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.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, July 30, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, July 30, 2019.
The legislation signed by the N.Y. governor will reduce penalties for possession and expunge existing criminal records for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Laura Gómez sat down with Cheddar to discuss the seventh, and final, season of the hit Netflix series, which sees the character she plays, Blanca Flores, navigate an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Michigan Democratic Chairwoman Lavora Barnes encourages presidential hopefuls to take Michigan seriously when it comes to the campaign and not just focus on the early races, like Iowa or New Hampshire.
Residents of Baltimore are working to showcase the best that their hometown has to offer, just days after President Trump attacked Congressman Elijah Cummings and described the city as a "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, July 29, 2019.
Chicago-based cannabis company Cresco Labs unveiled a new dispensary and retail cannabis shop concept on Monday. Called Sunnyside, the concept emphasizes health and wellness and aims to create an accessible, immersive retail environment that pushes Cresco along on its mission of creating a nationally-recognizable cannabis brand.
The California Democrat said that supportis growing, pointing to five more members of his party who have come to support impeachment proceedings since Mueller's testimony.
Shares of CannTrust surged 15 percent on Friday after the Canadian cannabis company announced it terminated CEO Peter Aceto in the midst of regulatory drama that has plundered the company's stock value. Jefferies' analyst Ryan Tomkins predicted the management shuffle in a Wednesday note, which called management's positions "untenable."
