Posted on 01/16/2020 7:56:49 AM PST by lowbridge
The Trump administration’s decision to freeze the release of security assistance to Ukraine last year violated federal law, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report Thursday.
The independent watchdog said the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withheld the appropriated funds last summer, not as a programmatic delay but in order to advance the president’s own agenda.
Doing so, the watchdog concluded, violates the Impoundment Control Act, a law that governs Congress's role in the federal budget process.
“Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” the report says. “OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA). ... Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA.”
The decision by the White House to withhold nearly $400 million in U.S. aid to Kyiv as the country fights pro-Russia separatists is at the center of impeachment proceedings in Congress against President Trump.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
What law?
USC Title, please, so we can read it.
This could all be debunked in one day of Senate testimony. Line up all these GAO parisan hacks and destroy there partisan hackery. The Senate does not seem to be in a rush to dismiss and they have some free time this week. Unfortunately, that won’t be happening.
Please see cross-post comment: www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3806695/posts?page=3162#3162
Who cares? The OMB has budgetary discretion and I’m sure they got legal advice on what to do.
How in the world do GAO bureaucrats know different?
“Will allow those squishy republicans cover to allow for more witnesses and more evidence”
This is has the ring of truth. Seems like the door will open for long dragged out mess. The odds just went way up for the rats to get their bi-partisan majority to convict at the very least and the potential for outright removal. It is well known the GAO is a rat tool and this is the price paid for letting remain so.
Dems continue escalating and working like busy beavers. Do-nothing GOP Senate continues to do nothing. How pathetic to see only one party fighting this political war.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impoundment_of_appropriated_funds
Very interesting from Jefferson to Nixon, Presidents could withhold money. Then, Congress passed a law removing a previously accepted Presidential power.
This is all deep state crap agitprop anyway.
They just will not back off. They do not understand the consequences.
The Dems and Deep State coupists are not backing off because there are no consequences. The GOP Senate has had 3 months to gather facts on this hoaxblower coup and they haven’t lifted a finger to stop it. Instead they have green lit it with their inaction. Obviously, the folks at the GAO got the hint too.
Freepers know the law better than the GAO.
And who runs that organization? Probably another Obama mole.
I agree
Treaty text: https://www.congress.gov/treaty-document/106th-congress/16/document-text (2000, Clinton era)
The funds were released by Bolton, via State.
The aid was/is military.
If this GAO report had any merit, this "violation of the law" would have been specifically included as an article of impeachment.
The Democrats didn't do this because the funds were never "withheld" after all.
It was a congressional Power grab, taking advantage of Nixon’s impending impeachment. He signed it about a month before he resigned.....................
And who runs that organization? Probably another Obama mole.
There is no oversight over The Resistance (TM). Where the heck is the GOP controlled branch of Congress?
Yes but once again this is all about “Perception” not facts....which is of course the game Demo-rats are playing.
Any yet Barry Soetoro was allowed to pick and choose which federal laws he would obey . . . sickening!
OMG please stop with your incessant pearl clutching.
You have GOT to be a DU troll, no question about it based on your posting history.
I read that law in detail. (IANAL)
The Act allows the President to delay Congressionally-prescribed spending up to 45 days for the purpose of requesting Congress rescind the order to spend. If Congress does not rescind spending within that 45 day period, the legislated spending is not and can not be rescinded; the President is obligated to commence spending accordingly.
Note that the _purpose_ of the 45 days is to allow President to request and Congress to rescind the spending. There is nothing actually obligating President to send a request to Congress (I’d assume “time to consider asking” is allowed for the delay), only that if it does get rescinded Congress must complete the process within 45 days of the start of the spending delay.
Democrats are construing this as “President is criminally violating law if he doesn’t commence the spending within 45 days”.
That’s not the case.
The law in question then states that IF the President does not commence the spending in 45 days, the Comptroller General _may_ bring civil suit to compel the spending - and must give Congress 25 days notice before doing so.
This did not happen.
Instead of following the prescribed process for compelling legislated spending, Democrats leapt to “abuse of power!” rather waiting the minimum 70 days before obligating Trump to explain himself to a judge.
Trump began the legislated Ukrainian military spending after a 48 day delay.
The 45 days can be construed as “time to think about issues supporting request of rescindment”.
The next 3 days were legal limbo: there is no compulsion to spend, but began the period where Comptroller General was empowered (but did not act) to say “get on with it or I’ll sue”. CG having not moved, and spending having commenced, the delay is not legally problematic.
There is no problem. The alleged accusation is little more than the law stating “well get on with it already”, nothing actionable beyond allowing the unused power to increase pressure on the Executive to spend as directed.
The only place the democrats have power is in the courtroom of ignorant public opinion. But the ignorance is going away as CNN, et al are bleeding viewers.
They just don’t have the power they used to.
“If this GAO report had any merit, this “violation of the law” would have been specifically included as an article of impeachment”
Exactly.
FReeper Swordmaker has a different but comparable take on this, in greater detail.
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