John Ratcliffe is new Intel chief PREZ TRUMP WINS KEY COURT CASE ON SNUB
Washington, Feb. 29: US President Donald Trump announced Republican lawmaker John Ratcliffe as his intelligence chief Friday, sparking fresh controversy over a crucial position that has lacked a permanent office holder for months.
The 53-year-old Trump loyalist was nominated as director of national intelligence after Dan Coats stepped down in July last year, but withdrew from consideration after strong criticism of his credentials from Democrats and a tepid response from key Republicans. Trump instead named counterterrorism expert Joseph McGuire as acting director, overseeing the 17 agencies of the intelligence community including the CIA and National Security Agency.
But he forced McGuire out on February 20 after a senior intelligence official told Congress in a closed briefing that the Russians were again supporting Trump’s bid for re-election.
The revolving door continued to spin as Trump appointed another loyalist, Richard Grenell, two weeks ago. But the former ambassador to Germany had no relevant experience and was viewed as highly political. Some intelligence experts view the latest nomination as a tactic by Trump to ensure that Grenell stays on beyond the statutory limit for “acting” directors who haven’t been approved by the Senate. Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy blocked: A federal appeals court on Friday blocked a key asylum policy of Donald Trump’s administration which has forced many applicants to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed, delivering a blow to the US president's signature crackdown on migration at the southern border.
The policy, known as
Washington, Feb. 29: The White House won a key victory for presidential power Friday when an appeals court rejected a lawsuit over President Donald Trump blocking his former legal advisor from honoring a Congressional subpoena.
The Washington appeals court ruled two-toone that the US judicial branch has no power to decide whether Trump could prevent former White House counsel Don McGahn from testifying in an investigation of the president by the House Judiciary Committee.
McGahn had been called last year to testify in the impeachment investigation of Trump, particularly on allegations that Trump illegally obstructed the Russia political interference probe. But McGahn refused to appear on Trump’s instruction, with the White House citing Trump’s executive privileges.
The issue provoked a rare constitutional showdown in which the judiciary was asked to rule on the power struggle between the two other branches of government — the executive and legislative.
“Remain in Mexico”, has been used to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers from Central America back to Mexico, but was placed on hold by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The court ruled that the policy “is invalid in its entirety” under US law concerning migrant rights and UN refugee protocols, and should be blocked “in its entirety”.