Unity in shreds as triumphant Trump makes case for re-election

WASHINGTON, United States — President Donald Trump's State of the Union address became a shocking display of US divisions Tuesday with Democrats protesting the Republican's boasts before their leader, Nancy Pelosi, ripped up her copy of the speech on live television.

The House speaker's gesture at the very end encapsulated the seething atmosphere in the Capitol as Trump made a one hour and 18 minutes pitch for a second term in office.

Instead of what traditionally has been an annual moment for political truce, this State of the Union mirrored the political war raging through the country ahead of November elections.

Trump was still on the podium, having just completed the soaring finale to his speech when Pelosi, standing just behind him, raised the papers and demonstratively tore them to pieces.

"It was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternatives," she told a reporter afterwards.


The speech began with as much rancor as it ended, when Trump ignored past custom and declined to shake hands with Pelosi, who as speaker of the House of Representatives had overseen the push to impeach Trump for abuse of office.

She put out a hand and Trump turned away, leaving her arm in thin air.

Democrats responded to Trump's speech, where he proclaimed a "great American comeback" and touted his achievements, by refusing to follow Republicans in repeated standing ovations. There was booing and several Democrats walked out.

"The president has no class," House Democrat Jim McGovern told reporters afterwards. "I mean, he should have, out of respect, taken the speaker's hand."

"But after delivering what essentially was a campaign rally speech that was terribly dark and divisive, I think the speaker did the right thing ripping it up."

Underlying all the tension was the fact that after months of impeachment investigations in the Democratic-led House, the Republican majority Senate is now almost certain to acquit Trump on Wednesday.

But Trump's speech did not once mention the word "impeachment."

Right-wing hero 

Much of the address was taken up with proclaiming his successful economic policies and the "America first" outlook.

"We have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America's destiny," he said.

The Republican said his policies of deregulation and tax cuts—criticized by opponents as damaging the environment and favoring the wealthy over the poor—were responsible for "unparalleled" economic success.

He listed the North American USMCA trade pact, a trade deal with China, massive military spending, "unprecedented" measures to stop illegal immigration, and his bid to "end America's wars in the Middle East" as examples of fulfilling his commitments to voters.

He threw his conservative base strings of red meat—tough talk on abortion, prayer in schools and the right to bear arms.

But flourishes that could have come right out of Trump's days as a reality TV show entertainer grabbed the real attention.

At one moment he paused his speech to praise Rush Limbaugh, one of the fathers of America's hugely influential conservative radio landscape, who disclosed this week that he has advanced lung cancer.

To the surprise of the packed audience, Trump announced that his wife Melania, who was alongside Limbaugh, was going to present the ideological star with the coveted Medal of Freedom—the highest possible civilian award.

Later, Trump outdid even this stroke of theatrics by singling out a woman in the audience whose army husband had been away for months on foreign deployments, then telling her he had "a very special surprise."

It was her husband, in full uniform, coming down the stairs for a tearful, surprise reunion—in front of a primetime national television audience.

No impeachment mention 

This could have been the darkest week of Trump's administration, with only the third presidential impeachment trial in US history poised to culminate Wednesday in the Senate.

But since being reassured that his party will come through with full acquittal, Trump has shown growing signs of confidence that he can march forward with a bid for re-election.

A combative Trump had already spent the earlier part of Tuesday mocking the Democrats' shambolic kick-off to their primary season, saying that delays in the vote count in Iowa proved their incompetence.

Trump got yet more good news on Tuesday with a Gallup poll showing his approval rating at its highest ever: 49%.

At the State of the Union, his guests reflected the political themes he hopes will maintain his ferociously loyal base, including a senior border patrol officer, a woman whose brother was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2018.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized as the country's interim president by the United States, was also a guest in a public show of support for his efforts to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tepid no more on Trump impeachment

WASHINGTON — Nancy Pelosi, already the most powerful woman in US political history, has just launched an extraordinary and turbulent process which — if it fulfills its goal — would oust a sitting American president.

After resisting fellow Democrats' calls to impeach Donald Trump from the moment she became speaker of the US House of Representatives in early January, the tough-as-nails lawmaker changed course Tuesday, announcing an "official impeachment inquiry" by the House into her political nemesis.

Should it succeed, Pelosi's reputation as a master political tactician will be sealed.

If it fails — and the likelihood that Trump is not ousted is high, given that his Republicans control the Senate — her politically perilous gambit has the potential to antagonize voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Twelve years ago, Pelosi made history as the first woman elected House speaker. Once again wielding the gavel, her political comeback is complete.

The 79-year-old has spent the year seeking to keep Trump in check, challenging him on immigration policy, the budget, gun violence and more.

But she has also tamped down the impeachment groundswell, saying such a procedure should be launched only if the American people support it, and arguing that the best way to remove the Republican commander-in-chief was at the ballot box.

"I've tried to avoid the situation that we're in now, because it was very divisive for the country," Pelosi told a forum Tuesday just before her bombshell announcement.

Her calculus changed. Most House Democrats back impeachment, and the number has only grown following revelations of a whistleblower's complaint that is believed to center around actions by Trump, including his call to the president of Ukraine.

"The president must be held accountable," she said in announcing the inquiry. "No one is above the law."

Pelosi is the nation's third most senior official, a great survivor in American politics.

To reclaim the speaker's gavel she lost nine years ago, the California power broker diligently plotted a remarkable comeback that has impressed allies and opponents alike.

"She's a worthy adversary," conservative congressman Mark Meadows told AFP in January.

In her opening speech to a new Congress, she said she was "particularly proud" to take the gavel with a record number of women lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

That she is the new speaker in the #MeToo era — and the opponent-in-chief to a brash president accused by multiple women of abuse or harassment over the years — reflects the increasing influence of women on the nation's political process.

'Totally on board'

Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro was born in March 1940 in Baltimore to a political family with Italian roots. Both her father and brother were mayors of the East Coast port city.

After studying political science in Washington, she moved with her husband to San Francisco, where they raised five children.

First elected to the House in 1987, Pelosi represents California's 12th congressional district including San Francisco — a stronghold of left-wing politics.

She rose through the ranks to first become minority leader for the Democrats in 2003.

Pelosi assumed the speakership for the first time in 2007, during the presidency of George W Bush. She was a strong opposing force to the Republican leader, and her role as a check on Trump has been similar.

But at times she has struggled to tightly corral her own caucus, notably a group of first-term progressives who have clashed bitterly with Trump, and occasionally squabbled with Pelosi herself.

A quartet of ethnic-minority congresswomen known as "The Squad" — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib — were early proponents of impeachment.

Occasionally they leaned on leadership to move more quickly against Trump, but Pelosi's methodical approach won out.

Omar sounded grateful for Pelosi's step forward Tuesday.

"She wants to make sure that we are moving on impeachment and moving swiftly," Omar said. "And I am totally on board for that."

Earlier this year, Pelosi threaded a political needle, standing up to Trump when needed but also showing that her party is capable of working with the president to pass legislation.

But that cooperation frayed. Pelosi and the Democratic leadership have hamstrung large parts of Trump's agenda, ranging from proposed new tax cuts to building a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Certainly with the impeachment inquiry, any good will between Pelosi and Trump has evaporated.

Pelosi is unquestionably among the savviest political leaders of her generation. She shepherded then-president Barack Obama's signature health care law through the House to its contentious, historic passage in 2010.

Perhaps for that reason she is vilified by Republicans.

Conservatives depict Pelosi, the wife of an investment millionaire, as the embodiment of leftist elitism.

She is accused of everything from wanting to raise taxes for middle-class families to supporting illegal immigration.

source: philstar.com

US House rejects bid to launch Trump impeachment proceedings

WASHINGTON, United States — The US House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a congressman's bid to launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, tamping down a groundswell of anger after the president made xenophobic comments about Democrats.

The chamber voted 332 to 95 to table, or effectively kill, a resolution brought by Democrat Al Green that raised whether to begin procedures to remove Trump from office.

The majority of the House's 235 Democrats joined all Republicans in voting to indefinitely delay the impeachment bid, although a substantial number of Democrats went on record in favor of considering articles of impeachment.

Trump took to Twitter following the vote to declare efforts to impeach him "over."

"This is perhaps the most ridiculous and time consuming project I have ever had to work on," Trump wrote, adding: "This should never be allowed to happen to another President of the United States again!"

source: philstar.com

Corona convicted

With 19 votes cast so far, 16 members of the Senate sitting as the impeachment court have convicted Chief Justice Renato Corona for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Philippine Constitution.

The following senators voted to convict Corona:

Edgardo Angara
Alan Peter Cayetano
Pia Cayetano
Franklin Drilon
Francis Escudero

Jinggoy Estrada

Teofisto Guingona III

Gregorio Honasan II

Panfilo Lacson

Lito Lapid

Loren Legarda
Sergio Osmeña III
Francis Pangilinan
Aqulino "Koko" Pimentel III
Ralph Recto
Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.

Meanwhile, the following lawmakers voted to acquit the chief justice:

Joker Arroyo

Miriam Defensor-Santiago
Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

As of posting time, other senators have yet to cast their votes: Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Vicente Sotto III, Antonio Trillanes IV and Manuel Villar.

The verdict came at the end of a grueling five-month trial that captivated the nation, with

scenes of dramatic flare-ups and surprising revelations spicing up weekday television

viewing and Internet livestreaming for media watchers.

Corona’s conviction is likely to be seen as a triumph for President Benigno

Aquino III, who has never fully recognized his appointment as chief justice by then-

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a few weeks before she stepped down in 2010.

Aquino’s allies at the lower house impeached Corona in December last year by virtue

of Section 3 (1), Article XI in the 1987 Constitution, which provides that the House of

Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment. A

total of 188 legislators signed the articles of impeachment against Corona.

The case was immediately transmitted to the Senate, which has the sole power to try and

decide all cases of impeachment under Section 3 (6) of the Constitution. A two-thirds

vote from the Senate, in this case 16 out of its 23 members, is needed to convict any

impeachable official.

According to the charter, “judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further

than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the

Philippines.”

Background on the senator-judges

The defense panel had earlier asked Drilon and Angara to inhibit from the trial, citing

bias and alleged conflict of interest, but both senators refused to heed the request.

Drilon, Pangilinan, Recto, and Guingona are members of the administration's Liberal

Party, which is headed by Aquino.

Osmeña and Escudero, although independent, are also known supporters of the

administration. On the other hand, Trillanes owes his freedom to the President for

granting him amnesty and obtained his freedom from years of detention.

The terms of Angara, Arroyo, Lacson, Pangilinan, and Villar are also expiring next year,

but they cannot seek reelection as they are already on their second terms.

Escudero, Legarda, Pimentel, Trillanes, Cayetano, and Honasan are expected to seek re-

election next year, when their terms expire.

(Click here to see the personalities involved in the impeachment trial)

The impeachment complaint

The House of Representatives impeached Corona last December 12 for alleged graft and

corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust.

The Articles of Impeachment were transmitted the following day to the Senate, which

convened as an impeachment court on December 14.

The impeachment trial began last January 16, when the Senate began hearing evidence on

the following Articles of Impeachment:

Article I: Partiality of Corona to Mrs. Arroyo in Supreme Court decisions

Article II: Non-disclosure of properties in Corona’s statements of assets, liabilities and

net worth or SALN

Article III: Lack of probity, integrity, and independence in the FASAP vs. PAL case

Article IV: Irregularities in the issuance of the status quo ante order on the impeachment

proceedings of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez

Article V: Gerrymandering in the creation of 16 new cities and the declaration of Dinagat

Island as a province)

Article VI: Improper investigation of Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo’s plagiarism

case

Article VII: Irregularities in the issuance of a temporary restraining order for Mrs. Arroyo

during her attempt to leave the country last November

Article VIII: Failure and refusal to account for the Judiciary Development Fund and

Special Allowance for the Judiciary

However, the prosecution team later decided to rest its case and drop Articles I, IV, V,

VI, and VIII.

According to the Senate impeachment rules, the senators shall vote on each of the

Articles of Impeachment. If the vote of two-thirds of all the members is sustained on any

of the articles, then the accused shall be convicted.

Corona’s properties: From 45 to 21 to five

Much of the trial revolved around Article II, which accuses Corona of failing to publicly

and properly disclose the extent of his assets in his SALN.

The prosecutors asked the Senate to subpoena members of the Corona family in

connection with 45 pieces of real estate in the cities of Makati, Parañaque, Marikina,

Taguig, and in Quezon City.

However, the prosecution team later denied claiming that Corona owned 45 properties,

saying the figure was merely based on a list provided by the Land Registration Authority.

In the formal offer of evidence, the prosecution accused Corona of owning 21 properties,

and said many of these are not declared in his SALN.

But the defense team and Corona maintained that he only owns five properties, and all

are declared in his SALN. His lawyers also presented witnesses to prove that the other 15

properties have been sold or are actually owned by other people.

The 'small lady' and Corona's bank accounts

The prosecution team also asked the Senate to subpoena documentary evidence in

connection with Corona's alleged undeclared dollar accounts.

They made the request after Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, one of the prosecutors,

claimed that a “small lady” handed over records from the Philippine Savings Bank

(PSBank) that supposedly showed Corona having $700,000 in deposits.

However, the manager of PSBank-Katipunan said the records were fake and did not

come from them. She also revealed that Quezon City Rep. Jorge Banal, a member of the

prosecution’s secretariat, had asked for her help in authenticating the same documents.

The controversy prompted PSBank to seek the help of the high court in preventing the

Senate from examining the dollar accounts, citing Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign

Currency Deposit Act. The SC issued a temporary restraining order that the Senate voted

to follow, putting a lid on Corona’s dollar records.

Ombudsman's testimony

When the trial resumed this month after the congressional recess, the issue on the dollar

accounts was revived when Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales asked the chief justice

to respond to complaints from civil society groups and explain how he managed to

accumulate millions of dollars despite his modest government salary.

Saying the move was part of a well-orchestrated plan to discredit Corona, defense

lawyers asked the Senate to summon Morales to the witness stand. The move appears

to have backfired, with Morales presenting a report from the Anti-Money Laundering

Council that showed at least $10 million in transactional balances in 82 dollar accounts of

Corona.

Last week, Corona branded the Ombudsman a liar when he finally took the witness stand,

but he did admit having four dollar accounts containing around $2.4 million. He said

the money came from dollar investments that grew over the years, and explained that he

did not declare the cash in his SALN because it is covered by the secrecy clause in the

Foreign Currency Deposit Act.

Corona also admitted that he has P80 million in three peso accounts, which he also did

not declare because they were commingled funds from his mother and his children.

Copies of Corona’s SALNs from 2003 to 2011 showed that he only declared between

P2.5 million to P3.5 million in cash assets.

(Click here for a summary of the evidence presented during the impeachment trial)

Drama in the courtroom

For most viewers, however, the trial will be remembered for its dramatic scenes. And no

doubt, many of them will feature Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, whose tirades often

livened up the boring proceedings.

There was Harvey Keh of the Kaya Natin! Movement, whom she admonished for

giving Enrile an envelope containing Corona's alleged bank records from unverified and

anonymous sources.

Santiago also had a run-in with Vitaliano Aguirre II, a former private prosecutor, who

covered his ears in full view of the public while the senator was speaking at the trial.

And then there was the side show involving the long-running conflict between Corona's

wife Cristina and her relatives on the Basa side. The family feud came to public attention

after the chief justice declared an P11-million loan from the Basa Guidote Enterprises Inc

in his SALN.

Last week, the Corona family was seen on live television reconciling with the Basa in a

tearful display of hugs and kisses.

But the most controversial scene in the trial was the surprising sight of Corona abruptly

rising from the witness stand and walking out of the Senate session hall without the

court's permission after delivering his three-hour testimony last week.

Corona’s lawyers attributed the hasty departure to a bout of hypoglycemia, and the chief

justice was brought to the Medical City after his appearance at the Senate.

Three days later, Corona returned and apologized to the Senate, and the defense team

rested its case.

Click here for a comprehensive timeline of the Corona trial.

source: gmanetwork.com