El fiscal general Carlos Baca Mancheno acaba de pedir que se acerque a declarar el vicepresidente Jorge Glas.
Pidió a la Corte de Justicia que se señale día y hora para una audiencia de vinculación en contra del vicepresidente Glas, que solo podrá llevarse a cabo previa autorización de la Asamblea Nacional, de acuerdo a la Constitución de Ecuador.
Apenas conoció del tema, el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, José Serrano, dijo que se tramitará tan pronto sea presentada la petición.
Hemos conocido información anunciada x Fiscal General en torno al Vicepresidente, tan pronto sea presentada en la Asamblea será procesada
La investigación se da por asociación ilícita en el caso Odebrecht, que se adelantaba en el despacho de la fiscal Diana Salazar, por motivo de fuero al tratarse de la segunda magistratura del país, la indagación pasa a la Fiscalía General.
En una breve declaración el fiscal dijo que al estar en etapa procesal y en virtud del desplazamiento por fuero, la investigación continuará con la recolección de los elementos de cargo y de descargo.
Baca dijo que la Fiscalía notifica su compromiso de actuar objetiva y éticamente sin perseguir a ninguna persona. (I)
“I guarantee you that because when you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they’re doing well, they are vulnerable,” Fauci said. “I made that point very clearly last week at a press conference. We can’t just focus on those areas that are having a surge, it puts the entire country at risk.”
The outbreaks might be partly driven by states that reopened too soon and might have disregarded some of the federal guidance meant to help states restart safely, Fauci said.
“We’ve got to make sure that when states start to try to open again, they need to follow the guidelines that have been very carefully laid out with regard to checkpoints,” Fauci said earlier Tuesday. He added that some states might be “going too quickly” with regard to reopening and “skipping over some of the checkpoints.”
While much of the country was still shutdown in April, the White House published guidance to help states reopen businesses and parts of society to try to avoid a major resurgence of the virus. The guidance included recommendations like waiting to reopen until daily new cases steadily fall for 14 days, ramping up testing and contact tracing, and increasing hospital capacity.
However, the guidance was not mandatory and a number of the first and most aggressive states to reopen have since seen daily new cases spiral into full-fledged outbreaks, prompting officials to pause or reverse reopening efforts. Fauci added that it’s not just states that reopened early with outbreaks. In other states, expanding outbreaks could indicate that the public is not heeding public health precautions such as mask wearing and physical distancing.
Even in states where governors and mayors “did it right with the right recommendations, we saw visually in clips and in photographs of individuals in the community doing an all-or-none phenomenon, which is dangerous,” he said. “By all or none I mean, either be locked down or open up in a way where you see people at bars not wearing masks, not avoiding crowds, not paying attention to physical distancing.”
The “disregard of recommendations” that public health officials and scientists have made in response to the pandemic needs to be addressed, Fauci said. He urged people to follow the guidelines, practice physical distancing and wear a mask.
“I think the attitude of pushing back from authority and pushing back on scientific data is very concerning,” Fauci said. “We’re in the middle of catastrophic outbreak and we really do need to be guided by scientific principles.”
Fauci was responding to a question from Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, who said “we do not have enough tests and we do not have enough contact tracers.”
Contact tracing occurs when trained personnel contact infected people to investigate how they got Covid-19 and who they might have passed it to. Along with widespread testing and the ability to isolate potentially infectious people, tracing is an age-old public health intervention that is now being ramped up at an unprecedented scale.
“To just say you’re going to go out and identify, contact trace and isolate, that doesn’t mean anything until you do it,” Fauci told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell last week. “Not checking the box that you did it, but actually do it. Get people on the ground. Not on the phone. When you identify somebody, have a place to put them to get them out of social interaction.”
President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that he’s upset with the media for reporting on leaks from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team that Attorney General William Barr failed to properly summarize the contents of the highly anticipated inquiry.
Giuliani, who told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz on “MediaBuzz” that he would like to see the Mueller report released in its entirety, slammed The New York Times’ sources for saying there were concerns raised by some members of Mueller’s team that the report was more damning of Trump than Barr has publicly indicated.
“That leak really indicates all you need to know about Mueller’s prosecutors,” Giuliani said on the Times’ unnamed sources. “Leaking like that…that’s been the biggest canard in this investigation.”
Giuliani’s comments come just days after The New York Times reported on the upset among some Mueller staffers over Barr’s handling of the report – particularly the attorney general’s four-page summary that noted there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and Barr’s decision not to proceed with obstruction of justice charges against Trump. Mueller’s decision to skip prosecutorial judgment “leaves it to the attorney general to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime,” Barr wrote.
The newspaper’s sources did not explain why some in Mueller’s team thought the findings were more damaging to Trump than Barr has revealed, but the report is expected to outline the president’s attempts to thwart the investigation.
“There is nothing wrong with the newspaper, there is something wrong with the prosecutor,” Giuliani said. “This tells me they don’t have anything, because if they were malicious enough to do that and they had a smoking gun, they wouldn’t say in general it’s very damaging.”
Barr has faced criticism since penning his letter that he unduly sanitized the full report in Trump’s favor, including on the key question of whether the president obstructed justice. House Democrats on Wednesday approved subpoenas for
Mueller’s entire report and any exhibits and other underlying evidence that the Justice Department might withhold.
In a statement on Thursday, Barr defended the decision to release a brief summary letter two days after receiving the report on March 22. He has previously said he did not believe it would be in the public’s interest to release the full document in piecemeal or gradual fashion, and that he did not intend for his letter summarizing Mueller’s “principal conclusions” to be an “exhaustive recounting” of the special counsel’s investigation.
Barr is now expected to release the entire report, with redactions, by mid-April.
“Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the report’s bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately — without attempting to summarize the report — with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process,” the Justice Department statement said.
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) – Sixteen U.S. Marines were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in illegal activities including human smuggling and drug-related offenses, the U.S. military said.
In a press release, the Marine Corps said that the Marines were arrested at Camp Pendleton in California based on information gained from a previous human smuggling investigation.
The statement added that in addition to the Marines arrested, eight others were questioned for unrelated alleged drug offenses.
The Marine Corps said none of those arrested or detained were serving in support of the military’s mission along the border with Mexico.
The arrest comes a day after the military said a Navy SEAL team was sent back from Iraq because of discipline issues. An official said it was because, in part, they had been drinking alcohol, something that is prohibited.
The Marine Corps band called ‘The Presidents Own’ was created in 1798. Here they are in 1893.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
The Marines pose for a photo in Egypt in 1907.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines pose with a German trench mortar in 1918.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines duing WWI circa 1918.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines run a drill during combat training in Germany, 1918.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Grumman FF-2, circa 1930
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Pearl Harbor survivor Technical Sergeant Anglin on December 8th 1941.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines patiently wait to be called for ‘chow time’ 1943.
Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Marines admire a photo of a pin-up girl in 1943 while in Japan.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
James Wrobel, Designer of VMF-312 Insignia, circa 1943
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines arrive on the Japanese island Saipan. 1944 WWII
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines stationed in Bougainville.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines wait for letters from home to be distributed.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Pictured here : ‘Code Talkers’ 1943 were a group a Native American Marines would used their native language to relay coded messages.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines fire a 155mm Howitzer Iwo Jima.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
A Navy Corpsman administers blood plasma to a Marine. 1944
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines are surrounded by bullet shells at the base of Mount Suribachi.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines raise the American flag in Iwo Jima. 1945
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines celebrate the end of WWII. 1945
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Korean War 1950.
Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Female Marines began training in Parris Island, South Carolina, 1949.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines line up to receive items from home. Usually soda, candy and cigarettes.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
A welcome banner can be seen here in Vietnam welcoming the Marines in Danang in 1965.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
A Marine rests while he can in Vietnam. 1968.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Moment of Peace: Corporal Larry G. Nabb (Brush, Colorado) finds a moment of peace in front of a gaily decorated Christmas tree at Quang Tri Combat Base. Nabb is serving as a truck driver with 3d Marine Division’s Headquarters Battalion, and is one of thousands of Marines celebrating their Christmas in Vietnam
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Private First Class Ronald Duplantis prepares a 122mm enemy field weapon for shipment.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines carry supplies from a cargo plane to a nearby base. 1969.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines register to vote for the 1969 presidential election.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
David Gurfein sits next to a Christmas tree in Saudi Arabia while serving during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines prepare to enter Saddam Husseins palace in 2003.
The Ambassador Bridge is open again after a vaccine mandate protest prompted a blockade, pausing traffic on a key international land port and costing millions of dollars in lost production.
The Detroit International Bridge Co. announced Sunday night that the Ambassador Bridge is fully open allowing free flow of commerce between Canada and the United States.
The weeklong protest was started by truckers in opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other quarantine requirements, but early Sunday police said it ended after negotiations and multiple arrests. Despite the supposed peace talks, about a dozen protesters remained at an intersection close to the bridge into Sunday evening, waving flags and occasionally cheering.
On Monday, a few protesters returned but heavy police presence is limiting access to the bridge. Intersections near the main road to the bridge are essentially all cut off by police cruisers.
According to Windsor Police, there have been 42 arrests and 37 seized vehicles since the protest began. The large majority of persons arrested have since been released with a future court date and are facing a charge of mischief, police said. Some are also facing a charge of disobeying a court order.
Image caption
Emiratos Árabes Unidos dieron a los diplomáticos qataríes 48 horas para abandonar el país.
Seis países árabes cortaron relaciones diplomáticas con Qatar, al que acusan de estar creando inestabilidad en la región.
Arabia Saudita, Egipto, Bahréin, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Yemen y Libia acusan al país de apoyar a grupos terroristas,incluyendo el autodenominado Estado Islámico (EI) y al Qaeda, lo que es negado categóricamente por Qatar.
Pero el rompimiento de relaciones, anunciado este lunes, también pone de manifiesto profundas divisiones entre los aliados de Estados Unidos en el Golfo Pérsico por cuenta de su relación conIrán.
Y su anuncio se produce en medio de las crecientes tensiones en la región luego un supuesto hackeo a la agencia de noticias oficial de Qatar, el mes pasado.
Según la agencia de noticias estatal SPA, Arabia Saudita cerró sus fronteras con Qatar, cortando así todo contacto terrestre, marítimo y aéreo con la península.
El medio citó a funcionarios sauditas respaldando la medida y diciendo que era necesaria para “proteger la seguridad nacional contra los peligros del terrorismo y el extremismo”.
Riad -la capital de Arabia Saudita- también acusa a Doha -la capital de Qatar- de apoyar a grupos como la “Hermandad Musulmana” y colaborar con milicias apoyadas por los iraníes.
Pero Qatar, quien está llamado a celebrar el Mundial de fútbol de 2022, asegura que las medidas son “completamente injustificadas” y no se basan en hechos comprobados.
Arabia Saudita también ha sido acusada de financiar a grupos como EI, ya sea directamente o al no hacer lo suficiente por evitar que donantes privados hagan llegar dinero al grupo, algo que el gobierno de Riad también niega.
Ultimátum
El rompimiento de relaciones fue iniciado por Bahréin y luego Arabia Saudita el lunes temprano.
Luego se les sumaron los gobiernos de Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU), Egipto, Yemen y Libia.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Reuters
Image caption
Unos supuestos comentarios del emir de Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (en la foto junto al presidente de la FIFA, Gianni Infantino), tensionaron todavía más las relaciones con sus vecinos.
La agencia estatal de noticias de Bahréin dijo que el país cortaba lazos con Qatar por “agitar la seguridad y la estabilidad de Bahréin y entrometerse en sus asuntos“.
Emiratos Árabes Unidos, por su parte, le dio a los diplomáticos qataríes 48 horas para abandonar el país.
Las autoridades de Abu Dabi acusan a las de Doha de “apoyar, financiar y alentar el terrorismo, el extremismo y las organizaciones sectarias”, dijo la agencia estatal de noticias de EAU, WAM.
Los países del Golfo (Arabia Saudita, EAU y Bahréin) también les dieron a los ciudadanos qataríes dos semanas para abandonar sus territorios.
Los tres aliados anunciaron además el cierre de su espacio aéreo para Qatar Airways, que ya suspendió sus vuelos a Arabia Saudita.
Las aerolíneas Etihad Airways, Emirates y FlyDubai, por su parte, dijeron que iban a suspender todos sus vuelos hacia y desde Doha a partir del martes temprano.
Derechos de autor de la imagen AFP
Image caption
Los vecinos de Qatar están cortando todo tipo de contacto aéreo, terrestre y marítimo con el país.
Egipto también cerró su espacio aéreo y puertos para todo el transporte qatarí, señaló en un comunicado el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores egipcio.
La coalición árabe liderada por Arabia Saudita, que lucha contra los rebeldes hutíes en Yemen, también expulsó a Qatar de su alianza debido a las “prácticas que fortalecen el terrorismo” de Doha y su apoyo a grupos como “al Qaeda y Estado Islámico, así como tratar con las milicias rebeldes”, según SPA.
Contexto
Si bien la ruptura de relaciones con Qatar se produjo intempestivamente, las tensiones entre Doha y sus vecinos se han estado acumulando por años.
Ya en 2014, Arabia Saudita, Bahréin y Emiratos Árabes Unidos retiraron durante varios meses a sus embajadores en Doha en protesta por su supuestainterferencia en asuntos internos.
Y las tensiones se agravaron hace dos semanas, luego de que medios estatales qataríes publicaran supuestos comentarios del emir de Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, en los que criticaba a Arabia Saudita.
Derechos de autor de la imagen AFP
Image caption
Bahréin es uno de varios países que acusan a Qatar de inmiscuirse en sus asuntos internos.
El gobierno de Doha dijo que los comentarios eran falsos y atribuyó su publicación a “un desvergonzado crimen cibernético”.
Pero los vecinos de Qatar procedieron a bloquear el acceso a los sitios noticiosos de ese país, entre ellos Al Jazeera.
Los dos factores clave en la decisión de este lunes, sin embargo, son los supuestos vínculos de Qatar con grupos islamistas y milicias apoyadas por Irán, el gran rival regional de Arabia Saudita.
Si bien Qatar es parte de la coalición internacional contra el grupo autodenominado Estado Islámico liderada por EE.UU., el gobierno de Doha se han visto constantemente obligado a negar acusaciones de que apoya financieramente a EI.
Derechos de autor de la imagen AFP
Image caption
La independencia de medios qataríes como Al Jazeera incomoda a muchos de sus vecinos.
Se cree, sin embargo, que tanto ricos qataríes como el mismo gobierno han apoyado financieramente a grupos islamistas en Siria.
Y Qatar también ha sido señalado de vínculos con el grupo antes conocido como Frente Nusra, un afiliado de al Qaeda.
El comunicado saudí acusa a Qatar de apoyar a esos grupos, así como a la “Hermanada Musulmana”, además de “promover el mensaje y planes de esos grupos constantemente a través de esos medios”.
¿Fortalecidos por Trump?
Según un experto en temas del Golfo Pérsico entrevistada por la agencia Reuters, el reciente viaje del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump a Arabia Saudita, parece haber convencido a este país y sus aliados de que había llegado el momento de lidiar “con el enfoque alternativo” exhibido por Qatar en estos asuntos.
Durante su visita Trump instó a los países musulmanes a que asumieran el liderazgo en la lucha contra la radicalización y culpó a Irán por la inestabilidad en el Medio Oriente.
“Y parece que sauditas y emiratíes se sienten fortalecidos por el alineamiento entre sus intereses regionales -hacia Irán y el islamismo- y los de la administración Trump”, le dijo a Reuters Kristian Ulrichsen.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Reuters
Image caption
Trump eligió a Arabia Saudita como el destino de su primer viaje oficial como presidente de Estados Unidos.
El secretario de Estado de EE.UU., Rex Tillerson, le pidió sin embargo a los países resolver sus diferencias mediante el diálogo.
“No espero que esto vaya a tener ningún impacto significativo, o de cualquier tipo, sobre nuestra lucha compartida contra el terrorismo en la región o a nivel global”, agregó Tillerson.
Qatar, por su parte, aseguró que la decisión de sus vecinos “no va a afectar la vida normal de sus ciudadanos y resientes”.
Pero la bolsa de valores registró importantes pérdidas el lunes por la mañana.
Y el periódico Doha News reportó que mucha gente había corrido a los supermercados para abastecerse de agua y alimentos.
Población 2,7 millones
Superficie 11.437 Km²
Principal idioma Árabe
Mayor religión Islam
Esperanza de vida 79 años (hombres), 78 años (mujeres)
Moneda Riyal
Todos los días cientos de camiones cruzan la frontera entre Arabia Saudita y Qatar, muchos de ellos cargados con comida.
Se estima que el 40% de la comida de Qatar llega al país por esa vía.
Ottawa police attempted to clear out the remaining “Freedom Convoy” demonstrators on Sunday — ending a 24-day occupation of the city’s center to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
At least two people were arrested as police moved into the “logistics camp” and removed the last vehicles occupying the area, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
The convoy of trucks had caused traffic backups in the city for weeks.
A total of 191 protesters were arrested and 57 vehicles were towed since police began forcefully removing them on Friday.
The camp, located in a city parking lot on Coventry Road, amassed roughly 100 vehicles. Across the street, several tents had been erected for meetings and meals, as well as a trailer with heated toilets and two saunas, the paper reported.
Officials are now concerned that protesters, many of them truckers, will regroup outside of the capital and come back, shutting the city down again.
“We are trying to keep tabs on those that are leaving and potentially massing to come back,” Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said at a press conference on Sunday.
On Sunday, Ottawa police said businesses should feel comfortable reopening following the weeks-long demonstration.
Ottawa police chief Steve Bell said the police presence will remain strong in the area.AFP via Getty Images
“Businesses should feel safe to reopen if they had closed during this unlawful assembly,” Ottawa police said
“Businesses and residents, we thank you for your patience throughout this operation. Supporting local businesses is considered lawful if you are entering the secured area.”
Bell said Ottawans can expect a heavy police presence in the area in the coming days. He told reporters at a press briefing on Sunday that his department has a long road ahead in restoring the public’s trust of his department.
Demonstrators organized a blockade for 24 days in protest of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and border policies.AP
“They woke up this morning to fencing and a very heavy police presence through the downtown core. While I know everyone is pleased to see many of the unlawful protesters are gone, this is not the normal state of our city,” Bell said.
“We know as a police service we have public trust to gain back.”
Police swooped into the areas occupied by protesters on Friday to squash the blockade leading to several scuffles between cops and demonstrators.
Dozens of vehicles were towed out of the area after police warned the demonstrators to stop the blockade.REUTERS
On Saturday, police used pepper spray and stun grenades to remove those who remained, clearing most of the area in front of parliament and next to the prime minister’s office.
“We told you to leave,” Ottawa police said in a tweet Saturday. “We gave you time to leave. We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses.”
Most of those arrested were slapped with mischief charges, and dozens of vehicles had been towed, including all those blocking one of Ottawa’s major streets, authorities said.
Police used pepper spray and stun grenades to remove demonstrators who remained in the streets Saturday.AP
Ottawa represented the movement’s final stronghold after three weeks of trucker demonstrations and American border blockades created a political crisis for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In a controversial move Trudeau invoked Canada’s Emergency Act for the first time in the country’s history, giving the federal government broad power to restore order including freezing protesters’ financial accounts.
Brasília – Financial institutions polled by the Central Bank are expecting higher inflation, benchmark rates and economic shrinkage this year. According to the Central Bank’s weekly poll of financial market analysts, inflation gauged by the Extended Consumer Price Index (IPCA, in the Portuguese acronym) has climbed for the tenth straight week. This time, the estimate went from 8.79% to 8.97%. The estimate for 2016 remains at 5.50% for five weeks now. This year’s inflation rate is poised to surpass the top end of the target range, which is 6.5%. The midpoint of the range is 4.5%.
In a bid to curb hiking prices, the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) is raising the benchmark interest rate, aka Selic. On the 3rd of this month, Copom notched up the Selic rate for the sixth consecutive time to 13.75% per annum.
The forecast of financial analysts for economic shrinkage this year went from 1.35% to 1.45%. It is the fifth consecutive turn for the worse in the estimate for Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), i.e. the sum of all goods and services produced in the country. The growth forecast for next year went from 0.9% to 0.7%.
For a second time in five days, an individual Republican in the U.S. House prevented final approval of a long-delayed $19.1 billion package of disaster relief, again slowing the delivery of the bill to President Trump’s desk for his signature, sparking a new round of finger pointing on Capitol Hill over emergency aid.
“This delay is unconscionable,” said Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), whose district suffered severe damage last year from Hurricane Michael. “It’s a shame, it’s cruel, it’s inhumane.”
“I was just here to stop legislative malpractice,” said Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY), one of two House Republicans back during this break week to make sure the disaster bill was not approved by unanimous consent on the floor of the House.
“Passing a $19 billion bill with no recorded vote is legislative malpractice,” Massie told reporters after blocking the disaster aid bill, which was approved last Thursday by the Senate on a vote of 85-8.
Massie said if Democrats think it’s so important to pass the bill, then they should summon all lawmakers back from this week off from votes.
Massie also objected to a bill temporarily extending the National Flood Insurance Program, which technically expires on Friday.
There was also language in the disaster bill to extend that authorization; it wasn’t immediately clear if the flood program would be fixed in time, or if it would lapse at the end of the week.
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Last Friday, it was Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who objected to House approval of changes made by the Senate to the disaster measure; Roy said a full roll call vote should be held, but with members gone this week back in their districts, that can’t happen until early June.
Like last week, the objection drew scorn from some on the GOP side, whose states need disaster relief.
“This is yet another example of politicians putting their own self-interest ahead of the national interest,” tweeted Sen. David Perdue (R-GA), who had interceded with President Trump on Thursday in order to salvage the disaster aid measure.
“Unfortunately, more clowns showed up today to once again delay disaster relief for the states and farmers devastated by the storms of 2018,” tweeted Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA).
Democrats also expressed frustration at the latest objection.
“Again, this was a bipartisan bill passed overwhelmingly by the Senate,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
“The heartlessness of House Republicans knows no bounds,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“Frankly, I cannot understand why any member would object to giving relief to so many millions of our citizens who have been badly damaged by natural disasters,” Hoyer told reporters.
“We need action,” said Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL).
But Republicans said this is about following regular order in the Congress.
House Republican leaders were not behind the objections, as they had signed off on the effort by Democrats to obtain quick approval of the disaster aid bill.
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Two staffers for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) resigned after expressing frustrations about a hold on military assistance to Ukraine that is now at the center of the impeachment inquiry, a witness has testified.
Mark Sandy, an OMB staffer, testified this month that the two staffers, one of whom was in the legal division, had resigned partially due to frustrations with the unexplained aid freeze, according to a transcript of his testimony released Tuesday.
Sandy recalled that one individual who resigned had “expressed some frustrations about not understanding the reason for the hold,” according to the transcript, but he noted that he was “reluctant to speak to someone else’s motivations.”
He was also asked whether the OMB legal division employee said they were leaving “at least in part because of their concerns on frustrations about the hold on Ukraine security assistance.”
“Yes, in terms of that process, in part,” Sandy responded.
The officials were not named in the transcript.
A senior administration official categorized the assertion that the two officials resigned in part over the aid freeze as false in an email to The Hill.
His testimony was part of the House’s impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, including the freeze on security assistance.
The transcript of Sandy’s closed-door interview was one of the latest released by House Democrats. They also released testimony from a closed-door session with Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of State in charge of European and Eurasian Affairs.
“The testimonies from Ambassador Reeker and Mr. Sandy continue to paint a portrait of hand-picked political appointees corrupting the official levers of U.S. government power, including by withholding taxpayer funded military assistance to Ukraine, to further the President’s own personal political agenda,” they said.
Hours after Democrats released the transcripts, Trump appeared at a campaign rally in Florida, where he blasted the ongoing impeachment inquiry, with supporters breaking into a chant of “bullshit” when he insisted that the inquiry was falling flat with voters.
The transcripts’ release comes as Schiff’s panel works to put together a report for the Judiciary Committee that will be used to determine whether to draft articles of impeachment against Trump.
In announcing the Doral pick just days earlier, White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney described the resort as “the best place”. Wochit, Wochit
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump rejected suggestions Monday that hosting the G-7 summit of world leaders at his resort in Doral, Florida, would have run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
Speaking to reporters in the White House Cabinet Room, Trump dismissed as “phony” a section of the Constitution that bars federal office holders from accepting gifts from foreign governments.
Trumps remarks came as he was chiding Democrats for pushing back against his decision to host the G-7 at his Doral resort.
Democrats and some Republicans, as well as government watchdogs, decried the administration’s decision to award the event to one of the president’s properties. Under pressure, Trump announced Saturday on Twitter that he was reversing his decision to host the summit at Doral, suggesting Camp David could serve as an alternative site.
On Monday, Trump defended his choice of Doral.
“I would have given it for nothing,” he said. “The Democrats went crazy, even though I would have done it free.”
Trump also rejected criticism that he would have personally profited from hosting it at his Florida club.
“I don’t need promotion,” he said. “It would have been the best G-7 ever.”
The Emoluments Clause is an anti-bribery provision that forbids any U.S. president from receiving gifts from foreign leaders and is derived from the Latin word “emolumentum,” meaning “profit” or “gain.”
The Emoluments Clause is Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution. It prohibits any “Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States]” from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
In July, a three-judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit from Maryland and the District of Columbia that alleged Trump violated the Emoluments Clause by benefiting from his business while in office. The full appeals court, however, agreed last week to rehear the case.
The suit challenged the financial benefits Trump has reaped from government entities patronizing his businesses while he is president, pointing in particular to government bookings at his Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House.
Trumps dismissive remarks about the Emoluments Clause drew immediate fire on Twitter.
“There are two Emoluments Clauses that he’s violating and they are very much in the very real Constitution,” wrote the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked: “What other parts of the Constitution does President @realDonaldTrump think are ‘phony’? Freedom of speech?”
A couple of Democratic presidential candidates also weighed in on Trump’s remarks.
“You can’t uphold your oath to protect and defend the Constitution if you think it’s phony,” Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., wrote on Twitter.
Billionaire activist Tom Steyer mocked Trump in a tweet dripping with sarcasm.
“Donald Trump – noted Constitutional scholar,” he wrote.
Image caption
Panamá retoma los vuelos con cubanos a Ciudad Juárez.
Panamá acordó transferir a casi 4.000 cubanos varados en ese país a una ciudad al norte de México y así podrán continuar su viaje a Estados Unidos.
Los ciudadanos cubanos estuvieron viviendo en Panamá durante meses, con la esperanza de llegar a los EE.UU. en virtud de una ley de décadas de antigüedad que les da entrada privilegiada y una vía rápida para obtener la residencia.
Las autoridades de Panamá dijeron que los vuelos diarios a Ciudad Juárez comenzarían este lunes.
Panamá había organizado algunos vuelos en marzo, pero luego dijo que los viajes no se repetirían.
Los ciudadanos cubanos fueron informados que ellos mismos debían pagarse sus tickets de avión.
Según diarios panameños, los cubanos hicieron largas filas fuera de bancos y tiendas de transferencia de dinero en la provincia de Chiriquí, para retirar dinero enviado por familiares en los Estados Unidos y así poder comprar sus boletos.
Un largo camino
Image copyright AFP
Image caption
Los inmigrantes cubanos viven en campamentos o hoteles en Panamá a la espera de poder continuar con su viaje.
La odisea por las Américas los ha llevado desde Cuba a Ecuador, hasta que en diciembre se les comenzó a exigir visa, y ahora es Guyana el punto de partida en Sudamérica. Desde allí atraviesan Venezuela y desde Colombia pasan a Panamá.
El año pasado, Costa Rica y Nicaragua cerraron sus fronteras a los cubanos que tratan de ir por tierra hacia el norte.
La medida creó un nuevo cuello de botella en Panamá para los migrantes que viajan a países de América del Sur, y luego caminan o toman autobuses a través de Centroamérica hacia EE.UU.
Entre enero y marzo, Costa Rica proporcionó vuelos baratos para miles de cubanos a El Salvador y México para despejar la acumulación de inmigrantes que habían quedado varados por el cierre de la frontera de Nicaragua.
Panamá hizo lo mismo mediante la organización de vuelos en marzo a Ciudad Juárez para 1.300 cubanos.
Los funcionarios dijeron en ese momento que esta operación no se repetiría.
Pero desde entonces, miles de cubanos llegaron a Panamá.
Relaciones
Image caption
Se calcula que cerca de 40.000 ciudadanos cubanos ingresaron por tierra a Estados Unidos el último año.
El éxodo fue motivado por el anuncio del presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, en diciembre de 2014 que los EE.UU. y Cuba restablecerían las relaciones diplomáticas.
Esto desencadenó una ola de rumores en Cuba de que la política migratoria de Estados Unidos con respecto a los cubanos cambiaría pronto, lo que llevó a muchos inmigrantes a viaje a través de América Central.
Se estima que unos 40.000 cubanos llegaron a EE.UU. por vía terrestre el último año, un incremento cercano al 80% con respecto al año previo, de acuerdo a cifras oficiales.
Reaction and analysis from ‘The Russia Hoax’ author Gregg Jarrett and Fox News contributor Sara Carter on ‘Hannity.’
Attorney General Bill Barr testified Wednesday that he believes “spying did occur” on the Trump campaign in 2016, as he vowed to review the conduct of the FBI’s original Russia probe — and the focus of a related internal review shifted to the role of a key FBI informant.
“I think spying did occur. The question is whether it was adequately predicated. … I think it’s my obligation. Congress is usually very concerned with intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies staying in their proper lane,” he testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, while noting that “spying on a political campaign is a big deal.”
The comments follow a new report that the Justice Department’s internal watchdog also is scrutinizing the role of an FBI informant who contacted members of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election, as part of a broader review of the early stages of the Russia investigation. The New York Times reported that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is looking into informant Stefan Halper’s work during the Russia probe, as well as his work with the FBI prior to the start of that probe.
Halper, an American professor who reportedly is deeply connected with British and American intelligence agencies, has been widely reported as a confidential source for the FBI during the bureau’s original investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. That official counterintelligence operation was opened by then-senior agent Peter Strzok, who has since been fired from the bureau.
During the 2016 campaign, Halper contacted several members of the Trump campaign, including former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos and former aide Carter Page. Page also was the subject of several Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants during the campaign — which is an issue at the heart of the IG’s investigation. Republicans, including President Trump, have alleged misconduct in the bureau and Justice Department’s handling of those FISA warrants.
“It was an illegal investigation. … Everything about it was crooked,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday, describing it as an attempted “coup” and reiterating his interest in digging into the probe’s origins. “There is a hunger for that to happen.”
Professor Stefan Halper (Voice of America, File)
The Times, in its report, noted that Halper also contacted former Trump campaign aide Sam Clovis. It is unclear whether Halper had the FBI’s permission to contact Clovis, according to the report.
Horowitz, more broadly, is probing alleged wrongdoing related to the issuance of FISA warrants to surveil Page during the election. During a prior hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Barr testified that Horowitz’s investigation is expected to be complete by May or June.
While vowing to release Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s now-completed Russia report in a matter of days, Barr also announced Tuesday that he was reviewing the origins of the Russia investigation at the FBI and the Justice Department, amid mounting calls for scrutiny of the probe’s beginnings from Trump and prominent congressional Republicans.
“More generally, I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around all of the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted in the summer of 2016,” Barr told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, Fox News reported that a source said Barr had assembled a “team” to investigate the origins of the bureau’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.
On Wednesday, Barr testified that he hasn’t technically “set up a team” but has colleagues helping him as he reviews the case.
“This is not launching an investigation of the FBI,” he stressed. “Frankly, to the extent there were issues at the FBI, I do not view it as a problem of the FBI. I think it was probably a failure of the group of leaders—the upper echelons of the FBI. I think the FBI is an outstanding organization and I am very pleased Director Chris Wray is there.”
He added, “If it becomes necessary to look over former officials, I expect to rely on Chris and work with him. I have an obligation to make sure government power is not abused and I think that’s one of the principal roles of the attorney general.”
The FBI’s 2016 counterintelligence investigation, formally opened by Strzok, began with a “paucity” of evidence, according to former FBI counsel Lisa Page, with whom Strzok was romantically involved. During a closed-door congressional interview, Page admitted that the FBI “knew so little” about whether allegations against the Trump campaign were “true or not true” at the time they opened the probe, adding that they had just “a paucity of evidence because we [were] just starting down the path” of vetting allegations.
Page also said in her interview that it was “entirely common” that the FBI would begin an investigation with just a “small amount of evidence.”
Barr’s team will also review the FISA warrants issued against Carter Page. The issuance of the FISA warrants relied, in part, on the unverified anti-Trump dossier authored by ex-British Intelligence Agent Christopher Steele, who worked on behalf of Fusion GPS—a firm paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee through law firm Perkins Coie to do opposition research against the Trump campaign. In the dossier, Steele accused Page of conspiring with Russians. Page was not charged with any wrongdoing in either the FBI’s Russia probe or Mueller’s.
Fox News exclusively obtained internal FBI text messages last month showing that just nine days before the FBI applied for the Page FISA warrant, bureau officials were battling with a senior Justice Department official who had “continued concerns” about the “possible bias” of a source pivotal to the application.
Barr’s review could also dovetail with the work U.S. Attorney John Huber has been doing. In 2017, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Huber to review not only alleged surveillance abuses by the Justice Department and the FBI but also the handling of the probe into the Clinton Foundation and other matters.
The day following Barr’s release of his summary of the Mueller report, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said his panel also would investigate alleged FISA abuses at the start of the Russia investigation and called on Barr to appoint a new special counsel to investigate “the other side of the story.” Graham has been calling for a second special counsel since 2017 to investigate “whether or not a counterintelligence investigation was opened as a back door to spy on the Trump campaign.”
Also, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said over the weekend he was preparing to send eight criminal referrals to the Justice Department this week regarding alleged misconduct by DOJ and FBI officials during the Trump-Russia investigation. It is unclear whom Nunes will refer for investigation, and what the process at the Justice Department might be.
When asked Tuesday about Nunes’ referrals, Barr said he hasn’t seen them yet, but, “Obviously, if there is a predicate for investigation, it will be conducted.”
Fox News’ Gregg Re and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
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