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| -Land of the Free |
| GAO says Trump administration broke law by withholding Ukraine aid |
| 2020-01-16 |
| Note: Main headline on front page said "Federal watchdog issues report finding Trump admin broke law by withholding Ukraine aid" [FoxNews] The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a legal opinion on Thursday saying that President Trump's administration broke the law by withholding defense aid to Ukraine ‐ the issue at the heart of the president's impeachment trial. That money, $214 million which had been allocated to the Department of Defense for security assistance, was appropriated by Congress and therefore the administration did not have the right to hold it back just because it disagreed with its allocation, the opinion from the nonpartisan government watchdog said. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the opinion said. "[The Office of Management and Budget] OMB withheld funds for a policy reason ... not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that the OMB violated the ICA [Impoundment Control Act]." The OMB made clear Thursday, however, that it disagreed with the GAO report. "We disagree with GAO's opinion," OMB spokesperson Rachel Semmel said. "OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law." Further, a senior administration official said to Fox News that they believed the GAO was trying to insert itself into impeachment at a time when media attention on the matter is high. "GAO’s findings are a pretty clear overreach as they attempt to insert themselves into the media’s controversy of the day. Further, GAO has a history of the flip-flops, reversing 40-years of precedent this year on their pocket rescission decision, they were also forced to reverse a legally faulty opinion when they opposed the reimbursement of federal employee travel costs. In their rush to insert themselves in the impeachment narrative, maybe they’ll have to reverse their opinion again." More at link! |
| Posted by:Seeking Cure For Ignorance |
| #10 Except he didn't actually withhold the aid. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2020-01-16 23:30 |
| #9 Brilliant move by Trump! He is exposing and flushing out the Deep state.They just exposed themselves! |
| Posted by: Bill Borgia6417 2020-01-16 21:11 |
| #8 Clearly a coordinated news dump. |
| Posted by: Varmint Splat1454 2020-01-16 18:55 |
| #7 Perhaps the Gov't GAO could be outsourced to PricewaterhouseCoopersl, Ernst & Young ? How about a target date of FY-2021 ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-01-16 17:35 |
| #6 #4 JohnQC: GAO appears to be another beast from the Swamp trying to make a political take-down. Bingo. The Swamp is vast, and deep. |
| Posted by: Lex 2020-01-16 17:30 |
| #5 GAO can only give its opinion. And in that opinion Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc. all broke the law. So either charge 'em all or go fuck yourself. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2020-01-16 17:26 |
| #4 According to a RedState article that interviewed Sen. Rand Paul. "Current U.S. law prevents the U.S. from lending help to corrupt countries. Therefore, the congressman explained, Trump would’ve needed to ask for a Biden investigation — since he suspected the family was corrupt — in order to give Ukraine the assistance." The GAO appears to be another beast from the Swamp trying to make a political take-down. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2020-01-16 16:35 |
| #3 Word games... |
| Posted by: magpie 2020-01-16 15:42 |
| #2 GAO Says Trump Broke Law Opposed by Jefferson, Lincoln, JFK, Clinton, and Obama |
| Posted by: newc 2020-01-16 15:38 |
| #1 Desperate stuff from the deep-staters to protect corrupt Biden et al. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2020-01-16 15:13 |