WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government's watchdog agency said Thursday a White House office violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine.
The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget violated the law in holding up the aid. The freeze is at the center of the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
The independent agency, which reports to Congress, said OMB violated the Impoundment Control Act in delaying the security assistance Congress authorized for Ukraine for “policy reasons,” rather than technical budgetary needs.
“Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” wrote the agency's general counsel, Thomas Armstrong, in the report.
OMB has argued the hold was appropriate and necessary.
“We disagree with GAO's opinion. OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the President's priorities and with the law," said OMB spokeswoman Rachel Semmel.
Trump was impeached last month on charges of abusing his power for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rivals, as he was withholding the aid, and for obstructing Congress' ensuing probe. The Senate is set to begin its trial on Thursday.
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Democrat Pete Buttigieg is ending his campaign for president, the Associated Press is reporting.
Joe Biden scored a convincing victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Saturday, riding a wave of African American support and ending progressive rival Bernie Sanders’ winning streak.
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Stocks sank again after another wild day, extending a rout that left the market with its worst week since October 2008. Major indexes clawed back much of their intraday losses in the last 15 minutes. Bond prices soared as investors sought safety, pushing yields to record lows.
The World Health Organization raised its threat assessment Friday saying the global risk of the novel COVID-19 is now "very high," the director-general told reporters, even as the White House continues to downplay the potential impact of the coronavirus in the U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pledged that the Fed will "use our tools" to support the economy, a strong signal of a likely rate cut, perhaps at its next meeting March 17-18.
The report from China Beige Book, an economic forecasting firm that surveyed more than 1,400 companies, shows an economy reeling from shutdowns and quarantines.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank nearly 1,200 points Thursday, deepening a weeklong global market rout caused by worries that the coronavirus outbreak will wreak havoc on the global economy.
