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California man challenges federal law refusing ‘immoral’ trademark for clothing brand ‘FUCT’

A California man whose company carries a provocative name is hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule against a trademark law that he says restricts his First Amendment rights.

A lawyer for Erik Brunetti, owner of the “FUCT” clothing brand, will appear before the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge a federal trademarking law that allows officials to refuse trademarks that they deem “scandalous” or “immoral.”

Brunetti called the provision an unconstitutional restriction of speech that should be struck down. He also said that the underlying process is arbitrary, and that trademarks more offensive than his could be approved depending on who handles the case.

John R. Sommer, Brunetti’s lawyer, makes the argument that an attorney from the South might find something “not nice” that wouldn’t faze a lawyer from the Bronx.

That means “you can register profanity if you’re lucky” and you get assigned a lawyer who allows it, he continued.

OLIVIA JADE’S TRADEMARK APPLICATION WAS REJECTED FOR PUNCTUATION BEFORE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL

The Los Angeles-based clothing brand at issue, which started in 1991, can still operate under Brunetti’s chosen name without a trademark, but doing so could be costly. For instance, Brunetti wouldn't be able to go after counterfeiters who knock off his designs.

The government is defending the century-old trademarking provision, arguing in court documents that the law encourages trademarks that are appropriate for all audiences. The U.S. position is that the measure isn’t restricting speech, but rather declining to promote it.

But there have been workarounds in the past that could help Brunetti’s case.

Two years ago, the justices unanimously invalidated a related provision of federal law that told officials not to register disparaging trademarks. In that case, an Asian-American rock band sued after the government refused to register its band name, “The Slants,” because it was seen as offensive to Asians.

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The office, which also refuses to trademark something too similar to existing ones, refused to register “FUK!T” for being scandalous and immoral -- but also confusingly similar to the already-registered “PHUKIT.” ″MIDDLEFINGER” was denied after “JONNY MIDDLEFINGER” was registered, and “Ko Kane” was rejected after “Kokanee” was registered.

If Brunetti wins, the public is unlikely to notice a whole lot of change, his lawyer said. Retailers will decide what products are appropriate for their customers, and Target and Walmart aren’t going to carry Brunetti’s brand, Sommer said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Indonesia to speed up release of Lion Air crash report: safety agency head

An Indonesian National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) official examines a turbine engine from the Lion Air flight JT610 at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta
FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) official examines a turbine engine from the Lion Air flight JT610 at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta

March 15, 2019

(Reuters) – Indonesia plans to speed up the release of the report into its investigation of the October crash of Lion Air Boeing 737 that killed all 189 people on board to “between July to August”, the head of the nation’s transport safety committee KNKT said on Friday.

The crash was the world’s first of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jet. A second deadly incident occurred on Sunday with the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet that killed all 157 people on board.

KNKT head Soerjanto told Reuters his agency would speed up its investigation and release the report months earlier than its original timeline of the fall of 2019.

(Reporting by Cindy Silviana; Writing by Fanny Potkin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: OANN

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Kamala Harris and Cory Booker missed most votes of all Dem senators running in 2020

Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have each missed more than one-fifth of the Senate’s votes so far this year as they campaign for president, according to an Associated Press analysis of congressional data.

With 16 missed votes of the 77 that the Republican-controlled Senate has held in 2019, Harris and Booker far outpace the number missed by their fellow senators also vying for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sen. Bernie Sanders has missed seven votes so far this year, while Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar have each missed three and Sen. Elizabeth Warren has missed one vote, AP found.

Seeking the presidency as a sitting member of Congress requires a logistical juggling act that often results in candidates taking hits for missed votes as the pace of campaign season picks up to a whirlwind. Perhaps the most notable recent example is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who took hits for his missed votes from his rivals — including future President Donald Trump — during the 2016 GOP presidential primary.

WHO'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020? GROWING FIELD OF CANDIDATES JOIN RACE FOR DEMOCRATIC NOD

“When you’re a governor or businessman, you can run for president and still do your day job. But when you’re a senator or congressman and run for president, you’re not voting, which is the single most important part of your job,” said Alex Conant, a veteran Republican strategist and Rubio’s communications director in 2016. “So I think there’s an inherent conflict that people (who) aren’t in that position are going to try to exploit.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that jabbing at presidential candidates for missed votes is effective. While Rubio’s absenteeism drew criticism from Trump and the Democrat seeking to take his Senate seat in 2016, he still easily won re-election to the Senate.

And Rubio had missed considerably more votes at a similar point in 2015 than Harris and Booker have during 2019′s Senate session so far: The Republican was absent from 25 of the first 77 votes of that year, according to AP’s tally. That is 56% more votes than Harris and Booker missed.

KAMALA HARRIS, WHO DEFENDED DEATH PENALTY AS CALIFORNIA AG, CHEERS DECISION TO END IT

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also took heat for missed votes from his opponent last year, former congressman turned Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke, and still came out ahead.

Democratic strategist Jesse Lehrich, a former aide to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign who’s not currently affiliated with any presidential candidate, predicted his party’s presidential candidates would avoid making missed votes an issue in a primary that’s stayed largely free of infighting thus far.

“Given the positive tenor on the Democratic side of the campaign thus far, I just can’t imagine any candidate trying to disingenuously weaponize it in this primary,” Lehrich said. “If someone did, I think it would backfire.”

Harris and Booker tallied the bulk of their missed votes this month, including the confirmation of Trump’s nominee to lead the Interior Department , David Bernhardt — when the Democratic duo had separately scheduled campaign travel to Iowa. Harris entered a statement in the Congressional Record making clear that she would have voted no on advancing Bernhardt to a final vote.

But none of the Democratic senators running in 2020 have missed votes where their presence would have affected the outcome, as Lehrich noted.

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“I’d be shocked if any 2020 Democratic candidate missed a key vote where the outcome was actually up in the air,” he said.

On that point, Conant offered some bipartisan consensus: “I never ran into a voter in Iowa or New Hampshire who was concerned that Rubio was missing votes,” recalled the Republican, now a partner at the firm Firehouse Strategies. “Voters understand that when you’re running for president, missing votes comes with the job. The one exception, I think, is if you miss a vote of national significance where your vote could be decisive.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Rep. Green: Pentagon's $1B for Wall Good for National Security

The Pentagon's move to approve $1 billion for 57 miles of border wall is good for national security, Rep. Mark Green, who sits on the House Oversight and Homeland Security committees, commented Tuesday.

"We know fences work," the Tennessee Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "That argument is settled. Clearly, the president has the authority to do this. I think the guys at the Pentagon know that border security is national security and they understand their mission is securing the nation...border security is national security and they are doing their part."

Green said lawsuits will likely be attempted over the funding, but the concern is getting the border secured and the nation must move forward quickly to do that.

"I believe and I've said before it is a national crisis," said Green, who added that he agrees with President Donald Trump that there is a crisis.

"Three hundred Americans are dying every week from heroin overdose," said Green. "Ninety percent of the heroin is coming across the southern border."

He said he also believes there are many Democrats from Trump districts who are ready to move on and say they're for border security because they're "tired of having" the conversation about it.

Meanwhile, Green said he thinks Oversight Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., should step down as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee because of his actions before special counsel Robert Mueller's report concluded.

"Many times he mentioned there was credible evidence he had seen and verified," said Green.'After a two-year lengthy investigation by a very respected prosecutor, we have no evidence of collusion. In fact, probably the only collusion has been between the liberal media and DNC to throw the 2020 election."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Aviva, NatWest to join ‘Brexodus’ of business to EU

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past an AVIVA logo outside the company's head office in the city of London
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past an AVIVA logo outside the company's head office in the city of London March 5, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird/File Photo

February 19, 2019

By Huw Jones, Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn

LONDON (Reuters) – England’s High Court on Tuesday gave Aviva, Britain’s second largest insurer, approval to transfer around 9 billion pounds ($11.69 billion) in assets to a new Irish company just before the starting gun is fired on Brexit.

The move, timed for 2259 GMT on March 29, is part of a wider withdrawal of business and money by financial companies seeking to keep contracts and policies within the European Union even after Britain departs. Brexit formally takes effect at 2300 GMT on March 29.

London has yet to agree a divorce settlement with the bloc but banks and insurers are shifting hundreds of billions of pounds in assets regardless of the form Brexit takes, reversing decades of European financial market integration and chipping away at the City of London’s dominance of it.

The High Court in London approved the transfer of policies after a hearing on Aviva’s application last week to move life insurance assets. It had previously secured court approval to move around 1 billion pounds in general insurance assets.

“The current state of extreme and intensifying uncertainty regarding the terms of United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union renders the need for certainty of provision all the more pressing,” Martin Moore, Aviva’s counsel, told the court.

On Friday, NatWest, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, is due to ask a court in Edinburgh to approve its application to move 6 billion pounds in assets and 7 billion pounds in liabilities from Britain to its Dutch hub.

Aviva and NatWest are moving assets under a legal process known as Part VII transfers, taking up to 18 months and now coming to conclusion.

“Insurers have set up their European insurers and have transferred or are transferring their European business,” said Ashley Prebble, an insurance partner at Clifford Chance law firm.

“These are not transfers that will be reversed in the event that a transition period is agreed; this is the new environment.”

So far, the amount of business being moved is a small part of the UK financial sector, where total premium income was 224.5 billion pounds in 2016, with banking assets totaling 8.1 trillion pounds in 2018, according to TheCityUK.

Consultancy EY has estimated that 800 billion pounds in assets are being moved from Britain to EU hubs ahead of Brexit.

Most of the policies being moved by Aviva were written in branches across Europe, with just 100 million pounds or so of policies written in Britain.

Aviva said it would move an additional 303 million euros in capital to Dublin as part of the transfer of assets, to cover its life insurance policies, and 89 million pounds to cover those for general insurance.

MONEY MOVES FASTER

For now, money is moving quicker than jobs. A Reuters survey published earlier this month found only around 2,000 jobs in financial services are expected to be moved or created in other EU cities to deal with Brexit.

But the quiet shift of money means less business will be processed in Britain and less tax will be raised by the country’s financial sector, currently the biggest source of corporate tax revenue.

Trading in euro-denominated stocks and bonds, along with clearing in euro repurchase agreements, will move to the continent next month.

The Association of British Insurers said insurers operating from Britain have made 36 Part VII applications representing 20 million contracts, using figures from the Bank of England.

Among banks, Britain’s Barclays secured court approval last month to move 190 billion euros in assets to a Dublin subsidiary.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has transferred $44 billion in assets to its Dublin based subsidiary, while UBS has secured approval to shift 32 billion euros from London to its German unit.

Japan’s Nomura said it would re-allocate $300 million in capital from its London-based subsidiary to other members of its group, while Credit Suisse said it had moved $200 million of assets and liabilities to its German unit.

Most of the largest international banks are keeping their asset and capital transfer plans confidential, with JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citi all eschewing Part VII applications in favor of repapering contracts client by client.

Aviva was among the last of the big insurers to secure court approval for shifting chunks of life, general, property, casualty and motor insurance policies to EU hubs.

Prudential and AIG were among the first out of the block, the former moving 76 million pounds in assets to Dublin, and the latter shifting 5.6 billion pounds in assets to a Luxembourg hub last year.

Phoenix, a specialist life insurer, will transfer some 18 billion pounds in assets from Britain to Dublin, subject to a hearing in March, representing 582,000 policies.

Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest commercial insurance market, looks set to be among the last and probably the biggest of all, saying it won’t complete its coordination of Part VII transfers on behalf of its syndicates until the end of 2020.

($1 = 0.7701 pounds)

(Additional reporting by Sinead Cruise. Editing by Carmel Crimmins)

Source: OANN

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Volkswagen CEO apologizes for evoking Auschwitz slogan at company meeting

The chief executive of Volkswagen has apologized for evoking the infamous slogan that appears at the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp when speaking about the German company's profits at a meeting on Tuesday.

CEO Herbert Diess said he should not have uttered “Ebit macht frei,” a phrase echoing "Arbeit Macht Frei", which means “work sets you free” and is synonymous with the camp. Ebit is an acronym for "earnings before interest and taxes".

Diess issued a statement calling his use of the phrase “definitely an unfortunate choice of words,” according to the BBC.

CATALAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL UNDER FIRE AFTER TWEET QUOTING ANNE FRANK

"At no time was it my intention for this statement to be placed in a false context. At the time, I simply did not think of this possibility."

United States Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence, right, stand with Poland's President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda, left, under the gate during their visit at the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. They stand under the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign

United States Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence, right, stand with Poland's President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda, left, under the gate during their visit at the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. They stand under the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign (AP)

The incident refocused attention on the company’s Nazi origins, a chapter that it has struggled to acknowledge and get past.

FORD AND VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCE ALLIANCE TO BUILD PICKUPS AND VANS 

Nazi guards kept watch over slave workers from concentration camps at the Volkswagen plant, feeding them poorly and beating or shooting them for minor mistakes, according to The New York Times.

Nazis took away the children who were born to the slave workers and put them in a facility that had Nazi supervision and had inhumane conditions. The Times said that more than 300 children died at the nursery.

US AMBASSADOR URGES GERMANY TO BAR ENTRY OF CONVICTED PALESTINIAN TERRORIST

In 2016, Volkswagen came under fire when its company historian, who had researched and reported the car manufacturer’s Nazi past, left under unclear circumstances.

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The historian, Manfred Grieger, and Volkswagen did not comment on what led to the end of his employment, adding fuel to the theory that he had been dismissed after revealing much more than the company wanted. The abrupt departure of the historian prompted 75 of Germany’s most prominent scholars to sign an angry letter that accused Volkswagen of firing Grieger for punitive reasons.

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. farmers receive $7.7 billion in trade aid to date: USDA

FILE PHOTO: Farmer Lucas Richard of LFR Grain harvests a crop of soybeans at a farm in Hickory
FILE PHOTO: Farmer Lucas Richard of LFR Grain harvests a crop of soybeans at a farm in Hickory, North Carolina, U.S. November 29, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller/File Photo

February 22, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid out $7.7 billion so far to farmers, William Northey, Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, said on Friday, in aid designed to offset the negative impact of tariff imposition.

The administration of President Donald Trump has pledged up to $12 billion in aid to help offset losses for crops hit by retaliatory Chinese tariffs imposed in response to Washington’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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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