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The Latest: Official: 21 missing after Venezuelan boat sinks

The Latest on the boat that sank in the Caribbean Sea (all times local):

2:20 p.m.

Officials say they're searching for 21 people who are missing after a boat sank in the Caribbean Sea off the shore of Venezuela.

Lt. Kerron Valere of the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard said Thursday that four passengers have been rescued. The small craft left Venezuela a day earlier and overturned in rough seas.

Valere says Venezuela is leading the search for the missing within that nation's waters, and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard is assisting.

Venezuelan officials say that most of the passengers were women, and the boat overturned near the island of Patos, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) from land.

Officials had initially reported that the boat was carrying 35 passengers.

___

1:45 p.m.

Dozens of Venezuelans were missing after a boat en route to the island of Trinidad sunk in the Caribbean Sea, authorities said Thursday.

An official from the country's civil protection agency said a team is searching for those who may have drowned after the 'Yonaily Jose' boat sank in rough seas on its way to the island early Wednesday.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

In recent years, an estimated 3.7 million Venezuelans have fled the crisis-wracked country where a political struggle is now playing out between U.S.-backed opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó and socialist President Nicolás Maduro.

Source: Fox News World

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Peter Strzok showed his 'oversized' self-importance in Senate testimony, Doug Collins says

Former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok believed he was "untouchable" before he was demoted from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation in 2017, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee told Fox News on Thursday night.

Strzok testified before the committee behind closed doors in June 2018, but the transcript was not released until Thursday at the impetus of Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga.

"The most alarming part of Peter Strzok’s testimony is, he seemed to believe he and he alone could do whatever he wanted to do and that his own bias and his own indiscretions with Lisa Page and anything else – nothing mattered except what he believed: that he was untouchable," Collins told Ed Henry on "The Story." " ... Here's someone at the Department of Justice, the FBI, who says 'I believe that I can solve the world's problems politically.'"

LISA PAGE TRANSCRIPTS REVEAL DETAILS OF ANTI-TRUMP 'INSURANCE POLICY'

Strzok, a onetime senior counterintelligence agent, was fired from the FBI this past August after months of scrutiny regarding anti-Trump text messages between himself and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was carrying on an extramarital affair. In one now-infamous text message sent in August 2016, Strzok told Page: "I want to believe the path you threw out in [then-FBI Deputy Director] Andy’s [McCabe's] office — that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take the risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40."

Collins told Fox News on Thursday that Strzok, Page and McCabe were part of a "corrupt triumvirate."

"They were the insurance policy," said Collins, referencing the now-infamous text message from Strzok to Page. "They believed [in] themselves to protect the country from a president they didn't like and from a man they didn't like."

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Collins also discussed Strzok's disclosure that Hillary Clinton's attorneys struck a deal with the Justice Department that denied investigators access to Clinton Foundation emails found on the former secretary of state's private email server.

"When we understand that Hillary Clinton was treated differently, it started, frankly, with President Obama’s Department of Justice," Collins said. "We are now seeing insight through Lisa Page’s testimony, through Peter Strzok’s discussion of this, that it was the Department of Justice basically saying, ‘there’s no way Hillary Clinton is going to be charged here, because we’re not going to use the standard of intent.’ The intent is not a part of gross negligence here ... This just shows you there's a two-tier system here."

Fox News' Ed Henry contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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China navy chief takes dig at U.S. freedom of navigation patrols

Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, speaks at a welcome reception for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China's navy in Qingdao
Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, speaks at a welcome reception for the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the China's navy in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, April 22, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS

April 24, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

QINGDAO, China (Reuters) – Freedom of navigation should not be used to infringe upon the rights of other countries, China’s navy chief Shen Jinlong said on Wednesday, taking a dig at the United States and its allies who have sailed close to disputed South China Sea islets.

The United States has frequently sent warships near to Chinese-occupied features in the South China Sea, where China has been reclaiming land for runways and ports. Some U.S. allies, including Britain, have followed suit.

China regards the patrols by the United States and its allies as a provocation, as it views almost all of the South China Sea as its territory, although Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims.

Speaking at a forum in the eastern city of Qingdao, following a major naval parade marking 70 years since the founding of the Chinese navy, Shen said everyone needed to follow the rules and “safeguard good order”.

“Respect for the rules is the cornerstone of maritime good order,” said Shen, who is close to President Xi Jinping.

“Freedom of navigation is a concept widely recognized by the international community. However it should not be used as an excuse to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of littoral states,” he added, without naming the United States directly.

The United States has sent only a low level delegation to the Chinese navy anniversary events. And unlike its close allies Australia, Japan and South Korea, the United States did not send a ship to take part in Tuesday’s naval parade reviewed by Xi himself.

“The U.S. government seeks a bilateral relationship that is results-oriented and focused on risk reduction,” Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said in comments sent to Reuters, responding to a question on U.S. participation at the event.

“The U.S. Navy will continue to pursue its primary goal of constructive, risk-reduction focused discourse with the PLAN,” he said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

Shen said that China was continuing to advance talks on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, which Beijing has been having with Southeast Asian states for the past few years.

“We are committed to making the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation,” he added, speaking to an audience of both senior Chinese and foreign navy officers, but without giving details.

The navy has been a key beneficiary of Xi’s ambitious military modernization plan, which has seen China develop aircraft carriers, advanced new warships and nuclear submarines, and stealth jets for the air force.

“We adhere to non-conflict and non-confrontation and strive to be a stabilizer for maritime peace,” Shen said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Source: OANN

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Lori Lightfoot Elected Chicago’s 1st Gay, Black, Female Mayor

Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot was elected Chicago mayor on Tuesday, becoming the first black woman and first openly gay person to lead the nation's third-largest city.

Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle, who served in the City Council for 19 years before becoming Cook County Board president.

Lightfoot promised to rid City Hall of corruption and help low-income and working-class people she said had been "left behind and ignored" by Chicago's political ruling class. It was a message that resonated with voters weary of political scandal and insider deals, and who said the city's leaders for too long have invested in downtown at the expense of neighborhoods.

Chicago will become the largest U.S. city to elect a black woman as mayor when Lightfoot is sworn in May 20. She will join seven other black women currently serving as mayors in major U.S. cities, including Atlanta and New Orleans.

Lightfoot, 56, has never been elected to public office. She and her wife have one daughter.

She emerged as the surprising leader in the first round of voting in February when 14 candidates were on the ballot to succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who decided against running for a third term.

Lightfoot seized on outrage over a white police officer's fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald to launch her reformer campaign. That was even before Emanuel announced he wouldn't seek re-election amid criticism for initially resisting calls to release video of the shooting.

"I'm not a person who decided I would climb the ladder of a corrupt political party," Lightfoot said during a debate last month. "I don't hold the title of committeeman, central committeeman, boss of the party."

Preckwinkle countered that her opponent lacks the necessary experience for the job.

"This is not an entry-level job," Preckwinkle has said repeatedly during the campaign. "It's easy to talk about change. It's hard to actually do it. And that's been my experience — being a change maker, a change agent, transforming institutions and communities."

Joyce Ross, 64, a resident of the city's predominantly black West Side who is a certified nursing assistant, cast her ballot Tuesday for Lightfoot. Ross said she believes Lightfoot will be better able to clean up the police department and curb city's violence.

She was also bothered by Preckwinkle's association with longtime Alderman Ed Burke, who was indicted earlier this year on charges he tried to shake down a restaurant owner who wanted to build in his ward.

"My momma always said birds of a feather flock together," Ross said.

Truly Gannon, a 39-year old mother of four who works as a dietitian, said she wasn't bothered by stories that portrayed Preckwinkle as an insider aligned with questionable politicians like Burke. She supported Preckwinkle, based on her experience.

"I'm not sure Lightfoot would be able to handle the job like Preckwinkle," she said.

The campaign between the two women got off to a contentious start, with Preckwinkle's advertising focusing on Lightfoot's work as a partner at Mayer Brown, one of the nation's largest law firms, and tagging her as a "wealthy corporate lawyer."

Preckwinkle also tried to cast Lightfoot as an insider for working in police oversight posts under Emanuel and police oversight, procurement and emergency communications posts under Mayor Richard M. Daley.

In one ad, Preckwinkle criticizes Lightfoot's oversight of the emergency communications in 2004 when a fire killed four children. A judge ordered Lightfoot to preserve 911 tapes after questions were raised about how the emergency call was handled. The ad notes some of the tapes were destroyed, prompting the judge to rebuke Lightfoot. The ad sparked a backlash from the family of three of the children killed, with their sister accusing Preckwinkle of trying to take advantage of her family's tragedy.

Lightfoot also responded by scolding her opponent for being negative while also airing ads pointing out Preckwinkle's connection to powerful local Democrats, including one under federal indictment.

Preckwinkle spent much of her time during the campaign answering for her ties to Chicago's political establishment. She and her supporters asserted her rise to Democratic Party leadership did not hinder her ability to oppose policies promoted by the city's ever-powerful mayors.

"My whole career has been about change, and change is action and results, not simply words," said Preckwinkle, who asserts her experience makes her better positioned to lead a city with financial problems and poorer neighborhoods that are racked by gun violence.

Despite the barbs on the campaign trail, the two advanced similar ideas to boost the city's deeply troubled finances, which include an estimated $250 million budget deficit next year and billions in unfunded pension liabilities.

Both candidates expressed support for a casino in Chicago and changing the state's income tax system to a graduated tax, in which higher earners are taxed at a higher rate — two measures lawmakers have tried for unsuccessfully for years to pass.

Lightfoot said that as mayor, she would focus on investing in neighborhoods on the West and South Sides and bring transparency and accountability to City Hall. She added she also wants to restore people's faith in government.

Election officials said turnout was approaching 30 percent just before polls were scheduled to close.

Source: NewsMax America

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Giuliani Demand for Apology Rejected by CNN's Chris Cuomo

Rudy Giuliani got into a fierce debate with a CNN host Monday night on the subject of giving an apology to President Donald Trump for insinuating he was guilty of conspiring with the Russians for two years before Trump was cleared over the weekend.

During an appearance on "Cuomo Prime Time," Giuliani told host Chris Cuomo he owes Trump an apology.

"You guys have tortured this man for two years with collusion and nobody has apologized for it," Giuliani said. "Before we talk about obstruction, apologize."

Cuomo replied, "Not a chance."

Giuliani then accused the host of being unfair to Trump. Cuomo pushed back, and Giuliani continued.

"No, I'm outraged. Collusion, collusion, collusion. No collusion, Chris.

"Apologize."

Cuomo said, "Never. . . . I didn't do anything wrong. These questions are real. They needed to be regarded as such."

"How about this network should apologize?" Giuliani said.

"I don't apologize for the network," Cuomo said.

Giuliani added he feels The Washington Post and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., should also convey their apologies to Trump.

Later in the interview, the pair was discussing the fact special counsel Robert Mueller could not come to a conclusion on whether Trump should be prosecuted for obstruction of justice. Cuomo said he would like to know what got Mueller so hung up he could not make a decision.

"This obstruction theory is garbage," Giuliani said.

The former New York City mayor said he debated with Mueller's investigators on the obstruction issue before the investigation was closed.

"They have a crazy theory that if the president was thinking about obstruction, that constitutes obstruction," he said. "Well, first of all, the president wasn't thinking about obstruction and secondly, [Mueller prosecutor Andrew] Weissmann is out of his mind because if people get prosecuted for what they're thinking — if somebody said, I think I might want to kill that guy because he was mean to me . . ."

Cuomo interrupted and asked, "But doesn't he mean formulation of intent? Corrupt intent?"

"No, that's why he says there's no obstructive intent," Giuliani said. "It has to come out of my mind and be conveyed to somebody. It never happened."

Source: NewsMax America

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Danske Bank receives inquiry from U.S. SEC over money laundering

FILE PHOTO: Danske Bank sign is seen on the Estonian branch building in Tallinn
FILE PHOTO: Danske Bank sign is seen on the Estonian branch building in Tallinn, Estonia January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo

February 21, 2019

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The money laundering scandal at Danske Bank deepened on Thursday as the Danish lender said it had received an inquiry from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It said SEC was carrying out an investigation, adding to an ongoing criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition to the United States, Danske is under investigation in Denmark, Estonia, France and Britain over some 200 billion euros ($226 billion) in payments from Russia, ex-Soviet states and elsewhere that were found to have flowed through its Estonian unit.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; editing by Jason Neely)

Source: OANN

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Pilot crashes stolen plane into building in Africa, killing self in reported murder attempt on wife

A pilot in Botswana reportedly tried to murder his wife by crashing a stolen plane into the building where she was attending a baby shower Saturday, but the man ended up as the only casualty in the horrifying homicide plot -- portions of which were caught on video.

The Matsieng Flying Club said in a news release the incident took place around 6:30 p.m., hours after the pilot was allegedly involved in some sort of domestic dispute.

Members of the club were at an event in a Matsieng Airport building when they noticed a 2016 Beechcraft Kingair B200 aircraft approaching. The witnesses watched as the plane made "a number of low-level fly pasts from different directions," according to the group.

Video posted to Twitter showed one of the low-level passes near the airport.

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE IN VIDEO

SENEGALESE NATIVE HIJACKS ITALY SCHOOL BUS WITH 51 CHILDREN, SETS VEHICLE ABLAZE OVER MIGRANT POLICY: REPORT

"Matsieng Flying Club members sensed that the pilot might have had an ulterior motive at the time and ordered an immediate evacuation of the club premises by the approximately fifty attendees," the group said.

The pilot, identified by South Africa's Eyewitness News and The Citizen as Charl Viljoen, allegedly had a physical altercation with his wife at a baby shower held at the airstrip earlier and was asked to leave the event.

Another man, who was not identified, told Eyewitness News that Viljoen then called his friend who was at the venue.

“He phoned his one mate on the ground there who was still at the party and he wanted to know where his wife was," the man told the news outlet. "The guy that he called started shouting so that everybody could run away. And then he flew into the Matsieng clubhouse.”

BOEING LOSES $4.9B ORDER FOR 737 MAX JETS, BUT INDONESIA'S GARUDA CARRIER OPEN TO BUYING DIFFERENT MODEL

Everyone in the building was able to get out before the plane slammed into it, according to the group, who added there were no serious injuries to anyone in the vicinity of the crash scene.

The club facility and Matsieng air traffic control tower were destroyed on impact, while a fire triggered by the crash also destroyed 13 vehicles parked nearby. Viljoen was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Botswana police spokesperson Dipheko Motube told The Citizen.

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The pilot and his wife were originally from South Africa, and had been living and working in Botswana for 10 years, according to the Citizen.

Local authorities are now investigating the incident, according to the news outlet.

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Source: Fox News World

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An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan

(Reuters) – The “i word” – impeachment – is swirling around the U.S. Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report, which painted a picture of lies, threats and confusion in Donald Trump’s White House.

Some Democrats say trying to remove Trump from office would be a waste of time because his fellow Republicans still have majority control of the Senate. Other Democrats argue they have a moral obligation at least to try to impeach, even though Mueller did not charge Trump with conspiring with Russia in the 2016 U.S. election or with obstruction of justice.

Whether or not the Democrats decide to go down this risky path, here is how the impeachment process works.

WHAT ARE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT?

The U.S. Constitution says the president can be removed from office by Congress for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Exactly what that means is unclear.

Before he became president in 1974, replacing Republican Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford said: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of a forthcoming book on the history of impeachment, said Congress could look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

HOW DOES IMPEACHMENT PLAY OUT?

The term impeachment is often interpreted as simply removing a president from office, but that is not strictly accurate.

Impeachment technically refers to the 435-member House of Representatives approving formal charges against a president.

The House effectively acts as accuser – voting on whether to bring specific charges. An impeachment resolution, known as “articles of impeachment,” is like an indictment in a criminal case. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach.

The Senate then conducts a trial. House members act as the prosecutors, with senators as the jurors. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the trial. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president from office.

No president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of an impeachment and conviction by Congress.

Nixon quit in 1974 rather than face impeachment. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both stayed in office after the Senate acquitted them.

Obstruction of justice was one charge against Clinton, who faced allegations of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Obstruction was also included in the articles of impeachment against Nixon.

CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN?

No.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But America’s founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary, Bowman said.

“They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment,” Bowman said.

“So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”

PROOF OF WRONGDOING?

In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a fairly stringent standard.

Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want,” Bowman said. “There is no agreement on what the burden should be.”

PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS?

Right now, there are 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacancies in the House. As a result, the Democratic majority could vote to impeach Trump without any Republican votes.

In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat.

The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would requires 67 votes. So that means for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.

WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED?

A Senate conviction removing Trump from office would elevate Vice President Mike Pence to the presidency to fill out Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes
FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s lawyers on Friday are set to ask a Florida judge to toss out hidden-camera videos that prosecutors say show the 77-year-old billionaire receiving sexual favors for money inside a Florida massage parlor.

The owner of the reigning Super Bowl champions plans wants the video to not be used as evidence against him as he contests two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Spa in Jupiter, Florida, along with some two dozen other men.

His legal team is fresh off a win on Tuesday, when they successfully persuaded Palm Beach County Judge Leonard Hanser to block prosecutors from releasing the hidden-camera footage to media outlets, which had requested copies under the state’s robust open records law.

Kraft, who has owned the franchise since 1994, pleaded not guilty, but has issued a public apology for his actions.

His attorneys have argued in court papers that the surreptitious videotaping of customers, including Kraft, inside a massage parlor was governmental overreach and the result of an illegally obtained search warrant.

The warrant, Kraft’s lawyers claim, was secured under false pretenses because police officers cited human trafficking as a potential crime in their application. Prosecutors have since acknowledged that the investigation yielded no evidence of trafficking.

Palm Beach County prosecutors in a court filing on Wednesday said Kraft’s motion should be rejected because he could not have had any expectation of privacy while visiting a commercial establishment to engage in criminal activity.

That prompted an indignant response from Kraft’s attorneys, who said the prosecution’s position on privacy was “unhinged.”

“It should go without saying that Mr. Kraft and everyone else in the United States have a reasonable expectation that the government will not secretly spy on them while they undress behind closed doors,” they wrote.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax, editing by G Crosse)

Source: OANN

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