The Government Accounting Office, a federal watchdog agency that is a strictly legislative body, said Thursday a White House office violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine.
The “nonpartisan” GAO is run by someone confirmed to a 15-year term in 2010 under a Democrat President, Democrat-controlled Senate, and Democrat House, Rep. Zeldin tweeted when news broke that the GAO was going to hand the Democrats an allegedly impeachable crime.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi went nuts on the air today claiming the President is a criminal.
The GAO 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.
DID HE BREAK THE LAW?
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.
The President has always contended that he wanted Ukraine to clean up the corruption before he handed them additional funds. There is no proof that this reaches the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.
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.
This is the basis for impeaching the President, and allegedly this gives Democrats their crime — only it doesn’t.
There are so many laws on the books, we all break one a day.
JONATHAN TURLEY SAYS NOTHING HAS CHANGED
This changes nothing. We all know he violated the act as have many presidents before him. That is not an impeachable offense. Read Jonathan Turley’s explanation below.
Famed liberal lawyer, Jonathan Turley wrote on his website today:
The GAO has no real authority other than declaring such violations. Other presidents, including Bill Clinton, have been found to be in such violations by the GAO. These other presidents were also found to have caused “nonprogrammatic delays.”
The aid was released before the deadline at the end of September but there is no question that a series of holds were placed on the aid. The White House claims that it wanted to confirm facts about corruption in Ukraine as well as to put pressure on allies to give more funding. If one accepts that the White House did act for such non-political purposes, it is still possible to be in violation of the Act but it would not be a violation that constitutes an impeachable offense — any more than it was for prior presidents like Clinton. The fact that this was not a “programmatic” issue is why it was found to violate the Act — not because of a finding of a quid pro quo.
…It is not whether the White House was faithful to the wording of the Act. As I have previously written, I do not believe these actions were consistent. The question is whether the violation in the temporary hold on the funds constitutes a high crime and misdemeanor. This report does not materially change that status quo on that question. Trump is not being impeached for a “nonprogrammatic delay” in funding.
They have to prove he violated the act and they have not done so. All is as it was. They have not made their case.
NOTHING HAS CHANGED!
Yet, Nancy Pelosi is using this anyway:
Watch:
.@SpeakerPelosi: “This is the day that the Government Accounting Office confirms that the president’s actions at the center of our impeachment articles, withholding congressionally approved military aid from Ukraine, was illegal.” https://t.co/WHcoNhngPm pic.twitter.com/8tQmeWbQT1
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 16, 2020
But Joe Biden, no problem:
Watch:
Here’s VP Biden’s Quid Pro Quo regarding dropping investigation on his son and Burisma or he is withholding $$$Millions. https://t.co/2Y9JJ0Jd73
\— Robbie Katherine🇺🇸 (@Robbiepatriot) January 16, 2020
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All this “hysteria over POTUS Trump making a phone call, when IN FACT, “Obama had called about 8-9 Nations and DEMANDED WHAT HE WANTED, BEFORE HE WOULD GIVE THEM AID, IN HIS 8 YRS. IN OFFICE. NO ONE SEEMS TO NOTICE, OR CARED WHAT THE ‘OBAMA DICTATOR DID, BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU ARE TRYING TO IMPEACH POTUS TRUMP, WHEN HE DID NOT DO ANYTHING WRONG. IF YOU DIDN’T THINK OBAMA WAS WRONG 8-9
TIMES, THEN WHY THE SUDDEN “FOLLOW THE LAW ROUTINE’ IS THIS??
BTW: In 2014, when the GAO claimed that Obama broke the law -but DID NOT call for him to be impeached, isn’t this ALL THE CORRUPT DOUBLE STANDARDS ONLY AFFORDED TO THE DEMOCRATS???
Immediately after Trump’s 2nd term begins, there needs to be a culling of the alphabet agencies. Start eliminating those who serve no viable purpose, returning all those duties to the states where applicable.
GAO as a part of congress is as crooked as the majority who are presently running that clown show. They are going to find whatever the commies in congress want them to find.
Oh, and if the congressional commies want to add charges to the shampeachment, the present articles need to be thrown out, the whole sham sent back to the house and let them start over again.
The Senate does not investigate, that is the job of the House, the Senate is acting as the jury. Justice Roberts job is to moderate, not acting as a trial judge. Read the Constitution for further enlightenment.
Just sayin’.
GAO gave their opinion, so what !!!!!!!
The GAO is part of congress, which has treated Trump like dirt for 3 years. The GAO is not a legal entity in any way, it examines spending. To assert that Trump broke the law is unethical.
Good point prisoner, as I posted below…the GAO did NOT mind when Obama, the Dictator, called on 8-9 Nations and DEMANDED THAT HE GET HIS WAY, OR THEY WOULD GET NO AID…So, why all the concern with POTUS Trump, when and IF he did say anything at all, is there SUCH AN ISSUE BEING MADE AGAINST HIM, WHEN NONE WAS MADE 8-9 TIMES THAT OBAMA DID DEMANDS ON NATIONS, THAT “HE PLAYED ‘SANTA CLAUS TO’ HANDING OUT OUR TAX DOLLARS???
This is just another Deep State ambush that we can expect will be released daily during the impeachment trial. You don’t have to read tea leaves to understand what is going on in the District of Corruption. These people are not Democrats… They are Progressive Socialist enemies of the United States, who have been thwarted in their scheme to take over the government of the country by the failure of their clean-up hitter, Hilary to lead/fool the American people into socialism. Barack Obama got the ball rolling and then, the next act got the rug pulled out from under it by the American people. Thus bitterness, hatred of Trump and of the United States, now rule everything that they do. It’s time for these erstwhile Fabians to face reality and leave the scene… peacefully or with a prod…doesn’t matter anymore. Whether they know it, now, or not, doesn’t matter either. They are finished. I just pray they go peacefully.
Considering everything the Dims have tried to do so far, they are not going to ever give up. In fact, we can all see they are escalting the attacks and are building to an explosion if they don’t get their way. They are past reason and well into insanity. We must be prepared for an end that is not peaceful. They are crazier than the Ayatollah.