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Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Trump Ally Faces Disbarment For 'Dishonesty': Panel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, should be stripped of his law license for his role in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a Washington-based disciplinary panel has ruled. The D.C. Bar's Board on Professional Responsibility issued its ruling on Thursday, stating that Clark "persistently and energetically sought" to pressure Justice Department leaders to make false claims about election fraud and had made "intentionally false statements." The board concluded that his conduct violated professional ethics and warranted disbarment: "Lawyers cannot advocate for any outcome based on false statements and they certainly cannot urge others to do so," the board said in its report. "[Clark] persistently and energetically sought to do just that on an important national issue. He should be disbarred as a consequence and to send a message to the rest of the Bar and to the public that this behavior will not be tolerated." In response, Clark called the process "100% politicized and said, "I know I did the right thing ... and wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I had not proceeded to internally raise the election questions I did." Why It Matters If upheld, the panel's ruling would reinforce accountability for government lawyers alleged to have been involved in attempts to subvert election results and add to a growing list of Trump-aligned attorneys facing sanctions over 2020 election challenges. The board said the ruling is intended to deter future efforts to pressure federal agencies into making false claims on matters of national importance; that it is essential for upholding professional ethics and maintaining public trust in the justice system. Jeffrey Clark, former Acting Assistant Attorney General, testifies during a January 6th hearing on June 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Clark has launched a legal battle to save his law license after accusations that he... Jeffrey Clark, former Acting Assistant Attorney General, testifies during a January 6th hearing on June 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Clark has launched a legal battle to save his law license after accusations that he sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. (Photo by Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images) More MichaelWhat To Know Clark served as assistant attorney general in Trump's first administration and became a key figure in the president's attempts to challenge his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. According to a Senate Judiciary report, Clark pushed Justice Department superiors to send a letter to Georgia lawmakers stating that federal investigators had found "significant concerns" about the election's outcome—a claim officials had already determined to be false. Clark's attorney, Harry MacDougald, said during disciplinary hearings last year that the letter was part of normal debate between lawyers and punishment would have a "chilling effect." Growing List of Trump Allies Hit With Sanctions Jeffrey Clark, who now serves as acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget, is not the first Trump-aligned attorney to face professional sanctions for actions related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and joins a list who have faced or are facing disciplinary action: Rudy Giuliani: Disbarred in Washington and New York. Disbarred in Washington and New York. John Eastman: Suspended while appealing disbarment in California. Suspended while appealing disbarment in California. Jenna Ellis: Three-year suspension in Colorado. Three-year suspension in Colorado. Kenneth Chesebro: Lost law license in New York. Rudy Giuliani was disbarred in Washington and lost his New York law license for advancing false claims of election fraud. John Eastman, who advised Trump on strategies to challenge the election results, has been suspended from practicing law while he appeals a California judge's disbarment recommendation. Jenna Ellis, a former Trump campaign attorney, agreed to a three-year suspension of her law license in Colorado after admitting to making false statements about the election and pleading guilty in a related Georgia criminal case. Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who helped design the so-called "alternate electors" plan, lost his New York law license earlier this year. What People Are Saying Jeffrey Clark, responding to Thursday's "100% politicized" decision, said on X: "I know I did the right thing in 2020 and 2021 during the first President Trump Administration and wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I had not proceeded to internally raise the election questions I did." Harry MacDougald, Clark's attorney, said: "They want to disbar Jeff Clark for the heresy of privately recommending further investigations of the 2020 election." In criticizing the disciplinary proceedings, he argued they unfairly targeted his client for legal advice, saying: "This is a pure thought crime and a travesty of justice." James Burnham, Managing Partner at King Street Legal, said on X: "I worked closely with Jeff Clark in both Trump Administrations. This is an outrageous weaponization of the bar ethics process—one that could be turned against any lawyer serving in government at any time. All steps must be taken to push back." Rachel Cauley, White House OMB communications director also denounced the ruling, calling it: "...another chapter in the Deep State's ongoing assault on President Trump and those who stood beside him in defense of the truth," adding: "Jeff Clark has been harassed, raided, doxed, and blacklisted simply for questioning a rigged election and serving President Trump." What Happens Next The recommendation now goes to the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will make the final decision on whether Clark will permanently lose his license. Under D.C. Bar rules, the finding triggers an automatic suspension of Clark's ability to practice law unless he successfully petitions the court within 30 days to block it.
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- Business
- GMA Network
World Bank OKs $700-M loan for PH's community resilience project
Multilateral lender World Bank has approved a $700-million loan for the Philippine government's initiative to make communities less vulnerable to natural disasters. In a statement, the World Bank said that approximately 18 million households in the Philippines are expected to become less vulnerable to natural disasters in the coming years, 'due to enhanced community-led planning and infrastructure investments.' The Washington-based lending institution said the $874.35-million Philippines Community Resilience Project 'will engage communities in identifying climate and natural hazard risks and developing resilience plans.' To bankroll the project, the World Bank said it will provide $700 million through an 'International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan.' The Philippine government, on the other hand, will provide the remaining $174.35 million. The World Bank said the project will prioritize 500 climate-vulnerable municipalities across 49 provinces in the Philippines. The lender added that the municipalities are selected based on their high poverty incidence and significant exposure to climate hazards. Moreover, it said the initiative will support 177 municipalities with an indigenous population of 10% or more, thereby aiding approximately 33% of the total indigenous population in the country. "By empowering local communities to take the lead in building resilience against climate change and disaster risks, the Philippines is not only addressing immediate environmental challenges but also fostering a culture of proactive engagement and resilience," said Zafer Mustafao?lu, Division Director for the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. Initiatives under the program include flood and drought mitigation, landslide and slope protection, surge protection and breakwaters, windbreakers, and retrofitting of existing infrastructure to withstand extreme weather events, according to the World Bank. Moreover, the project will support erosion control, agroforestry, and other nature-based solutions for ecosystem conservation, including community forests, wetlands, marshes, and waterways, erosion control, water conservation, and agroforestry. The lender said the project would also include adoption of services and technologies in areas such as sustainable agriculture and food security —climate-smart farming innovations and small-scale irrigation systems. The World Bank said the Philippines ranks at the top of the World Risk Index due to its high vulnerability and exposure to cyclical extreme events. In 2023, out of 2.6 million disaster-related displacements, 2.1 million were attributed to two major climate-induced hydroclimatic events, namely typhoons and floods, the lender said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
China accuses US of cyberattacks using Microsoft's email server flaws
China accused the US of exploiting a flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s email servers to steal military data and launch cyberattacks on its defense sector. The Cyber Security Association of China said that US actors had been linked to two major cyberattacks on Chinese military companies without naming them.(Reuters/Representational Image) The Cyber Security Association of China said in a statement Friday that US actors had been linked to two major cyberattacks on Chinese military companies without naming them. They exploited flaws in Microsoft Exchange to control the servers of a key company in the defense sector for nearly a year, it added. The association is a little-known entity backed by the powerful Cyberspace Administration of China. The Redmond, Washington-based company has repeatedly blamed China for major cyberattacks involving Microsoft Exchange. In 2021, an alleged Chinese operation compromised tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers. In 2023, another alleged Chinese attack on Microsoft Exchange compromised senior US officials' email accounts. A US government review later accused Microsoft of a 'cascade of security failures' over the 2023 incident. Also read: Microsoft's annual cloud revenue exceeds expectations, hits $75 amid AI focus Last month, Microsoft said Chinese state-backed hacking groups had exploited vulnerabilities in its SharePoint file sharing software. Hackers breached about 400 government agencies, corporations and other groups around the world, although the number could be a lot higher, according to Eye Security, the cybersecurity company that identified an early wave of attacks last month. Most of the victims are in the US, followed by Mauritius, Jordan, South Africa and the Netherlands, it added. Microsoft warned last month that hackers were actively targeting customers who manage SharePoint on their own networks, as opposed to being hosted and managed on the cloud.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Did US use Microsoft bugs to spy on China's military?
China accused the US of exploiting a flaw in Microsoft Corp .'s email servers to steal military data and carry out cyberattacks on its defense sector, Bloomberg reported. The Cyber Security Association of China, a little-known entity backed by the Cyberspace Administration of China, said Friday that US actors had been linked to two major cyberattacks on Chinese military companies. The attackers allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange to control the servers of a key defense-sector company for nearly a year, it said. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Analytics MCA Product Management Design Thinking CXO Leadership Artificial Intelligence Management Degree Others Digital Marketing healthcare Public Policy Cybersecurity PGDM Project Management Healthcare Finance Data Science Technology MBA others Operations Management Data Science Skills you'll gain: Data Analysis & Visualization Predictive Analytics & Machine Learning Business Intelligence & Data-Driven Decision Making Analytics Strategy & Implementation Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Applied Business Analytics Starts on Jun 13, 2024 Get Details Washington-based Microsoft has repeatedly blamed China for major cyber incidents tied to its software. In 2021, an alleged Chinese campaign compromised tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers. In 2023, another alleged Chinese breach of Exchange impacted senior US officials' email accounts, prompting a US government review that accused Microsoft of a 'cascade of security failures.' Last month, Microsoft also said state-backed Chinese hacking groups exploited flaws in its SharePoint file-sharing software. 'Every nation state in the world carries out offensive cybersecurity campaigns against others,' said Jon Clay, vice president of threat intelligence at Trend Micro. 'I'm assuming at this point, because of the recent SharePoint vulnerability that Microsoft attributed to China, they are coming out and saying, hey, the US has been targeting us with exploits.' The US embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to Bloomberg's request for comment. Live Events Ben Read, director of strategic threat intelligence at noted in a recent blog that China increasingly uses 'public attribution of cyber activities' to pressure Taiwan and shape 'the international dialogue around cybersecurity.' Earlier this year, Beijing accused Taiwan of multiple cyberattacks. In April, China alleged that three NSA employees hacked the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, targeting systems containing personal information of event participants. While Washington has often named alleged Chinese hackers and filed charges against them, Beijing has historically avoided directly accusing US spies, Bloomberg said.
The Herald Scotland
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
White House announces $200 million ballroom in latest Trump change
The ballroom, which the White House expects to be completed before the end of Trump's term in 2029, will be able to hold 650 people, about 200 more than the White House's East Room, where presidents have historically held large receptions. Trump has frequently complained the White House lacks a proper large-scale ballroom for entertaining. "President Trump and other donors have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this $200 million structure," Leavitt said during a July 31 briefing with reporters. Leavitt did not name the donors at the press briefing, nor did the accompanying statement from the White House list them. USA TODAY reached out to the White House to clarify if the donor list would be made public Thursday evening and did not receive an immediate response. More: How Trump's personal aesthetic is redefining White House decor: 'I picked it all myself' Leavitt said the East Wing of the White House will be "modernized" as part of the project and that East Wing staffers, including aides to first lady Melania Trump, will be temporarily relocated. The East Wing, constructed in 1902, has been changed and renovated several times, Leavitt said, with a second story added in 1942. Leavitt said the ballroom will be "substantially separated" from the main building of the White House, yet "its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical." The White House released a handful of renderings showing the interior of the ballroom will have white and gold walls and trimmings with large windows letting in natural light, while occupying a large footprint on the Whtie House's south lawn. The massive overhaul comes as Trump has pushed through several cosmetic changes at the White House, including an ongoing renovation of the Rose Garden, turning it into a stone patio; new gold embroidery throughout the Oval Office; and two soaring flag poles on the north and south lawns. More: Trump installs pair of 88-foot-tall new flag poles at the White House "President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail," White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in a statement. "The president and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organization to preserve the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come." The government has contracted Clark Construction to oversee the project and Washington-based McCrery Architects as the lead architect. Contributing: Reuters Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
