Latest news with #Senate
GMA Network
31 minutes ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Sara Duterte's confi fund recipients have surnames of senators —Ortega
The recipients of the P500 million worth of confidential funds of the office of Vice President Sara Duterte in 2023 included people bearing surnames similar to the incumbent senators, House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Representative Paolo Ortega V said Thursday. Ortega said based on the acknowledgement receipts submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit on the disbursement of confidential funds, the recipients include Beth Revilla, Janice Marie Revilla, Diane Maple Lapid, John Lapid Jr., Clarisse Hontiveros, Kristine Applegate Estrada, and Denise Tanya Escudero. Incumbent senators include Bong Revilla, Jr., Lito Lapid, Risa Hontiveros, Jinggoy Estrada, and Senate President Francis Escudero. 'These irregularities are too glaring to ignore—these names from the supposed Budol Gang call for a deeper look. Hanggang Senado po, hindi na pinalampas," Ortega said in a statement. Aside from the people with surnames similar to senators, the OVP submissions of confidential fund recipients also included Cannor Adrian Contis which is similar to a cake shop and restaurant. "Kapag ba may confidential funds ang opisina mo, may sweet tooth ka din? When these suspicious names turned out to be fixtures, this is not just a simple malfeasance. It is well-coordinated and well-planned siphoning of public funds," Ortega said. (If your office is a recipient of confidential funds, does that mean you should have a sweet tooth?) 'Hindi nakakatawa ang paulit-ulit na paggamit ng mga pekeng pangalan na parang hinugot mula sa sine at showbiz (The repeated use of fictitious names from the movies and showbiz is not funny). We are talking about public funds here. If they cannot show evidence that these people exist, then these are strong evidence against them in the impeachment trial," Ortega added. Ortega said the recipients of confidential funds bearing surnames of senators are among the over 1,300 names who did not have birth, marriage, or death records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Other earlier names disclosed by Ortega were from 'Team Grocery" such as Beverly Claire Pampano, Mico Harina, Ralph Josh Bacon, Patty Ting and Sala Casim, as well as Mary Grace Piattos and Xiaome Ocho which are similar to popular junk food, bake shop, and mobile phone brand. The Joint Circular 2015-01 governing the use of confidential and intelligence funds require agencies to maintain sealed and verifiable documentation linking aliases to real identities. The Senate is scheduled to convene as an impeachment court on June 2. Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, with over 200 congressmen endorsing the complaint against her. She was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes mainly over alleged misuse of around P612.5 million worth of confidential funds and threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and the President's cousin and Speaker, Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez. The Vice President, for her part, said she is looking forward to her impeachment trial in the upcoming 20th Congress because she 'wants a bloodbath." Under the Constitution, House impeachment prosecutors would need 16 votes or two-thirds of the 24-strong Senate to secure conviction. GMA News Online has reached out to the camp of the Vice President for comment and will publish it as soon as it is available. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
Indian Express
34 minutes ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Trump nominates his former defense attorney Emil Bove as appellate judge
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was nominating Justice Department official Emil Bove, a lawyer who defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star, to serve as a federal appeals court judge. Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he named Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,' Trump wrote. 'Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove's appointment must be approved by the Senate, which Trump's Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. Trump also said he was nominating five Floridians to serve as federal district court judges in their state: Ed Artau, Kyle Dudek, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe and Jordan Pratt. The announcements brought to 11 the federal judicial nominees Trump has announced in his second term as the president adds to the conservative stamp he made on the federal judiciary with 234 appointments in his first term from 2017 to 2021. Bove represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan last year alongside Todd Blanche, who is deputy U.S. attorney general. The jury in the case found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up a payment made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied such an encounter and is appealing his conviction. In the first weeks after Trump returned to office in January, Bove served as acting deputy attorney general before Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in his role. Bove signed his name to a number of policy changes meant to remove what Trump calls political bias but which critics say threaten the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House. In a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the legal profession, Bove in February instructed prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office – where Bove used to work – to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. When the prosecutors refused to do so, Bove took over the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty, and argued in court himself – a highly unusual move for a senior Justice Department official. Ultimately, the judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, but said the Justice Department's argument that the case should be dropped because it was interfering with the Democratic mayor's help with Trump's federal immigration crackdown 'smacks of a bargain'. Bove's order to dismiss the Adams case prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign. Government ethics advocacy groups, state officials and members of Congress filed ethics complaints against Bove with a New York disciplinary body for lawyers. One group, the Campaign for Accountability, on Wednesday said the body notified it that it declined to investigate Bove. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern over the nomination of Bove, who he said had 'abused his position in numerous ways.' 'Mr. Bove's alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,' Durbin said in a statement. The 3rd Circuit, which hears appeals in cases from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has six active judges appointed by Republican presidents, six named by Democrats and two vacancies. Trump is nominating Bove to fill a New Jersey-based vacancy on the court, a White House official said. That seat was left vacant after Democratic former President Joe Biden's nomination of Adeel Mangi to become the nation's first Muslim federal appeals court judge stalled in the Senate following fierce Republican opposition. Earlier in his career, Bove served as co-chief of the terrorism and international narcotics unit at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. As a prosecutor from 2012 through 2021, Bove secured the conviction of a former Honduran president's brother on drug charges and the guilty plea of a New York man who tried to support the Islamic State militant group.
eNCA
36 minutes ago
- Business
- eNCA
Musk to exit US government role after rare break with Trump
WASHINGTON - Billionaire Elon Musk announced he was leaving his role in US government, intended to reduce federal spending, shortly after his first major break with President Donald Trump over his signature spending bill. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote on his social media platform X. "The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," he added. The South African-born tech tycoon had said Trump's bill would increase the deficit and undermine the work of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has fired tens of thousands of people. Musk -- who was a constant presence at Trump's side before pulling back to focus on his Space X and Tesla businesses -- also complained that DOGE had become a "whipping boy" for dissatisfaction with the administration. "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said in an interview with CBS News, an excerpt of which aired late Tuesday. Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" -- which passed the US House last week and now moves to the Senate -- offers sprawling tax relief and spending cuts and is the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. But critics warn it will decimate health care and balloon the national deficit by as much as $4 trillion over a decade. "A bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion," Musk said in the interview, which will be aired in full on Sunday. The White House sought to play down any differences over US government spending, without directly naming Musk. "The Big Beautiful Bill is NOT an annual budget bill," Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said on Musk's social network, X, after the tech titan's comments aired. All DOGE cuts would have to be carried out through a separate bill targeting the federal bureaucracy, according to US Senate rules, Miller added.
The Sun
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump nominates his former defense attorney Emil Bove to serve as appellate judge
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said on Wednesday he was nominating Justice Department official Emil Bove, a lawyer who defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star, to serve as a federal appeals court judge. Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he named Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,' Trump wrote. 'Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove's appointment must be approved by the Senate, which Trump's Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. Trump also said he was nominating five Floridians to serve as federal district court judges in their state: Ed Artau, Kyle Dudek, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe and Jordan Pratt. The announcements brought to 11 the federal judicial nominees Trump has announced in his second term as the president adds to the conservative stamp he made on the federal judiciary with 234 appointments in his first term from 2017 to 2021. Bove represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan last year alongside Todd Blanche, who is deputy U.S. attorney general. The jury in the case found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up a payment made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied such an encounter and is appealing his conviction. In the first weeks after Trump returned to office in January, Bove served as acting deputy attorney general before Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in his role. Bove signed his name to a number of policy changes meant to remove what Trump calls political bias but which critics say threaten the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House. In a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the legal profession, Bove in February instructed prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office – where Bove used to work – to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. When the prosecutors refused to do so, Bove took over the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty, and argued in court himself - a highly unusual move for a senior Justice Department official. Ultimately, the judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, but said the Justice Department's argument that the case should be dropped because it was interfering with the Democratic mayor's help with Trump's federal immigration crackdown 'smacks of a bargain'. Bove's order to dismiss the Adams case prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign. Ethics complaints Government ethics advocacy groups, state officials and members of Congress filed ethics complaints against Bove with a New York disciplinary body for lawyers. One group, the Campaign for Accountability, on Wednesday said the body notified it that it declined to investigate Bove. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern over the nomination of Bove, who he said had 'abused his position in numerous ways.' 'Mr. Bove's alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,' Durbin said in a statement. The 3rd Circuit, which hears appeals in cases from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has six active judges appointed by Republican presidents, six named by Democrats and two vacancies. Trump is nominating Bove to fill a New Jersey-based vacancy on the court, a White House official said. That seat was left vacant after Democratic former President Joe Biden's nomination of Adeel Mangi to become the nation's first Muslim federal appeals court judge stalled in the Senate following fierce Republican opposition. Earlier in his career, Bove served as co-chief of the terrorism and international narcotics unit at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. As a prosecutor from 2012 through 2021, Bove secured the conviction of a former Honduran president's brother on drug charges and the guilty plea of a New York man who tried to support the Islamic State militant group.
The Sun
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump Nominates Ex-Defense Lawyer Emil Bove as Judge
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said on Wednesday he was nominating Justice Department official Emil Bove, a lawyer who defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star, to serve as a federal appeals court judge. Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he named Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,' Trump wrote. 'Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove's appointment must be approved by the Senate, which Trump's Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. Trump also said he was nominating five Floridians to serve as federal district court judges in their state: Ed Artau, Kyle Dudek, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe and Jordan Pratt. The announcements brought to 11 the federal judicial nominees Trump has announced in his second term as the president adds to the conservative stamp he made on the federal judiciary with 234 appointments in his first term from 2017 to 2021. Bove represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan last year alongside Todd Blanche, who is deputy U.S. attorney general. The jury in the case found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up a payment made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied such an encounter and is appealing his conviction. In the first weeks after Trump returned to office in January, Bove served as acting deputy attorney general before Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in his role. Bove signed his name to a number of policy changes meant to remove what Trump calls political bias but which critics say threaten the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House. In a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the legal profession, Bove in February instructed prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office – where Bove used to work – to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. When the prosecutors refused to do so, Bove took over the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty, and argued in court himself - a highly unusual move for a senior Justice Department official. Ultimately, the judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, but said the Justice Department's argument that the case should be dropped because it was interfering with the Democratic mayor's help with Trump's federal immigration crackdown 'smacks of a bargain'. Bove's order to dismiss the Adams case prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign. Ethics complaints Government ethics advocacy groups, state officials and members of Congress filed ethics complaints against Bove with a New York disciplinary body for lawyers. One group, the Campaign for Accountability, on Wednesday said the body notified it that it declined to investigate Bove. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern over the nomination of Bove, who he said had 'abused his position in numerous ways.' 'Mr. Bove's alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,' Durbin said in a statement. The 3rd Circuit, which hears appeals in cases from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has six active judges appointed by Republican presidents, six named by Democrats and two vacancies. Trump is nominating Bove to fill a New Jersey-based vacancy on the court, a White House official said. That seat was left vacant after Democratic former President Joe Biden's nomination of Adeel Mangi to become the nation's first Muslim federal appeals court judge stalled in the Senate following fierce Republican opposition. Earlier in his career, Bove served as co-chief of the terrorism and international narcotics unit at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. As a prosecutor from 2012 through 2021, Bove secured the conviction of a former Honduran president's brother on drug charges and the guilty plea of a New York man who tried to support the Islamic State militant group.
