diary entries about his work during Trump’s first term. The former adviser, now a prominent Trump critic, was accused of transmitting some materials to two relatives.
The trial is scheduled in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday, with possible sentences ranging from no jail time to five years. Bolton initially pleaded not guilty in October.
“This was a very difficult decision for him,” a source close to Bolton told NBC regarding his expected guilty plea. “Most importantly, he is doing what leaders do and taking responsibility.
“He understands that if he went to trial what that would mean, which essentially would be the disclosure of many, many more classified documents that he would need to reveal to defend himself. And given the Ukraine and the Middle East, he didn’t want to do that.”
Elsewhere, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority passed two rulings on Thursday allowing the administration to strip certain immigration protections and reshape the US asylum system.
This could lead to the removal of over one million people from the US and prevent others from entering. Numerous groups, advocates, and members of Congress have criticized the rulings, while Trump administration officials, Republican lawmakers, and anti-immigrant groups have welcomed them.
The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has consistently upheld Trump’s immigration policies, with liberal justices dissenting.
The rulings will primarily affect Haitian and Syrian immigrants, with hundreds of thousands expected to lose Temporary Protected Status.
“The Trump administration has turned the immigration system into a deportation machine,” said Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School.
“In most cases, the supreme court has been a rubber stamp for Trump’s mass deportation agenda,” Mukherjee added.
The Supreme Court also expanded Second Amendment rights by striking down a Hawaii law requiring gun owners to obtain permission before bringing handguns onto private property open to the public, such as shops and restaurants.
In Texas, a new law is expected to mandate compulsory Christian teachings for nearly 5 million school pupils as part of a broader effort to increase religious instruction in schools.
Additionally, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are scheduled to meet soon to discuss easing restrictions on access to certain research peptides, drugs with a fervent following but limited evidence supporting their use.
