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South Sudan president, opposition leader to meet at Vatican

The Vatican has invited South Sudan's president and opposition leader for a two-day spiritual retreat meant to foster peace and build confidence in a fragile peace deal after the country's five-year civil war.

South Sudan's opposition leader Riek Machar was traveling Wednesday to the Vatican, while President Salva Kiir was already in Rome and meeting with Italy's premier.

The Vatican said that the retreat, which ends Thursday, was an opportunity for "reflection and prayer" as well as an "encounter and reconciliation" to those who have "the mission and responsibility to work for a future of peace and prosperity for the South Sudanese people." The Vatican described the event as both ecumenical and diplomatic.

Machar, who has been under house arrest, had to receive permission to travel.

Source: Fox News World

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Brexit talks with Labour more constructive than people think: UK’s Hunt

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt attends a news conference on media freedom as part of the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Dinard
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt attends a news conference on media freedom as part of the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Dinard, France, April 5, 2019. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

April 15, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Talks between the British government and the opposition Labour Party to find consensus over a Brexit plan are more constructive than people think, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday.

“Talks we are having with Labour are detailed and I think more constructive than people have thought,” Hunt told BBC radio. “They are more detailed and more constructive than people had been expecting on both sides. But we don’t know if they are going to work.”

Meetings between ministers and their opposite numbers from Labour are due to continue this week, Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said on Sunday.

(Reporting by Michael Holden. Editing by Andrew MacAskill)

Source: OANN

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Brexit in meltdown: Theresa May under pressure to forge softer divorce deal

Small toy figures are seen in front of a Brexit logo in this illustration picture
Small toy figures are seen in front of a Brexit logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

March 31, 2019

By Kylie MacLellan and Guy Faulconbridge

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s exit from the European Union was in disarray after the implosion of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy left her under pressure from rival factions to leave without a deal, go for an election or forge a much softer divorce.

After one of the most tumultuous weeks in British politics since the 2016 referendum, it was still uncertain how, when or even if the United Kingdom will ever leave the bloc it first joined 46 years ago.

A third defeat of May’s divorce deal, after her pledge to quit if it was passed, left one of the weakest leaders in a generation grappling with a perilous crisis over Brexit, the United Kingdom’s most significant move since World War Two.

Parliament will vote on different Brexit options on Monday and then May could try one last roll of the dice by bringing her deal back to a vote in parliament as soon as Tuesday.

“There are no ideal choices available and there are very good arguments against any possible outcome at the moment but we are going to have to do something,” said Justice Secretary David Gauke, who voted in the 2016 referendum to stay in the EU.

“The prime minister is reflecting on what the options are, and is considering what may happen but I don’t think any decisions have been made,” he told BBC TV.

Many in May’s party, though, have lost patience. The Sun newspaper reported that 170 of her 314 Conservative lawmakers had sent her a letter demanding that Brexit take place in the next few months – deal or no deal.

The United Kingdom was due to leave the EU on March 29 but the political deadlock in London forced May to ask the bloc for a delay. Currently, Brexit is due to take place at 2200 GMT on April 12 unless May comes up with another option.

“IT IS A MESS”

The labyrinthine Brexit crisis has left the United Kingdom divided: supporters of both Brexit and EU membership marched through London last week. Many on both sides feel betrayed by a political elite that has failed to show leadership.

Parliament is due to vote at around 1900 GMT on Monday on a range of alternative Brexit options selected by Speaker John Bercow from nine proposals put forward by lawmakers, including a no-deal exit, preventing a no-deal exit, a customs union, or a second referendum.

“We are clearly going to have to consider very carefully the will of parliament,” Gauke said.

With no majority yet in the House of Commons for any of the Brexit options, there was speculation that an election could be called, though such a vote would be unpredictable and it is unclear who would lead the Conservatives into it.

The Sunday Times said May’s media chief, Robbie Gibb, and her political aide Stephen Parkinson were pushing for an election against the will of her chief enforcer in parliament, Julian Smith.

The Conservative Party’s deputy chair, James Cleverly, said it was not planning for an election. But the deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, Tom Watson, said his party was on election footing.

Labour’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Emily Thornberry, said it could try to call a vote of no confidence in May’s government.

“We don’t know if she is going to remain prime minister, if we are going to get somebody else, who that other person is going to be – it is a mess,” Thornberry said.

Opponents of Brexit fear it will make Britain poorer and divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.

Supporters of Brexit say while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed attempt in European unity.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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Schiff faces mounting GOP calls for resignation over collusion claims

Republicans are stepping up calls for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff to resign or give up his committee post for repeatedly pushing claims of collusion between President Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian operatives.

Now that Robert Mueller's probe has shown no evidence of collusion, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has been the most vocal in calling for Schiff’s resignation – telling “Fox & Friends” on Monday that the California Democrat “ought to resign today.”

ADAM SCHIFF REJECTS REPORTS MUELLER INDICTMENTS ARE OVER, SAYS SPECIAL COUNSEL COULD BE CALLED TO TESTIFY 

“He’s been on every TV show 50 times a day for practically the last two years, promising Americans that this president would either be impeached or indicted,” Conway said. “He has no right, as somebody who has been peddling a lie, day after day after day, unchallenged. Unchallenged and not under oath. Somebody should have put him under oath and said, ‘You have evidence, where is it?'”

Conway continued her calls for Schiff’s resignation on Tuesday during an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” saying Schiff should be put under oath for claims of evidence of collusion between the Trump team and Russia.

“He's saying there was evidence of collusion in plain sight, that he knew of it,” she said. “If he's got evidence, put him under oath.”

For two years, Schiff routinely sounded ominous warnings about what Special Counsel Robert Mueller might find on Trump.

In March 2017, Schiff told MSNBC that "there is more than circumstantial evidence now" of a relationship between Russia and Trump's associates. In December of that year, Schiff said on CNN: "The Russians offered help, the campaign accepted help. The Russians gave help and the president made full use of that help. That is pretty damning, whether it is proof beyond a reasonable doubt of conspiracy or not."

And in May of last year, Schiff said on ABC that the Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee emails is "like Watergate in the sense that you had a break in at the Democratic headquarters, in this case a virtual one, not a physical break in, and you had a president as part of a cover up." Schiff said later that the Russia investigation is "a size and scope probably beyond Watergate."

Despite Schiff’s claims, Mueller found no evidence of coordination or conspiracy involving Trump, his campaign and the Russian government, Attorney General William Barr wrote in a letter released on Sunday.

While not going so far as Conway in calling for Schiff to leave office, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said that Schiff does owe “an apology to the American public” and should step down from his post as head of the intelligence committee.

KELLYANNE CONWAY ADDS TO CALLS FOR FULL INVESTIGATION INTO RUSSIA PROBE'S ORIGIN

“He owes an apology to the American public," McCarthy said. “There is no place in Adam Schiff's world or in Congress that he should be chair of the intel committee."

McCarthy added: "There is no way he could lead the intel committee and he should step back."

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel echoed McCarthy’s comments in an interview with Fox Business Network, saying that Schiff – along with House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. – should apologize to Trump for the claims of Russian collusion.

“They should be removed from their chairmanships,” McDaniel said. “They owe the American people an apology. They owe this president an apology, and they have work to do to heal this democracy because this is our country we are talking about.”

Despite the withering criticism from GOP leaders and the calls to step down, Schiff has remained defiant – repeating on Monday his assertion that evidence of collusion is in "plain sight." He said he accepts Mueller's conclusion that he could not prove a criminal conspiracy with Russia, but said his committee's investigative work will go on.

"For whatever reason over the last year and a half, the president has viewed me as a threat," he told The Associated Press. "His allies in Congress have likewise come to his assistance in attacking me. It comes with the job, and I take it as a sign of effectiveness that they feel the need to go after me."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the calls to remove Schiff were "absolutely ridiculous." She consulted with Schiff and other committee leaders over the weekend as Barr notified Congress of Mueller's report and summarized the details.

A Pelosi aide said Schiff was being attacked because he's done "an outstanding job."

"Democrats aren't going to be intimidated by the White House or Congressional Republicans," spokeswoman Ashley Etienne said. "We're not going to be distracted from securing the release of the full Mueller report and the underlying evidence, and we will continue to pursue legitimate oversight because that's what the Constitution requires.

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Schiff also plans to push ahead with a congressional investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia. While the intelligence committee on Monday delayed an interview with Trump associate Felix Sater about his efforts in 2016 to strike a deal for a Trump Tower Moscow, Schiff has vowed to continue the investigation.

The California Democrat also signed a letter on Monday with his fellow House committee chairs demanding the full Mueller report by April 2.

"Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to establish conspiracy, notwithstanding Russian offers to help Trump’s campaign, their acceptance, and a litany of concealed interactions with Russia," Schiff tweeted. "I trust Mueller’s prosecutorial judgement, but the country must see the evidence."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Maldives leader celebrates victory in parliamentary election

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's party is leading in the vote count in the parliamentary election and has already declared a landslide victory that could give him a free hand in efforts to restore political freedoms and tackle corruption.

The official results are expected late Sunday. Local reports say Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party is leading at 60 out of the 87 seats in Parliament.

This could be the first time that a single party has won the majority in Parliament since the Indian Ocean archipelago nation became a multiparty democracy in 2008 after decades of autocratic rule.

More than 264,000 people were eligible to vote for 386 candidates running for the 87 seats. Voter turnout in Saturday's election was over 78 percent.

Source: Fox News World

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Report: Roy Moore Leads Polling for Ala. GOP Senate Bid

Alabama just might be ready for a rematch pitting disgraced Republican Roy Moore against Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., according to The Hill.

The former state judge, Moore, leads Alabama three congressmen, ranking as GOP Senate candidate choice among 27% of Republicans polled by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy Inc.

"I'm seriously considering it," Moore said last month, per report. "I think that it [the 2017 Senate race] was stolen."

Among the leading GOP candidates, according to poll results:

  1. Moore 27%.
  2. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala. – 18%.
  3. Rep. Bradley Byrne – 13%.
  4. Rep. Gary Palmer – 11%.
  5. State Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh – 4%.
  6. Businessman Tim Jones – 2%.

Among the above, Rep. Byrne is the only candidate to have formally announced his intentions to run. Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and state Auditor Jim Zeigler also have announced but they were not options in the poll, according to the report.

Moore's campaign against Sen. Jones in 2017 was subverted by allegations he harassed and pursued teenage girls when he was in his 30s. Moore lost by just 22,000 votes, despite the controversy, which spread nationally.

With Sen. Jones' job approval rating at just 45% in the traditionally red state, just 40% of Alabama voters say they would vote to re-elect him, while 50% say they would vote him out, according to The Hill.

The Mason-Dixon poll surveyed 625 registered Alabama voters from April 9-11 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The additional 400 Republican voters polled render a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Yemenis rally in Sanaa to mark anniversary of war

Fourth anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen's war, in Sanaa, Yemen
Supporters of the Houthi movement shout slogans as they attend a rally to mark the 4th anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen's war, in Sanaa, Yemen March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

March 26, 2019

By Abdulrahman Al-Ansi

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemenis held a mass rally in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.

It was a show of support for the Iran-aligned Houthi movement as the United Nations pushes ahead with tough talks with the group and the Saudi-backed government to find a political solution to the conflict.

The Houthis have controlled the capital and Yemen’s largest populated areas since 2014 when they ousted the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Men, women and children marched, waving the red, white and black national colors, and chanted slogans against Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition against the Houthis, and the United States which backs it.

They also blamed U.S. ally Israel for destroying the country.

Massive speakers played “America and Israel, death and mutilation to you” and “five or fifty years, we will face the criminal coalition”.

Reuters witnesses said a crowd of tens of thousands of people, including supporters of the Houthis’ Ansarullah group, had gathered in Sabeen square in central Sanaa since the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“This is a message to the world, that at the start of the fifth year (of the war), Yemenis will be stronger… a message that the Yemeni resistance will be even greater,” said Mohammed Haidarah, a protester.

Many painted their faces in the colors of the Yemeni flag and others danced holding assault rifles and traditional daggers as Houthi leaders cheered the crowd from the main podium.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Committee, denounced the U.S. decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty on the Golan Heights.

“It is a recognition from someone who does not own to someone who does not deserve,” he told the crowd.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the war pitting the Houthis against the Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen in 2015 to restore Hadi’s government to power.

The war has displaced over two million people and driven the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country to the verge of famine.

Both sides agreed at U.N.-sponsored talks in December to a truce and troop withdrawal from the port city of Hodeidah, which has become a focus of the war, and an exchange of prisoners.

The ceasefire has broadly held, although sporadic clashes continued as the United Nations struggled to implement the withdrawal of troops, a confidence-building measure meant to clear the way for a broader peace settlement after four years of war.

However, violence has escalated in other areas since the U.N. peace process started.

(Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi, editing by Ed Osmond)

Source: OANN

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Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta, Cyprus, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Kouratzis

April 26, 2019

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot police searched on Friday for more victims of a suspected serial killer, in a case which has shocked the Mediterranean island and exposed the authorities to charges of “criminal indifference” because the dead women were foreigners.

The main opposition party, the left-wing AKEL, called for the resignation of Cyprus’s justice minister and police chief.

Police were combing three different locations west of the capital Nicosia for victims of the suspected killer, a 35-year-old army officer who has been in detention for a week.

The bodies of three women, including two thought to be from the Philippines, have been recovered. Police sources said the suspect had indicated the location of the third body, found on Thursday, and had said the person was “either Indian or Nepali”.

Police said they were searching for a further four people, including two children, based on the suspect’s testimony.

“These women came here to earn a living, to help their families. They lived away from their families. And the earth swallowed them, nobody was interested,” AKEL lawmaker Irene Charalambides told Reuters.

“This killer will be judged by the court but the other big question is the criminal indifference shown by the others when the reports first surfaced. I believe, as does my party, that the justice minister and the police chief should resign. They are irrevocably exposed.”

Police have said they will investigate any perceived shortcomings in their handling of the case.

One person who did attempt to alert the authorities over the disappearances, a 70-year-old Cypriot citizen, said his motives were questioned by police.

The bodies of the two Filipino women reported missing in May and August 2018 were found in an abandoned mine shaft this month. Police discovered the body of the third woman at an army firing range about 14 km (9 miles) from the mine shaft.

Police are now searching for the six-year-old daughter of the first victim found, a Romanian mother who disappeared with her eight-year-old child in 2016, and a woman from the Phillipines who vanished in Dec. 2017.

The suspect has not been publicly named, in line with Cypriot legal practice.

A public vigil for the missing was planned later on Friday.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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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