A federal watchdog concluded that President Trump broke the law when he froze assistance funds for Ukraine last year, according to a report unveiled on Thursday.
The Office of Management and Budget blocked the Defense Department from spending money designated by Congress on July 25, “pending a policy decision,” according to OMB General Counsel Mark Paoletta. That hold was lifted on Sept. 12.
But a 1974 law that governs budget procedure within the government “does not permit OMB to withhold funds for policy reasons,” said Thomas Armstrong, general counsel for the watchdog Government Accountability Office.
The law further designates the ways in which Congress has the power of the purse. Under the Impoundment Control Act, it is illegal for OMB to withhold money that has been appropriated by Congress and signed into law.
If the White House wants to delay or deny funds, it must first alert Congress.
Documents and testimony released during and after House impeachment hearings revealed some administration officials had raised concerns that the Ukraine hold might have violated the law known as the Impoundment Control Act.
L-R Lev Parnas with Donald Trump New evidence has come to light related to the impeachment of Donald Trump via the release of notes, text messages and documents on the cell phone of Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. From Politico:
The material released on Tuesday contains several handwritten notes, emails, encrypted messages, and other documents that underscore the close relationship between Parnas and Giuliani, who was actively pursuing an effort last year to push the Ukrainian government to announce investigations targeting Trump’s political rivals. The documents also complicate one of Trump’s oft-stated defenses of his actions toward Ukraine.
A previously undisclosed May 2019 letter from Giuliani to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among the tranche of documents the Democrat-led committee made public on Tuesday.
In the letter, which was obtained from Parnas’ cell phone that was turned over the Intelligence Committee on Sunday, Giuliani asked for a half-hour meeting with Zelensky as the former New York City mayor was pursuing investigations targeting former Vice President Joe Biden — and Giuliani made clear that he was acting with Trump’s “knowledge and consent” and in his capacity as a “personal” attorney for the president.
Trump, though, has stated that he was acting on behalf of the U.S. government when he allegedly pushed for the investigations.
Giuliani specifically said in his letter to the president of Ukraine he wanted the meeting as he acted in “his capacity as personal counsel to President Trump,” not for the United States.
Among the evidence just produced by the House Intelligence Committee – a note from Parnas saying "get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be investigated" pic.twitter.com/nswPgc1kmF
These texts from former congressional candidate Robert Hyde to Lev Parnas, about his surveillance of Ambassador Yovanovitch, are incredibly creepy. pic.twitter.com/qerUWh82Hc
Um holy sh*t. This certainly makes it sound like Parnas and co. were actively tracking Yovanovitch's movements. This could explain why Yovanovitch was moved out of Ukraine so quickly. https://t.co/4rBRB06ZGNpic.twitter.com/5Gc8WcGPih
A Justice Department inquiry launched more than two years ago to mollify conservatives clamoring for more investigations of Hillary Clinton has effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything.
John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, was tapped in November 2017 by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to look into concerns raised by President Trump and his allies in Congress that the FBI had not fully pursued cases of possible corruption at the Clinton Foundation and during Clinton’s time as secretary of state, when the U.S. government decided not to block the sale of a company called Uranium One.
As a part of his review, Huber examined documents and conferred with federal law enforcement officials in Little Rock who were handling a meandering probe into the Clinton Foundation, people familiar with the matter said.
Current and former officials said that Huber has largely finished and found nothing worth pursuing — though the assignment has not formally ended and no official notice has been sent to the Justice Department or to lawmakers, these people said.
Trump stills says “Lock her up” at his current rallies, still pushing the lie.
Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House) A new survey of 37,000 adults from 33 countries by Pew Research found 64 percent of respondents lack confidence in Donald Trump to do the right thing on the global stage. Only 29 percent said they had confidence in him. In nearly all nations where trends are available, Trump receives lower ratings than his predecessor, Barack Obama. That said, 54 percent reported having a favorable view of the United States as a whole. From Pew Research: “Across the 33 countries surveyed a median of 54% express a favorable opinion of the United States, while 38% have an unfavorable one. Favorable opinion of the U.S. declined dramatically when Trump took office and remains significantly lower than during the Obama era.” Trump’s strongest support came from the Philippines, India, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria and Poland indicating support at 77 percent, 56 percent, 71 percent, 65 percent, 58 percent and 51 percent, respectively. By contrast, only 8% of Mexicans said they were confident in Trump’s ability to handle world affairs.
% who have confidence in Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs
Philippines 77% Israel 71% S Korea 46% Japan 36% Australia 35% UK 32% Italy 32% Canada 28% Brazil 28% Russia 20% France 20% Turkey 11% Mexico 8% (feels high)
Donald Trump addresses the nation after Iran missile attack (screen capture) “All is well” was the message from Donald Trump after Iran launched more than 12 ballistic missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq, an attack seen as retribution for the U.S. strike on military commander Qassim Soleimani. According to theNew York Times, U.S. and Iraqi officials said there were no deaths from the attacks on bases housing American troops. But Iranian news outlets claimed differently, with some reporting dozens killed. Speaking to the nation this morning, Trump said no Americans or Iraqis were killed in airstrike at the military base in Iraq and Iran appears to be standing down.
All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.
"Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken." https://t.co/gATFueUKlYpic.twitter.com/cRvtreF589
Iranian leaders attend funeral of Gen. Qassem Soleimani (screen capture)The Independent reports that Iran is considering “13 scenarios for revenge” against the US for the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike last week, local media reported the country’s top security official as saying in comments later disavowed by senior officials.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said “the mission to avenge our slain brother will not be limited to a single operation,” according to the hardline Fars news agency.
“Up until now, 13 scenarios for revenge have been proposed,” he reportedly said. “Even if there is a consensus on the weakest scenario, executing it can turn into a historic nightmare for the Americans.”
Reuters adds that Shamkhani would not reveal any specific details of the plans, he said all US forces in the Middle East are being considered for strikes. “Those who crawl into shelters and close the doors hoping to escape our revenge are unaware that the Islamic Republic will open the door to hell.” BUT – the Supreme National Security Council later disavowed the comments saying Shamkhani never gave the interview. The SNSC secretariat said: “A local paper yesterday committed a criminal act and attributed an interview to the SNSC’s secretary which had not taken place. Legal action is underway to understand how and and why the interview was produced and published.” The SNSC’s claims have not been proven.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (image via Instagram) While speaking at King Jesus International Ministry in Miami, Donald Trump claimed that Mayor Pete Buttigieg and other Democrats are trying to replace religion with socialism. The Donald then openly questioned if Mayor Pete was as religious as he claimed. “And I see Alfred E. Neuman comes out and he’s trying to pretend he’s very religious,” Trump said, referencing the former mayor as the MAD Magazine mascot. “Now all of a sudden, he’s become extremely religious, this happened about two weeks ago,” Trump continued. Buttigieg, a former Catholic who is openly Episcopalian, clapped back with 8 simple words: “God does not belong to a political party.”
Buttigieg elaborated further on Trump’s remarks during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. “I’m not sure why the president’s taken an interest in my faith journey, but certainly I would be happy to discuss it with him,” he said. “I just don’t know where that’s coming from, you know. Certainly, it has been a complex journey for me, as it is for a lot of people, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been a believer longer than he’s been a Republican.”
Pete responds to Trumps attack on his faith…just now on MSNBC.
"Pretty sure I've been a believer longer than he's been a Republican."
A new poll by HuffPost/YouGov shows a slight plurality of Americans approve of the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani (43%) versus those who disapprove (38%). Those views fall pretty much along partisan lines with stronger support among Republicans (84%) as opposed to 71% of Democrats who disapprove. More from the poll: • A clear majority (57%) believe the airstrike will lead to further military conflict between the U.S. and Iran • 43% of those polled feel Donald Trump did not think through the repercussions of his ordered attack compared to 35% who think he planned carefully • The public is evenly split – 40% vs 39% – on the decision to send 3,500 U.S. troops to the Middle East • 44% believe Trump should have informed Congress before launching the attack versus 34% who do not
Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License) In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate a top Iranian general, the fallout across the Middle East and beyond continued on Sunday. ICMYI: • Iran on Friday vowed “severe revenge” in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed Tehran’s most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and dramatically sharpened tensions across the Middle East. • US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the airstrike ordered to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani “saved American lives,” after Pompeo said on Twitter Friday morning that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was in response to “imminent threats to American lives.”
@NYTimes: “Officials presented the president with options. The Pentagon tacked on the choice of targeting Suleimani mainly to make other options seem reasonable. They didn’t think he would take it. When Mr. Trump chose the option, military officials, flabbergasted, were alarmed.”
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the Trump administration to immediately brief lawmakers on the U.S. airstrike and what the White House plans to do next. The strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of Congress, the speaker said. Today, Trump tweeted his “official notification to Congress.” I kid you not.
These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!
• The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump. • In his first public address since the airstrike, Trump said the U.S. is “ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary” if Iran threatens American lives. “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.” But it looks like the guy who wanted to pull U.S. military out of the middle east may have begun sometime far bigger than he dreamed. • On Saturday, the Trump administration warned members of Congress that Iran is expected to retaliate against the US “within weeks” for the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani even as they failed to convince some that the operation was merited due to an imminent threat against American lives. • As hostilities escalate, Trump has ramped up the pressure on Iran – threatening to hit 52 sites ‘very hard and very fast.’ He also boasted about the U.S. military’s ample resources.
….hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have…..
The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!
• Iran’s government said Sunday that it was abandoning its “final limitations in the nuclear deal,” the international agreement intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The decision leaves no restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, the statement said, including on uranium enrichment, production, research and expansion. • Lawmakers in Iraq heeded the demands of angry citizens and voted on Sunday to expel United States troops from the country, as hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Iran to pay their respects to the slain leader of the elite Quds Force, Maj. General Qassim Suleimani. • The eulogist at the funeral procession of prominent Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iran put an 80-million-dollar prize on US President Donald Trump’s head on live state TV. “We are 80 million Iranians, if each one of us puts aside one American dollar, we will have 80 million American dollars, and we will reward anyone who brings us [Trump]’s head with that amount,” he said, addressing a large crowd in Iran’s north-eastern city of Mashhad. • Having done his tweeting, Trump arrived at his golf course in West Palm Beach today.
The Institute of Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity released Friday hit its lowest level since the end of the Great Recession in December.
Why it matters: It shows worsening conditions for the U.S. manufacturing sector, which has been in contraction for five straight months and reignites concerns about the trade war’s impact on the economy. Stocks, already in the red after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general, fell near the lowest levels of the day following the release of the data.
By the numbers: The index came in at 47.2 in December — worse than the 49 economists expected — falling 0.9 points from the prior month’s reading. (Any reading below 50 suggests the manufacturing sector is in contraction.)
Respondents to the survey, which manufacture goods in 18 different industries, noted sluggish demand for products, as well as suppliers passing tariff-related costs on to manufacturers.
From NPR: 
