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Report: Buttigieg In Talks About Fox News Town Hall

South Bend, Ind., mayor and Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg is in talks with Fox News about appearing in a town hall event, The Hill reported Tuesday.

An unnamed spokesperson for Buttigieg told the news outlet “reaching out to the Fox audience is something we intend to do.”

The intention was announced a day after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., became the first 2020 Democratic candidate to go onto Fox for a town hall event. Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez announced ast month Fox would be barred from hosting any of the party's primary debates. 

Buttigieg has been gaining attention in his long-shot bid; an Emerson College poll released Monday showed Sanders at 29% among Democratic respondents, former Vice President Joe Biden at 24%, Buttigieg third with 9%, Sen. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke each with 8%, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at 7%.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Malaysia to finalize deal on China-backed railway project early April

Malaysia's new government advisor Daim Zainuddin speaks during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing
Malaysia's new government advisor Daim Zainuddin speaks during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Andy Wong/Pool/via Reuters

March 23, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia will finalize talks with China in early April regarding a $20 billion rail project that has been suspended since July last year, the Malaysian representative for the negotiations said late on Friday.

The renegotiations could result in cost savings of more than 10 billion ringgit ($2.5 billion) for Malaysia, the country’s envoy for the discussions, Daim Zainuddin said in an interview with a local television station.

China representatives have extended an invitation to Malaysia for a visit on April 2 to conclude negotiations on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) in the first week of next month.

“They were here two weeks ago in talks with me, and they have invited me to China … to finalize talks,” Daim said.

Daim said the renegotiations could include commercial elements that would benefit Malaysia but did not elaborate.

The ECRL had been threatened by cancellation since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who came into power in May last year, vowed to renegotiate or cancel what he calls “unfair” Chinese projects authorized by his predecessor Najib Razak.

Hit by ballooning costs, lack of transparency and the risk it could saddle Malaysia with uncomfortably large debt, the project that was launched in 2017 has come to symbolize Najib’s scandal-ridden administration.

In January, ministers flip-flopped on Malaysia’s decision about the ECRL – the centerpiece of China’s infrastructure push in Southeast Asia – first saying it was canceled and then announcing that talks were still ongoing.

Reuters reported in January, citing sources, that China had offered to nearly halve the cost to save the 688-km (430-mile) rail project.

(Reporting by Liz Lee)

Source: OANN

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AIIB president seeks to calm concerns over China’s Belt and Road initiative

AIIB president Jin Liqun speaks at an international forum on the
FILE PHOTO - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) president Jin Liqun speaks at an international forum on the "Belt and Road" Legal Cooperation in Beijing, China July 2, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

March 27, 2019

BOAO, China (Reuters) – Other countries should not worry about China’s Belt and Road strategy, as Beijing has pledged to control debt risks, Jin Liqun, president of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said on Wednesday at the Boao Forum for Asia.

Vice Finance Minister Zou Jiayi made similar assurances at the same forum, which is being held on China’s tropical island of Hainan.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Yawen Chen; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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JPMorgan rolls out low-fee, checkless, no-overdraft accounts

JP Morgan Chase & Co sign outside headquarters in New York
FILE PHOTO: A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York, September 19, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar

March 18, 2019

By David Henry

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Responding to calls for more bank services for low-income consumers, JPMorgan Chase & Co on Monday began offering checkless accounts with access to its mobile app, branches and ATMs for $4.95 a month and no minimum balance.

The accounts come with debit cards, digital payments and free check cashing, but do not allow overdrafts.

Fees for overdrafts generated significant revenue for banks in the past. They have angered customers, brought down the wrath of politicians and discouraged people with low incomes from using banks.

Thasunda Duckett, chief executive of Chase Consumer Banking, said she hoped the new accounts will attract more low-income individuals and people who have never had bank accounts.

“The very first step in building financial health really starts with a bank account,” Duckett said.

The annual cost of $60 for the new accounts compares with charges of $200 to $500 a year at check cashing and money order services, she said.

Some 6.5 percent of U.S. households had no one with a bank account in 2017, according to a study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Regulators have been pushing banks to do more to attract low-income customers. “Financial inclusion” has become a rallying cry for groups trying to help people out of poverty.

JPMorgan’s move comes after competitors Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc introduced similar accounts.

The new accounts mark an expansion of low-cost services because JPMorgan has 16,000 ATMs and 5,000 U.S. branches, second only to Wells Fargo & Co.

Since 2012, JPMorgan has offered a prepaid debit card with many banking services for $4.95 a month. But customers said that card, called Liquid, came up short. It could not be used for Uber taxi rides and car rentals, for example.

The new account, called Secure, offers those features.

Financial technology startups, such as Chime and SoFi, offer accounts with large networks of ATMs and without monthly fees. Chase’s fee, Duckett said, provides ATMs that accept checks and bankers to question in person.

The accounts will make “some money,” she said, but be less profitable than the bank’s other businesses.

Before the financial crisis, banks widely offered free checking, making money on overdrafts and merchant fees on debit cards. Post-crisis reforms slashed those fees and free accounts were cut back.

Now that banks have built digital tools for better-off customers, the services can be extended to people with lower incomes.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York Additional reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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Ohio State DE Bosa to visit Cardinals

FILE PHOTO: NFL: Combine
FILE PHOTO: Mar 3, 2019; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State defensive lineman Nick Bosa (DL25) goes through workout drills during the 2019 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

April 1, 2019

Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa is scheduled to visit the Arizona Cardinals, with speculation mounting he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Bosa met with team officials in Florida on Friday and is now set for a second sitdown at the team facility. Bosa and the Cardinals have a “top 30” visit scheduled with four weeks remaining until the 2019 draft.

Each NFL franchise is permitted to host 30 prospects at team headquarters.

Bosa will be in Arizona on Thursday night for a Friday visit this week, Sports Illustrated first reported Monday.

The younger brother of Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa missed half of last season with an abdominal injury. He’s working out with his brother in Florida and did not take part in workouts during his pro day.

Hosting Nick Bosa gives the Cardinals the opportunity to gauge his recovery on the field.

He said last week he was intrigued by the possibility of pairing with Cardinals outside linebacker Chandler Jones.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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War With Russia? Trump Says Russian Troops Must “Get Out” Of Venezuela And “All Options Are Open” To Make That Happen

Instead of “collusion with Russia”, will the mainstream media soon be buzzing about a potential war with Russia? 

The Trump administration and the Russian government are currently engaged in a very heated war of words regarding the deteriorating situation in Venezuela, and at this point it is difficult to see how this crisis will end well unless one side is willing to back down.  The Russians are backing current president Nicolas Maduro, and as you will see below, they now have troops on the ground in the country.  That absolutely infuriated President Trump, because it greatly complicated his plans for regime change in Venezuela.  He told the press that Russia must “get out” and that “all options are open” as far as accomplishing that goal.  In other words, President Trump is actually threatening Russia with military force if they refuse to pull their troops out of the country.

Of course the Russians are not going to do that.  They have been strongly speaking out against the possibility of U.S. military intervention, and they seized the upper hand strategically when they were able to get boots on the ground in Venezuela over the weekend

One flight tracking website shows two aircraft left a Russian military base for the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Friday, with a further jet leaving on Sunday.

The arrival of the military jets was confirmed by Javier Mayorca, an independent journalist, who said an Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller jet touched down late on Saturday.

He said approximately 100 soldiers – led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, who is head of the Mobilization Directorate of Russia’s armed forces – was also seen, as well as 35 tons of equipment.

Having the backing of the Russian military greatly, greatly strengthens Maduro’s position, and it is going to be much more difficult for the Trump administration to get rid of him now.

In recent public statements, Russian officials have made it exceedingly clear that they will not tolerate U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, and they underscored that point by sending in troops.

In response, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning that the U.S. “will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela”


Mainstream media’s ratings tanked after the Mueller report exposed their biased reporting. With nothing to show for their corrupt coverage, major news outlets plan to ramp up 2020 election coverage with the same goal of taking President Trump out of office. Today’s in-studio guest is health and tech expert Mike Adams delivering cutting-edge intel on how Trump can take out Big Tech censorship immediately. Furthermore, conservative trailblazer Faith Goldy draws powerful parallels between Europe’s migrant crisis and America’s caravan surge.

The influx of Russian forces, reportedly with intelligence officers among them, prompted U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to call his Russian counterpart on Monday and warn him, “that the United States and regional countries will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela.”

Okay, so what does “not stand idly by” actually mean?

When asked by reporters for specifics on the situation in Venezuela, this is what President Trump had to say

“Russia has to get out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, where he met with Guaido’s wife, Fabiana Rosales.

Asked how he would make Russian forces leave, Trump said: “We’ll see. All options are open.”

But Russia is not going to get out of Venezuela.

So either Trump will have to back down, or he will have to risk a full-blown war with Russia by taking military action.

Yes, we have actually reached that point.

On a note that may or may not be related, the U.S. Army has just placed an order for 167,195 assault rifles

The Army Contracting Command-New Jersey (ACC-NJ) has issued a pre-solicitation to the defense industry, on behalf of Project Manager Soldier Weapons (PM-SW), for the request to procure 167,195 M4/M4A1 Carbines to be manufactured exclusively within the United States or its Territories.

The M4/M4A1 carbines provide a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle to the United States Armed Forces. The lightweight assault rifle fires 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition from a 30-round magazine and has semi-automatic and three-round burst firing modes.

Is this just a routine order, or does someone anticipate that our troops will be doing some fighting soon?

Whether military action is coming in the short-term or not, it is clear that the U.S. intends to continue to increase the pressure on Maduro.  President Trump met with Juan Guaido’s wife on Wednesday, and the day before another crippling power outage paralyzed much of Venezuela

Venezuelans reacted with despair and resourcefulness on Tuesday as nationwide power cuts closed schools and businesses, paralyzing a nation that was only starting to recover from its worst blackouts earlier this month.

The new outages, which began Monday, forced people to follow now-familiar routines: scour neighborhoods for food and water in the few shops that were open or seek out the few spots where they could find a signal on their mobile phones and get in touch with family and friends.

Now that the Mueller investigation is over, hopefully there will be a vigorous national debate about our policy regarding Venezuela, because the American people deserve to know what another war would cost us.

A war in Venezuela would be far more complicated and far more difficult than our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Just consider Ron Paul’s assessment of such a conflict

So is President Trump about to attack Venezuela? At a recent US House hearing, one of the expert witnesses testified that such an invasion would require between 100,000 and 150,000 US troops, going up against maybe three times that number of Venezuelan troops in a country twice the size of Iraq. With a lot of jungle. All for a “prize” that has nothing to do with US security. If the president makes such a foolish move he might find the current war cheerleaders in the Democrat Party changing their tune rather quickly. Let’s hope Trump changes his tune and returns to his promises of no more regime change wars.

On top of all that, an invasion of Venezuela would risk sparking a full-blown war with Russia.

It would be a foreign policy mistake of epic proportions, and we must not do it.

Without a doubt, the situation in Venezuela is heartbreaking, and we should all hope for their economy to be restored.

But this is something for the people of Venezuela to sort out.  As I have repeatedly stressed, the U.S. cannot be the police of the world, and the U.S. military should not be used to overthrow governments just because we do not like who is currently running things.

If we are going to ask young American men and women to shed their blood and sacrifice their lives, it had better be for a really, really, really good reason, and regime change in Venezuela definitely does not qualify.

Source: InfoWars

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Cash-hoarding Japanese firms please investors as share buybacks hit record

A man walks past in front of a stock quotation board showing the price of the SoftBank Corp. and Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo
A man walks past in front of a stock quotation board showing the price of the SoftBank Corp. and Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato

February 18, 2019

By Ayai Tomisawa and Alun John

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Japanese share buybacks have hit a record this fiscal year and are set to maintain the booming growth as cash-rich companies bow to pressure from investors and the government to boost returns and improve governance.

In recent weeks, SoftBank Group Corp, Sony, Itochu Corp and other companies have announced plans to buy back shares worth more than 1.3 trillion yen, bringing the total value of buybacks flagged since April 1 to over 6.5 trillion yen ($58.92 billion).

That is already the most for any fiscal year since 2003 when the current buyback rules were introduced, according to financial data service firm I-N Information Systems.

(GRAPHIC: Japan Buyback – https://tmsnrt.rs/2E9ABPV)

Investors have long criticized Japanese companies for hoarding cash rather than investing it or returning it to shareholders, pushing down their returns on equity (ROE), a measure of the amount of profit a company generates from the money invested in it.

Buying back shares reduces a company’s equity base, boosting its ROE.

“This past month has seen a lot of very positive shareholder-friendly activity from a wide array of Japanese companies,” said Seth Fischer, founder and chief investment officer of Oasis Management, citing actions by SoftBank, Sony, Haseko, Tokyo Tatemono and Toppan Printing.

“To attract foreign investors, companies should continue this path of increasing shareholder returns, while continuing to improve their corporate governance.”

Activist investor Oasis, among others, has been vocal in urging Japanese companies to boost returns. In December, Oasis failed to block the sale of Alpine Electronics to its larger affiliate Alps Electric, but Alps did announce a 45 billion yen buyback in January, the third largest buyback that month.

Japan Inc is under pressure to appease foreign investors after they sold 13 trillion yen of Japanese stocks in 2018, more than four times the net sales in 2015 and 2016, and a sharp reversal of the net 1.9 trillion yen bought in 2017.

“Recently, the global economy is weak and the Japanese market has fallen as foreign fast money has been selling aggressively,” said Archibald Ciganer, co-head of Japanese equity at money manager T.Rowe Price.

“But those Japanese companies that have good governance are taking advantage of cheaper stock prices and putting a floor under their stock price through buybacks.”

Share buybacks have had political pushback elsewhere. In the United States, Senator Marco Rubio last week announced plans to tax buybacks in an effort to encourage companies to reinvest spare cash instead of returning it to shareholders.

In Japan, though, policy makers have been urging companies to pay more attention to the wishes of investors, most notably through the country’s corporate governance and stakeholders codes. Guidelines released last year urged firms to focus on their financial management policies, including the amount of cash they had on hand.

According to Ministry of Finance data, Japanese companies had internal reserves worth a record 446.5 trillion yen at the end of their latest fiscal year.

Japanese companies’ ROEs are expected to fall below 10 percent this fiscal year for their first decline in three years, according to Nomura Securities.

“Many Japanese companies simply have too much cash on their balance sheets weighing down their ROEs. Better capital structure management is definitely needed,” said Kin Chan, chief investment officer of Argyle Street Management.

(GRAPHIC: Foreign investors outflow – https://tmsnrt.rs/2BMtYl1)

A revision to Japan’s corporate governance code last year, designed to push companies to sell stakes in other companies, is also driving buybacks.

“Dissolving cross shareholdings, and increasing dividends and buybacks are two ways to make Japanese companies more attractive to foreign investors,” said Patrick Moonen, principal multi asset strategist at Netherlands-based NN Investment Partners.

Further buybacks are expected. Analysts at Goldman Sachs predict that buybacks will reach 7.8 trillion yen for the 12 months to the end of March 2020.

Currently, 56 percent of Japanese non-financial companies in the benchmark Topix index sit on net cash – meaning they have funds left over even if they paid all debts tomorrow. That compares with less than 20 percent in the United States or Europe, according to figures from brokerage CLSA.

“I tell investors that the presents are still under the Christmas tree,” said Nicholas Smith, CLSA’s Japan strategist.

(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa in Tokyo and Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: OANN

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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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