Latest news with #Duffey
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Official involved in withholding Ukraine aid confirmed for US Defence post
The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm Mr Michael Duffey as the official overseeing the Pentagon's weapons programmes. PHOTO: REUTERS Official involved in withholding Ukraine aid confirmed for US Defence post WASHINGTON - The US Senate on May 3 confirmed Mr Michael Duffey, who in President Donald Trump's first administration asked the military to withhold aid to Ukraine, to be undersecretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment. On the day that one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top aides visited Washington, the Senate voted 51-45, along party lines with Mr Trump's fellow Republicans backing the nominee, to confirm Mr Duffey as the official overseeing the Pentagon's weapons programmes. Democrats sought testimony from Mr Duffey during Mr Trump's first term as president after an email showed him, in his role as a senior White House official in the Office of Management and Budget, directing the Pentagon to withhold security aid for Ukraine that had been approved by Congress. The inquiry, which led to Mr Trump's first impeachment, focused on Mr Trump's request that Mr Zelensky investigate the president's political rival, Mr Joe Biden, the former Democratic vice-president who would defeat Mr Trump in the 2020 election. Democrats who impeached Mr Trump said he had withheld the aid to put pressure on Mr Zelensky's government to agree to an investigation. Mr Trump denied wrongdoing, accusing Democrats of seeking to overturn his 2016 election victory. Most congressional Republicans called the impeachment process unfair. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Mr Trump was elected to his second term as president in November 2024. In his second term, Mr Trump has put intense pressure on Ukraine - including by briefly halting military aid - to come to the bargaining table with Russia. Those efforts have so far not yielded a ceasefire or significant progress toward a broader peace deal. Mr Duffey's confirmation vote came the same day that Mr Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky's chief of staff, arrived in Washington together with the first deputy prime minister and other government officials. Mr Yermak was expected to meet with US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of Congress. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Official involved in withholding Ukraine aid confirmed for US Defense post
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Michael Duffey, who in President Donald Trump's first administration asked the military to withhold aid to Ukraine, to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. On the day that one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top aides visited Washington, the Senate voted 51-45, along party lines with Trump's fellow Republicans backing the nominee, to confirm Duffey as the official overseeing the Pentagon's weapons programs. Democrats sought testimony from Duffey during Trump's first term as president after an email showed him, in his role as a senior White House official in the Office of Management and Budget, directing the Pentagon to withhold security aid for Ukraine that had been approved by Congress. The inquiry, which led to Trump's first impeachment, focused on Trump's request that Zelenskiy investigate the president's political rival, Joe Biden, the former Democratic vice president who would defeat Trump in the 2020 election. Democrats who impeached Trump said he had withheld the aid to put pressure on Zelenskiy's government to agree to an investigation. Trump denied wrongdoing, accusing Democrats of seeking to overturn his 2016 election victory. Most congressional Republicans called the impeachment process unfair. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump was elected to his second term as president in November 2024. In his second term, Trump has put intense pressure on Ukraine - including by briefly halting military aid - to come to the bargaining table with Russia. Those efforts have so far not yielded a ceasefire or significant progress toward a broader peace deal. Duffey's confirmation vote came the same day that Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, arrived in Washington together with the first deputy prime minister and other government officials. Yermak was expected to meet with U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of Congress.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Official involved in withholding Ukraine aid confirmed for US Defense post
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S, April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo Official involved in withholding Ukraine aid confirmed for US Defense post WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Michael Duffey, who in President Donald Trump's first administration asked the military to withhold aid to Ukraine, to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. On the day that one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's top aides visited Washington, the Senate voted 51-45, along party lines with Trump's fellow Republicans backing the nominee, to confirm Duffey as the official overseeing the Pentagon's weapons programs. Democrats sought testimony from Duffey during Trump's first term as president after an email showed him, in his role as a senior White House official in the Office of Management and Budget, directing the Pentagon to withhold security aid for Ukraine that had been approved by Congress. The inquiry, which led to Trump's first impeachment, focused on Trump's request that Zelenskiy investigate the president's political rival, Joe Biden, the former Democratic vice president who would defeat Trump in the 2020 election. Democrats who impeached Trump said he had withheld the aid to put pressure on Zelenskiy's government to agree to an investigation. Trump denied wrongdoing, accusing Democrats of seeking to overturn his 2016 election victory. Most congressional Republicans called the impeachment process unfair. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump was elected to his second term as president in November 2024. In his second term, Trump has put intense pressure on Ukraine - including by briefly halting military aid - to come to the bargaining table with Russia. Those efforts have so far not yielded a ceasefire or significant progress toward a broader peace deal. Duffey's confirmation vote came the same day that Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, arrived in Washington together with the first deputy prime minister and other government officials. Yermak was expected to meet with U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of Congress. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Former GOP Strategist Who Created Fake Grindr Account in Victim's Name Is Convicted of Stalking
A jury convicted a former Republican political strategist on two counts of stalking Friday after prosecutors alleged that Daniel Duffey sent harassing text messages and letters to the victim and his family, the Montana Free Press reported. According to witnesses, Duffey also created a fake Grindr account under the victim's name and asked app users to attend the victim's wedding to have sex with him. Duffey was political director for Greg Gianforte's 2020 gubernatorial campaign until he was fired because he allegedly repeatedly hit a parked car with his car door, causing $1600 in damages. He worked on other Republican campaigns as well as for the GOP-led Montana Legislature in the 2019, 2021, and 2023 sessions. Duffey met the victim at a University of Montana football game in 2023 where the two men talked about rugby. After the game, they began a friendly texting exchange. But when the victim didn't reply to Duffey's invitation to grab a beer, Duffey appeared to get angry. 'I'm not sure what happened man. I thought we clicked,' Duffey said in a text sent in Nov. 2023. 'I thought it would be cool to be friends.' Duffey later texted the victim, 'Seriously man, that sucks. I don't know how you go from [being] all over me and sexually assaulting me to pretending like I don't even exist. If you're embarrassed about what happened you shouldn't be.' The victim responded, 'Been struggling. Not trying to offend you. Also, I do not know what your [sic] talking about with being all over you.' On the witness stand last week, the victim said Duffey's version of events was 'fictitious.' Law enforcement and other witnesses denied knowing about any prior sexual assault allegations against the victim. In another text to the victim, Duffey wrote, '[H]onestly the more you treat me like shit and make me think that this is all in my head and I'm going crazy, the crazier I am going to act. You've made very clear you don't give a f— about me and what happens to me, and now I'm going to return the favor. My only hope is that I put you in as much pain and ruin your life the way you've ruined mine.' Things continued to escalate from there. According to prosecutors, Duffey sent a letter to the victim's mother-in-law where he wrote about working as a Republican political operative, serving in the military in Afghanistan, and volunteering in Ukraine in 2022. Enclosed in the letter were photos of Duffey with well-known Republican leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and Sens. Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell. In Feb. 2024, around the time of the victim's wedding, Duffey drove near the wedding location to post flyers showing the victim's name and photo and accusing him of sexual assault. According to witness testimony, as reported by the Montana Free Press, Duffey made a fake account on Grindr, an LGBTQ dating app, using the victim's name. He then requested app users attend the victim's wedding to have sex with the victim. Duffey even texted the couple a threatening message on their wedding day: '[I]t should be pretty obvious by now, that this isn't going to end tonight when you get married, this goes on for years until I see [the victim] behind bars or paying me so much money you'll never be able to do anything nice again.' Prior to the wedding, on Jan. 21, 2024, the victim reported Duffey's unhinged behavior to local police. Duffey was later arrested near one of the wedding events, and according to prosecutors, law enforcement found a semiautomatic handgun in his car along with poster board and similar flyers. Duffey pleaded not guilty last year and did not testify in his defense. The jury took less than an hour to reach a unanimous guilty verdict after the four-day trial. 'The evidence in this case convinces the court that, with very little if any provocation, he engaged on a monthslong campaign of assailing the character, the safety of a person he knew for a very short time before engaging in this campaign,' District Court Judge Dan Wilson said in court on Friday. 'There's no rhyme or reason for the conduct. It's so far outside of the realm of sociable or acceptable behavior that it is the court's genuine concern that, now that the conviction has occurred, Mr. Duffey has a tremendous incentive and, in light of the evidence submitted in this case, very little imposition of self-restraint to prevent him from engaging in similar conduct in the immediate future.' Because of Duffey's apparent lack of self-restraint, the judge said the former Republican strategist will be incarcerated ahead of his sentencing scheduled for July 10. More from Rolling Stone Dems Lose Montana Senate Seat as Tester Falls to Sheehy Abortion Won Almost Everywhere. Here's Where It Lost Donald Trump Brings Plenty of Loathing and the 'Cats' Soundtrack to Montana Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
What does it take to catch a fugitive? How NOLA, Ark. escapees are being tracked
What does it take to catch a fugitive? How NOLA, Ark. escapees are being tracked An inmate on the run 'can't show up at his mom's house to take a shower and get some meatloaf,' one expert says. Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-Arkansas police chief imprisoned for murder escapes prison Grant Hardin, a former Gateway, Arkansas, police chief serving time for murder and rape, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on May 25. unbranded - Newsworthy For fugitives, the odds are stacked against them. With advances in surveillance technology and the proliferation of cameras and drones, today's jail escapees have much more to overcome than their predecessors even a decade ago. Still, the work of law enforcement is meticulous and patience is a key factor as they chase down inmates on the lam. Such sweeping manhunts are currently active in New Orleans and rural Arkansas. Police in Louisiana are searching for two of the 10 men who fled jail custody by climbing through a hole behind a toilet on May 10. In the rugged Ozark Mountains, search teams are hunting Grant Hardin, an ex-police chief and convicted murderer known as the "Devil in the Ozarks," who impersonated a guard and walked out of a medium-security prison on May 25. These breakouts have put residents who live near the facilities on edge and placed a spotlight on inmate escapes, leading many to wonder how the fugitives have managed to evade arrest and what it will take for law enforcement to catch them. Scott Duffey, co-director for the Criminal Justice Institute at Wilmington University and a retired FBI agent who spent a decade focused on fugitive apprehensions, said while the amount of time it takes for authorities to apprehend an escapee is different in each case, the end result is often the same – capture. "I would say higher than 90% of fugitives are caught," Duffey told USA TODAY. "It's a very, very rare occurrence for someone to be able to stay out on the loose. It's not impossible, it's just very difficult." Getting away with murder: These fugitives fled prisons – and were never caught How do investigators track a fugitive? Following a breakout, authorities will notify all law enforcement agencies in the area and establish a perimeter, scouring surveillance footage to identify in what direction the fugitives fled and what areas to cordon off, Duffey said. While on-the-ground-resources take up the search effort, investigators will dig into the background of the fugitives, focusing on their most recent contacts, family members and known criminal associates. "Normally what they do is head immediately to a known associate and try and hole up somewhere they can hide and have food and other resources brought to them," said Donald Lane, a former U.S. Secret Service agent with decades of experience in fugitive manhunts. In addition to interviewing a fugitive's friends and relatives, authorities may also place them under surveillance – a tactic that has often led to apprehensions, Lane said. "This is done in many cases because people lie to protect their family members and close friends," he said. Like True Crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crimes How time works against fugitives As the days go on, authorities will likely set up a tip line and flood the public with information about the fugitive. With the omnipresence of smartphones and doorbell cameras, the public plays a vital role in high-profile searches. Potential leads also come in the form of local crimes such as burglaries or carjackings, which could provide police with crucial information such as the fugitive's last known location, latest appearance and, in some cases, the license plate of a stolen vehicle. "When they're resorting to crimes, it gives law enforcement a bread crumb trail and usually brings them much closer" to an arrest, Duffey said. Both Duffey and Lane emphasized that time is on the side of law enforcement as the escapee burns through resources while trying to stay hidden. "The longer things go on, the harder it becomes for a fugitive," Lane said. "It becomes extremely difficult to get shelter, food, water and avoid human contact." Catching 2 fugitives is easier than finding 10 The breakouts in New Orleans and Arkansas have several stark differences that impact the ongoing searches. In New Orleans, a group of 10 prisoners fled the jail at the same time, which forced law enforcement to divide their resources and attention. "The large amount of individuals that escaped was totally and completely astonishing, and that worked to their advantage," Lane said. "But now that it's narrowed down to two individuals, all those resources are much more focused." Currently on the run are Antoine Massey, 32, and Derrick Groves, 27. Massey was in jail on charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation and motor vehicle theft; he is also the subject of active warrants on charges including rape and kidnapping. Groves has been convicted of two counts of murder and a pair of attempted murder charges. The eight other fugitives were arrested following high speed chases, facial recognition technology flags and tips from the public. Police have also announced the arrests of six people accused of aiding the escapees. The 'Devil in the Ozarks' poses challenges to authorities The escape in Arkansas involves a former police chief who is familiar with law enforcement procedure and the mountainous terrain into which he fled, posing several rare challenges for the investigators looking for Hardin. "If you have a former police chief, he's going to know exactly what law enforcement is looking for, and he's going to know how to avoid as much human contact as possible," Lane said. Still, the odds are in investigators' favor, Lane said. He highlighted the apprehension of Danelo Cavalcante, a murder who escaped a Pennsylvania prison in September 2023 and evaded capture for two weeks. He was taken into custody in a wooded area after a thermal imaging camera picked up his heat signal. "Ultimately, it comes down to the same thing – (Hardin) is a fugitive and he's still on the run," Lane said. "He still can't show up at his mom's house to take a shower and get some meatloaf, you know. He's still likely to get caught over time, even though initially he may be hard to apprehend." Experts say people should stay vigilant Duffey and Lane said those living near the jailbreaks should take precautions such as locking their doors, but should not outright panic. "People in the immediate vicinity of the jail or prison should be vigilant and lock everything – the car, the garage, the house," Duffey said. "All of these can become places to hide or somewhere to look for something to steal." He added that people can help law enforcement by reporting anything suspicious and checking their surveillance cameras and Ring doorbells. Bryce Peterson, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he's found in his research that 19% of inmate escapes result in some form of violence. That violence most often occurs while inmates are making their initial escape and usually involve relatively minor offenses, like shoving a correctional officer. If crimes are committed while on-the-run, they are typically theft crimes, said Peterson, a senior research scientist in CNA's Center for Justice Research and Innovation. Ultimately, fugitives want to avoid attention, especially any that could put investigators on their trail, Peterson said. He and other experts noted however that as time goes on, there are risks that escaped inmates could become increasingly desperate and potentially turn to violence, especially those already convicted of a major offense like murder. "I have no doubt they'll all be caught," Lane said. "I just hope it's sooner rather than later." Contributing: Terry Collins
