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.
After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, Sarah Ullman felt called to action. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker is the founder of "One Vote at a Time," a Super PAC created to stop gun violence. She spends her days making free campaign ads for politicians who support gun control policies and are running in competitive districts.
A new documentary about campaign finance is coming to PBS on Monday. "Dark Money" explores the relationship between corporate spending and politics and how the laws have changed to allow more influence in the political arena. Kimberly Reed, the director and producer of the film, said that it is crucial to American democracy for its citizens to know who is trying to influence politics.
Robert Gaafar is one of the survivors of the Las Vegas shooting a year ago, and he is now partnering with Everytown to help launch a new election initiative. Gaafar said the progress on gun control in state and local races is heartening, even if the federal government remains unable or unwilling to do anything.
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