Latest news with #politicalallies
Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
How will the impeachment trial of Philippine VP Sara Duterte be held?
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte, the popular daughter of the firebrand former leader Rodrigo Duterte, is facing a high-profile impeachment trial in the Senate that could determine her future in politics. WHAT IS DUTERTE CHARGED WITH? The impeachment complaint alleges Duterte is guilty of violating the constitution, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betraying public trust. She is accused of misusing public funds while vice president and education minister, amassing unexplained wealth and threatening the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady and the lower house speaker. She denies all of the allegations. The impeachment, led by lower house allies of Marcos, followed a series of legislative enquiries into the finances of the vice-president's office, at a time when the relationship between Duterte and Marcos was rapidly deteriorating. Former ally Marcos has distanced himself from the impeachment and Duterte says the process has been weaponised and used as a political tool to sideline her. HOW WILL THE TRIAL BE CONDUCTED? The Senate will convene as an impeachment court, initially with 22 members as jurors and the speaker of the Senate presiding. The lower house has already appointed members to serve as prosecutors and Duterte has assembled a defence team to confront what she calls "baseless accusations". A new Senate is due to convene in July following May's midterm elections, with 12 new members joining to restore the chamber to its full complement of 24, meaning some of the jurors will change when the current Senate term expires. HOW MANY OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED IN THE PHILIPPINES? Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, after former President Joseph Estrada, an ombudsman, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, and a former chairman of the election commission. Only Corona was convicted, with the former ombudsman and election commission chief resigning after they were impeached. Estrada's 2001 trial was aborted after some prosecutors walked out. WHAT IS REQUIRED TO CONVICT DUTERTE? A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is needed to convict an impeached official. This means at least 16 out of 24 senators must vote in favour of conviction for it to pass. If convicted, Duterte would be removed from office and disqualified from holding any future government position, which would kill off any potential bid for the presidency. If a vice president is removed, the president will nominate a successor from among members of the Senate and House of Representatives and the nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote in both chambers, voting separately. WHAT IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME? The outcome of the trial is difficult to predict. While some senators have openly allied themselves with Marcos or Duterte, allegiances can easily shift in the Philippines depending on the political climate and public sentiment, with some hedging their bets ahead of elections in 2028. The introduction of 12 new senators next month is seen by analysts as a boon for Duterte, with her allies among the newcomers. The duration of an impeachment trial is not fixed and depends on a host of factors including the complexity of the case, number of witnesses and volume of evidence presented. For instance, the 2012 impeachment trial of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona lasted five months.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
AOC gives hilarious take on Trump and Musk's feud that has rocked DC
Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has shared her thoughts on Donald Trump's falling out with Elon Musk. The New York representative was on her way to the Capitol when she was asked for her reaction to the feud between the US president and his one-time 'First Buddy.' 'Oh man, the girls are fighting aren't they,' she replied. Ocasio-Cortez then argued that the feud between Trump and Musk has was one that's 'been a long time coming'. 'We've been seeing that these two huge egos were not longed for being together in this world as friends,' she said. 'I think this breakup we've been seeing a long time coming, but we'll see what the impacts are of it legislatively,' she noted, as Musk continues to rail against the president's spending bill and even called for Trump to be impeached. The Tesla CEO, who until recently worked in the Trump administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, has argued that the so-called 'big, beautiful bill' will undo much of his work over the past few months. He even claimed the president's tariff plan will 'cause a recession in the second half of this year' and peddled a wild conspiracy theory that Trump has been replaced by a body double. Trump has also fired back at Musk - threatening to cancel all of his government contracts, and saying that he pushed the billionaire DOGE leader out. The spectacular fallout between Trump and Musk - who were political allies for a little less than a year - started in recent weeks when the billionaire started resisting the spending bill, arguing DOGE's cost-cutting efforts would be wiped out. But it came to a head on Thursday, when Trump was asked about Musk's recent criticism. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more, I was surprised,' Trump told reporters. The president then suggested that Musk was angry - not over the bill ballooning the deficit - but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla, and replaced the Musk-approved nominee to lead NASA, which could hinder SpaceX 's government contracts. 'And you know, Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and they're having a hard time the electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,' Trump said. 'I know that disturbed him.' The president had pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA over the weekend, and Trump claimed Musk - who had worked with Isaacman at SpaceX - recommended him for the job. But, he said, he 'didn't think it was appropriate, and he happened to be a Democrat, like totally Democrat.' 'We won, we get certain privileges and one of the privileges is we don't have to appoint a Democrat,' the president continued. Musk posted to X as Trump's Q&A with reporters was ongoing, writing: 'Whatever.' The spectacular fallout between Trump and Musk - who were political allies for a little less than a year - started in recent weeks when the billionaire started resisting Republicans' 'big, beautiful bill' JUST IN - Rep. AOC on Elon Musk and President Trump: "Hoh, man. The girls are fighting, aren't they?" "These 2 huge egos were not long for being together in this world as friends." — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 5, 2025 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' he advised of Trump's spending plan. 'In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [is] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!' Musk continued. 'Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' From there, the spat became personal - with Musk claiming Trump would not have won the 2024 presidential election without his help. Musk had publicly endorsed Trump on the heels of the July 13th assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania and poured around $290 million of his fortune into the Republican's campaign. The billionaire also joined Trump on the campaign trail when he returned to the site of the Butler shooting in early October, a month before Election Day. Trump said in the Oval that he likely still would have won Pennsylvania without Musk's help and because Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris didn't choose the state's governor, Josh Shapiro, to be her running mate. Even with Shapiro on the ticket, Trump claimed, 'I would have won Pennsylvania, I would have won by a lot.' Musk said that was laughable. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk claimed. 'Such ingratitude,' the billionaire added. The 53-year-old Musk also asserted he had more staying power than the 78-year-old president. 'Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as president, but I will be around for 40+ years,' Musk said Thursday afternoon, responding to a post from Trump ally Laura Loomer. Meanwhile, Trump claimed that the billionaire went 'CRAZY!' 'Elon was "wearing thin," I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote. At that point, the president then threatened to pull SpaceX and Tesla's government contracts. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Trump wrote. That only prompted Musk to taunt the president and say he would decommission the space ships that are taking NASA astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. He also made an eye-popping claim that the president is 'in the Epstein files,' which he said is the 'real reason they have not been made public.' The president had pledged to release the files related to serial child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi released some pages - but most of that information was already in the public domain. 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out,' Musk added. Trump has not directly responded to Musk's Epstein charge, instead posting what amounted to a shrug on Truth Social, while also continuing to back the 'big, beautiful bill.' 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' Trump wrote. 'This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.' Later he ignored shouted questions from reporters on Musk's Epstein charge as he hosted the National Fraternal Order of Police executive board in the State Dining Room. This 1997 photo shows then real estate developer Donald Trump (right) alongside Jeffrey Epstein (left), the pedophile sex offender who died in prison in 2019 Asked for comment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail in a statement: 'This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.' 'The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,' Leavitt added. A source familiar with the president also pointed out to the Daily Mail that 'everyone knows President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club.' 'The Administration itself released Epstein files with the president's name included. This is not a new surprise Elon is uncovering. Everyone already knew this,' the source continued. The source also mused, 'If Elon truly thought the president was more deeply involved with Epstein, why did he hangout with him for six months and say he "loves him as much as a straight man can love a straight man?"' As the feud continued on Thursday, Republicans were lining up behind either Musk or Trump - with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sharing a post praising the president's spending bill and Steve Bannon claiming that Musk is an 'illegal alien' who should be deported. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he was trying to defuse the situation and was urgently 'trying to call Elon now' as Tesla shares dropped almost 15 percent.
