Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 4745

Ardina falters in final round of Shoprite LPGA Classic 

DOTTIE Ardina stumbled to a closing three-over 74 and fell way down the final standings at joint 49th in the Shoprite LPGA Classic Sunday in Galloway, New Jersey.

Starting the day at No. 13, Ms. Ardina struggled mightily in the last push, missing six fairways and seven greens in regulation and needing 31 putts to complete the round.

Ms. Ardina finished the 54-hole tournament at the par-71 Seaview Bay course at two-under 211, 12 shots off the winning 199 of South African Ashleigh Buhai, and settled for a $6,034 purse (around P338,400).

It was a woeful ending to a dream start for the US Women’s Open-qualified Filipina ace.

She occupied sixth after the first 18 holes with her opening 67 then stayed within striking range of at least the Top 10 with her second-round 70 prior to the last-round mishap.

Compatriot Bianca Pagdanganan wound up not far behind Ms. Ardina at joint 54th at 212 after matching par in the final round. She netted $4,878 (around 273,500).

Meanwhile, Ms. Buhai, the 2022 Women’s British Open champion, closed out with a hot 65 to beat Korean Hyo Joo Kim (200 after a 68) by one stroke. Ms. Buhai fired seven birdies against a lone bogey to hold off Ms. Hyo and seal her rise to the top. — Olmin Leyba

Ferrari returns to win centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans

TWITTER.COM/FERRARIHYPERCAR

FERRARI won the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday, with Italian Alessandro Pier Guidi driving the last stint to the chequered flag, for the marque’s first overall victory in 58 years.

The success after 342 laps of the Sarthe circuit in north-west France ended a run of five straight triumphs for Toyota in the world’s oldest active endurance race.

The number 51 Ferrari 499P shared by Pier Guidi, compatriot Antonio Giovinazzi and Britain’s James Calado, beat the number eight Toyota driven by Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland, New Zealander Brendon Hartley and Japan’s Ryo Hirakawa by one minute and 21 seconds.

“It’s emotional. Unbelievable. I have no words,” former F1 driver Giovinazzi told Eurosport television.

“It’s a great achievement and after so long, I think this one will go down in history for sure,” said Mr. Calado.

The number two Cadillac driven by New Zealand’s two times winner Earl Bamber and Britons Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook finished third but a lap down in the 91st edition of the race since it was first run in 1923.

It was Ferrari’s first overall victory at the Sarthe circuit since 1965, when American Masten Gregory and Austrian Formula One driver Jochen Rindt won, and 10th in total for the luxury sportscar brand.

Ferrari also have 29 class wins to their credit.

The victory was nail-biting to the end, however, after a final pitstop drama when Pier Guidi came in to fuel to the finish.

The Italian failed to get going from the final stop, the Ferrari stuck as Toyota mechanics watched on, wondering if a stunning victory might after all be snatched from impending defeat.

Pier Guidi started after a reset that seemed to take an age but the AF Corse team’s lead was slashed to 51 seconds before the Toyota’s final pitstop.

“We gave it all. We were the underdogs today,” said Mr. Hartley. “Most of the race we were one of the slower cars. It came to us a bit at the end with the hotter track temp.

“The last few stints were probably the best stints I’ve done. I just did qualifying lap after qualifying lap. I knew if we just tried to put them under some kind of pressure…we did everything, we threw everything at them.”

Mr. Hirakawa, who was told to go maximum attack for the last two stints, spun against the barriers at Arnage in the penultimate hour and had to pit for repairs to front and rear.

Ferrari had started with the 50 and 51 cars on the front row, a first in 50 years for the marque that waged epic battles with Ford in the 1960s before leaving in 1973 and then returning this year to the Hypercar category.

Ferrari Formula One team boss Fred Vasseur and driver Charles Leclerc, neither of whom have had much to celebrate this season, joined the celebrations after the Italian marque’s biggest success of the year so far.

“It feels absolutely amazing, especially having a Ferrari winning after so many years,” said Mr. Leclerc.

Ferrari and Toyota fought through the night, with only 14 seconds separating the cars with three hours to go.

Toyota’s other car, the number seven, retired after a collision with driver/principal Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel with 103 laps gone.

“I had both tires punctured on the rear and the left rear driveshaft was broken so I had no drive to return,” the Japanese driver said after getting out.

Ferrari’s 50 car, starting on pole thanks to Italian Antonio Fuoco, finished fifth after losing time to repairs during the night.

The NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro stock car run by Hendrick Motorsports with seven-times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller and 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button finished 39th of 62 starters.

The car was competing as a “Garage 56” entry highlighting future technology.

Hollywood actor Michael Fassbender slammed his Porsche 911 into the tyre barrier in the Porsche curves and retired after nearly 20 hours. — Reuters

US economic support out of step with expanded PHL defense ties

FILE PHOTO | PHILIPPINE STAR/WALTER BOLLOZOS

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporters

THE PHILIPPINES should demand more economic pledges from the United States as the two countries boost their ties in military defense, analysts said.

Washington has yet to boost its partnership with Manila on the economic front — something that China has exploited as it cements its influence in the region, said Chester B. Cabalza, founder of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation.

“What remains lacking in the closer ties with Washington is the economic pledges that would answer employment opportunities, food security, and infrastructure,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Economic security is a plus in the US’ current strategic competition with China which makes Beijing more favorable to Southeast Asian capitals due to their massive economic investments,” he added.

The Philippines is the US’ oldest military treaty ally in Asia. Their relationship has been relatively stable for decades until former President Rodrigo R. Duterte made a foreign policy pivot to China in exchange for investment pledges that only few had materialized.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., 65, is seen restoring US’ relations with the Philippines, giving Washington access to four more military bases on top of the five existing sites under their 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), whose progress had been stalled during the Duterte administration. 

The EDCA expansion is seen as part of Manila’s strategy to counter China’s increasing aggression in Philippine waters in the South China Sea, which is being claimed by Beijing in almost its entirety.

China has criticized the EDCA expansion, accusing Washington of endangering “regional peace and stability.

Aside from being vocal against China’s expansive activities in the South China Sea, the US has also criticized the Asian power’s aggression against self-ruled Taiwan.

Philippine and American authorities have said the defense pact’s expansion is primarily aimed at improving the Philippines’ disaster response, dismissing claims that it will be used by Washington if the need to defend Taiwan arises.

Mr. Cabalza said that if the US will not boost its economic partnership with the Philippines, “China will use this card for its own leverage with Manila.”

“Economic security with Washington would increase the trust of Filipinos with Americans that are translated to absolute assurances that they are back not only for their defense and security interests in the region, but the US sees the Philippines as a potential investment hub,” he said.

“It should happen since Manila has been vocal lately of its support to Washington,” he said.

China has been the Philippines’ largest trade partner in recent years.

Foreign policy experts have said boosting trade with China would unlikely temper its expansive activities in Philippine waters in the South China Sea, citing Manila’s relationship with Beijing under the former administration.

INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Mr. Marcos Jr. earlier said the Philippines had secured $1.3 billion worth of investment pledges during his official visit to the US in May, which he said have the potential to “create around 6,700 new jobs for Filipinos.”

Geopolitical analyst Don Mclain Gill, who teaches foreign relations at the De La Salle University, said the Marcos Administration remains “equally focused” on the commercial aspect of the Philippine-US ties.

“The economic component of the alliance is also a very crucial element. Unlike China’s questionable pledges, we are now witnessing a significant inflow of real US investments in action,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“This shows how US economic engagements are centered on their sustainability, transparency, functionality, and practicality. Such economic ties with the US must continue to be maximized,” he added.

The Philippine Defense department is now headed by Gilbert C. Teodoro, who said after his appointment last week that the Philippines’ relations with China are more than just their sea disputes and that Beijing remains an important trade partner for Manila.

RENT FOR PENSION FUND
Meanwhile, a proposal by a Philippine senator that the US pay a fee for the use of military bases and other sites under the EDCA, which will go to the pension fund of military and uniformed personnel (MUP), will only put the government in a tricky position with the US as well as the local opposition to the expanded American presence. 

“Pursuing this push for rents in EDCA is likely to invite counter-offers from US to just ‘go back to the bases’,” Hansley A. Juliano, a political economy researcher studying at Japan’s Nagoya University’s Graduate School of International Development in Japan, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

He was referring to the presence of US-controlled military bases in the Philippines in the past, which ended in 1992.   

Senator Ronald M. Dela Rosa, a retired police general, suggested on Sunday that funds for the MUP pension may come from the US government’s payment for access to the EDCA sites.

“Let’s amend the provisions of the VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement). We can tell the US to pay the rent for the use of our facilities,” Mr. Dela Rosa told DZBB radio.

Discussions are ongoing for the mandatory contribution of MUP for their pension fund starting next year.

“Negotiating that (fees) on EDCA would put additional pressure on our Department of National Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs, which is already challenged to justify it to the public,” Mr. Juliano said.

Mr. Cabalza said the country’s MUP pension is an internal concern that must be resolved by the Philippine government. 

He said that while EDCA fees may possibly be collected for economic and security development projects, using this to fund the MUP pension “is absurd and unfair for the Americans.”

Security expert Rommel C. Banlaoi said payments for EDCA sites “will give the Philippines only short term economic benefits.”

Marcos vows to bring economic freedom on Independence Day

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE PHILIPPINES would never bow down again to any external force and address continuing barriers to economic freedom, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Monday as the country celebrated the 125th anniversary of its independence from Spain.

“The heroes of our liberation will be proud now that we have thrown off the ominous yolk of domination, never again to be subservient to any external force that directs or determines our destiny,” he said in a speech during a commemoration event in the capital Manila.

Mr. Marcos Jr. said there are manifold “unfreedoms” that stand in the way of human development.

Poverty, inadequate economic opportunities, inequality, and apathy hinder the nation’s complete freedom and development, he noted.

“We will strive to remove the unfreedoms. We will aim to feed the hungry, free the bound, and banish poverty. These are primordial moral and existential imperatives laid upon your Government,” Mr. Marcos said.

“Through wise policies, we will foster a highly conducive and enabling environment in which the exercise of true human compassion shall allow for the full development of the Filipino.”

The President cited the Philippine Development Plan for the next six years, which he said will be implemented with vigor and consistency.

Mr. Marcos said the economic blueprint will help the country achieve its goal of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2025.

The Philippines is currently classified as a lower middle-income country with a gross national income (GNI) per capita at $3,640 or about P202,000 in 2021.

An upper middle-income economy has a GNI per capita of between $4,046 and $12,535, according to the World Bank’s standards. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

COVID positivity rate in Metro Manila declines, up in some provinces

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE CORONAVIRUS infection rate in the capital region and other parts of the country has been decreasing, pandemic monitoring group OCTA said on Monday.

The seven-day positivity rate in Metro Manila decreased to 11.6% on June 10 from 16.7% a week earlier, OCTA fellow Fredegusto P. David said in a tweet.

On the other hand, several provinces in the northern mainland Luzon increased.

“In Luzon, positivity rates went up in Cagayan, Camarines Sur, La Union, Oriental Mindoro, Pampanga, Tarlac,” he said. “Other provinces had a decrease in positivity rate.”

The seven-day rate also fell to 12.5% in Bulacan from 19.9% and in Rizal from 18.5%.

A decrease was also seen in Benguet with a 16.1% seven-day positivity rate from 22.7%, Batangas with 16.2% from 20.5%, and Cavite with 16.3% from 26.0%,

Zambales also posted a decrease with 17.5% from 21.6%, followed by Palawan with 17.9% from 29.6%, Laguna with 18.1% from 22.5%, and Pangasinan with 19.4% from 23.2%.

Meanwhile, the seven-day positivity rate increased in Oriental Mindoro to 48.3% from 43.2%, in Camarines Sur to 34.9% from 34.2%, in Pampanga to 29.9% from 27.5%, and in Cagayan to 28.8% from 27.2%.

At the weekend, Mr. David told BusinessWorld daily coronavirus cases in the Philippines would likely fall to fewer than 1,000 starting this week.

He said any possible COVID-19 infection wave in the future would likely become manageable and would not overwhelm hospitals.

On June 5, health authorities reported that the country had recorded 9,107 COVID-19 infections from May 22 to June 4 with a daily average of 1,301 — 22% lower than the average cases per day from a week earlier.

There were 77 severe and critical cases during the May 22-June 4 period, when three new COVID-19 related deaths also occurred. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

14,360 evacuated as lava flows from Mayon 

MEMBERS of the Philippine Army assist in the evacuation of residents who are at risk from a potential hazardous eruption of Mayon Volcano on June 8, 2023. — PHILIPPINE ARMY

ALMOST 4,000 families in Albay province have been evacuated as of Monday following Mayon Volcano’s increased activity since last week, with lava having started to flow in the past 24 hours.  

Of the 14,360 displaced persons, 13,792 are spread across 22 evacuation centers while the rest have sought shelter elsewhere, according to the June 12 update from the national disaster management council. 

The evacuees come from villages in Tabaco City and the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Ligao, and Malilipot.  

Mayors of these towns and others around the volcano, in a meeting on Monday with national officials on Monday, proposed the construction of more evacuation sites to address overcrowding and in line with laws on safe spaces, according to a statement from the Albay provincial government. 

Tabaco Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro further called for building houses as permanent relocation for families in and around Mayon’s danger zones.  

“If we have more resettlement sites for the affected families, we will not have to worry about situations as we have now,” Ms. Luistro said in Filipino.  

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), in its June 12 bulletin, said it recorded 21 volcanic earthquakes, 260 rockfall events, and three pyroclastic density current events in the 24 hours from 5 a.m. Sunday. 

“Lava flow activity from the summit crater commenced,” it said. 

Food, medicine and other aid packages are being distributed to the evacuees, according to the national and local governments. 

The Albay provincial government also said Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa has given authority for the purchase of “stable medical supplies in anticipation for a long evacuation period.” 

“It is important to immediately bring medical services to the evacuation centers while stressing on the importance of proper command, coordination and communication among all the concerned parties,” Mr. Herbosa is quoted in a press release from the provincial government.  

“Around P300,000 worth of logistics have already been mobilized in Albay, where the city of Legazpi and the municipalities of Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao, Malilipot, Tabaco, and Sto. Domingo will be given P20,000 each to be allocated for medical needs such as medicines, among others,” it said. — MSJ 

UAE donates humanitarian aid to families affected by Mayon

MAYON Volcano spews ash and lava as seen from Legaspi City, Albay on June 11, 2023. — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) has donated 50 tons of food and other items for families displaced by Mayon Volcano’s unrest, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Monday.  

The goods, flown in via a chartered flight commissioned by the UAE, were received by the DILG and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).   

“The President (Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.) is very happy and thankful to the royal family of UAE, President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Interior Minister Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to the Philippines Mohamed Obaid Salem Alqataam Alzaabi, and the people of UAE for this donation — the very first international aid that we received for the victims of Mayon volcano unrest,” Interior Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos said.  

DSWD Secretary Rex T. Gatchalian committed to the UAE government that distribution of the relief items will be done within 24 hours.   

He said repacking will be done in Albay to expedite the release.

CoA finds P47-M unused medical equipment in Davao Occidental

BW FILE PHOTO/ MAYA M. PADILLO

THE COMMISSION on Audit (CoA) found P47.1 million worth of donated medical equipment that were unutilized in several hospitals in Davao Occidental due to lack of manpower and power supply.  

In a 2022 audit report made available on May 29 this year, state auditors said “donated medical equipment units amounting to P41.11 million were found idle but serviceable at three district hospitals of the province, resulting in the unproductive management of government resources that deprived the intended beneficiaries of its use, and the province of its economic benefits.” 

CoA noted in the same report that the hospitals could not use the medical equipment for several reasons, including a shortage of resident doctors as well as power supply or transformer issues.  

“It appears that the said hospitals and their clientele and the constituents within the area did not benefit from these subject medical equipment,” state auditors concluded.  

“There was [also] no revenue earned from these equipment units, thereby rendering the assets unproductive,” it added.  

The Provincial Health Office, in a response cited in the CoA report, said the province will need sufficient supply of electricity to use its health facilities. It also said that several hospitals could not deliver services because these do not have accreditation from the Department of Health.   

The Provincial Health Officer also committed to review necessary documents and transfer some of the donated medical equipment to other health facilities for use. 

CoA also found that fund transfers amounting to P158.36 million from national government agencies were unspent by the provincial government, “thereby defeating the purpose for which these funds were granted and depriving the beneficiaries and the public of the benefits they deserve.” 

The Provincial Accountant and offices involved said that most of the fund transfers were already utilized or that implementation is ongoing, and that these were yet to be liquidated with the source agencies. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Ukraine announces gains in counterattack against Russia

Army soldier figurines are displayed in front of the Ukrainian and Russian flag colors background in this illustration taken, Feb. 13, 2022. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

KYIV — Ukraine said on Sunday its troops had made territorial advances on three villages in its southeast, the first liberated settlements it has reported since launching a counter-offensive this past week.

Kyiv’s forces posted unverified videos showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk region and posing with their unit’s flag in the adjacent village of Neskuchne.

“We’re seeing the first results of the counter-offensive actions, localized results,” Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine’s “Tavria” military sector, said on television.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar later said Ukrainian forces had “deoccupied” Makarivka, the next village to the south, and advanced between 300 and 1,500 meters in two directions on the southern front.

“No positions were lost on the directions where our forces are on the defensive,” Ms. Maliar added on Telegram.

Reuters was unable to verify battlefield reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that a Ukrainian military push was underway, but that it had failed to breach Russian defensive lines and taken heavy casualties.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, praised his troops in his nightly video address, but made no reference to the specific areas where the fighting was reported.

“Of course, I am thankful to our soldiers for this day,” Mr. Zelensky said, referring only to the two main sectors of the fighting in the east and the south.

“Each one of our combat brigades, each of our units.”

Mr. Zelensky on Saturday had given his strongest signal yet that Kyiv has launched its long-awaited counterattack to seize back land in the east and south, confirming that “counteroffensive and defensive operations” were taking place.

Kyiv officials have imposed a strict period of operational silence and urged Ukrainians not to disclose any information that could compromise the operation.

‘KICKING THE ENEMY OUT’
With so little information out of Kyiv and scant independent reporting from the front lines, it has been almost impossible to assess the battlefield situation.

The video from Blahodatne showed Ukrainian troops inside a heavily damaged building as artillery rumbled in the distance.

“We’re kicking the enemy out from our native lands. It’s the warmest feeling there is. Ukraine is going to win, Ukraine above everything,” an unidentified soldier said in the video on Facebook.

Russia said at least twice this week that it had repelled attacks close by the nearby settlement of Velyka Novosilka.

The Ukrainian advances follow the breach last week of the Kakhovka dam further west in Kherson region that unleashed floods and prompted rescues of residents from submerged areas.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the breach.

The Ukrainian-appointed governor of Kherson region on Sunday said Russian forces had shelled three boats evacuating mainly elderly evacuees to safety, killing three and injuring 10.

Shershen later told a radio interviewer that Russian forces had blown up a smaller hydroelectric dam near the scene of the latest combats in an attempt to disrupt the Ukrainian advance.

“This led to the flooding of both banks of the Mokri Yaly River,” he told Ukrainian NV Radio. “This, however, does not affect our counter-offensive actions.”

The occupied southeast is seen as a likely priority for Kyiv’s forces that may aim to sever Russia’s land bridge to the annexed peninsula of Crimea and split Russian forces in half.

Makarikva is around 90 km (55.92 miles) northwest of the city of Mariupol, which lies on the Sea of Azov on the southern rim of the land bridge. Russia captured the major city last year after besieging and bombarding it for several weeks.

Russia has built vast fortifications across occupied territory to prepare for a Ukrainian counterattack using thousands of troops trained and equipped by the West.

Ms. Maliar also said Ukrainian forces were continuing assault operations in the east near the devastated city of Bakhmut and had advanced 250 metres near the adjacent Berkhivka Reservoir.

Russia said it captured the city of Bakhmut last month after the bloodiest battle of Russia’s February 2022 invasion, but Kyiv has said it has been regaining ground on the city’s flanks.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said separately that a motorized infantry brigade had advanced on the front line around the eastern city Avdiivka in recent days and captured a Russian position, but it provided no further details. — Reuters

North Korea’s Kim vows to ‘hold hands’ with Putin for strategic cooperation

REUTERS

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to “hold hands” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bolster strategic cooperation on their shared goal of building a powerful country, state media KCNA reported on Monday.

Mr. Kim made the pledge in a message to Mr. Putin marking Russia’s National Day, defending his decision to invade Ukraine and displaying “full support and solidarity.”

“Justice is sure to win and the Russian people will continue to add glory to the history of victory,” Mr. Kim said in the message published by KCNA.

Mr. Kim called for “closer strategic cooperation” with Moscow, “holding hands firmly with the Russian president, in conformity with the common desire of the peoples of the two countries to fulfil the grand goal of building a powerful country,” it added.

North Korea has sought to forge closer ties with the Kremlin and backed Moscow after it invaded Ukraine last year, blaming the “hegemonic policy” and “high-handedness” of the United States and the West. — Reuters

Gender biases not improved over past decade, UN says

FREEPIK

GENDER INEQUALITY has remained stagnant for a decade, according to research by the United Nations (UN) released on Monday, as cultural biases and pressures continue to hinder women’s empowerment and leave the world unlikely to meet the UN’s goal of gender parity by 2030.

Despite a surge in women’s rights groups and social movements like Time’s Up and MeToo in the United States, biased social norms and a broader human-development crisis heightened by COVID-19, when many women lost their income, have stalled progress on inequality.

In its latest report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) tracked the issue through its Gender Social Norms Index, which uses data from the international research programme World Values Survey (WVS).

The survey draws from data sets spanning 2010-2014 and 2017–2022 from countries and territories covering 85% of the global population.

The latest analysis showed that almost nine out of 10 men and women hold fundamental biases against women and that the share of people with at least one bias has barely changed over the decade. In 38 of the surveyed countries the share of people with at least one bias decreased to just 84.6% from 86.9%.

The degree of improvement over time has been “disappointing,” said Heriberto Tapia, research and strategic partnership adviser at UNDP and co-author of the report.

The survey also noted that nearly half of the world’s people think that men make better political leaders, while 43% think men are better business executives.

“We need to change the gender biases, the social norms, but the ultimate goal is to change the power relations between women and men, between people,” Aroa Santiago, gender specialist in inclusive economies at UNDP, told Reuters.

Though education has always been hailed as key for improving economic outcomes for women, the survey revealed the broken link between the education gap and income, with the average income gap at 39% even in the 57 countries where adult women are more educated than men.

More direct harm to women’s wellbeing could be seen in views on violence, with more than one out of every four people believing it was justified for a man to beat his wife, the UNDP said. — Reuters

Trump is ‘toast’ if classified records case is proven, ex-attorney general says

US President Donald Trump speaks at an event in the State Dining Room of the White House, in Washington, U.S., Feb. 24, 2019. — REUTERS

WASHINGTON — Former US Attorney General William Barr on Sunday defended Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 37-count indictment against Donald Trump on Sunday, saying if the allegations the former president willfully retained hundreds of highly classified documents are proven true, then “he’s toast.”

“I was shocked by the degree of sensitivity of these documents and how many there were, … and I think the counts under the Espionage Act that he willfully retained those documents are solid counts,” Mr. Barr, who served under Mr. Trump, told Fox News Sunday.

“If even half of it is true, then he’s toast.”

The comments from Mr. Barr, who was Mr. Trump’s attorney general from February of 2019 through December of 2020, are notable and were made at a time when many other prominent Republicans have been hesitant to criticize the former president and current Republican front-runner in the 2024 White House race.

Mr. Trump responded to Mr. Barr’s comments with criticism and insults. Describing Mr. Barr as a “lazy” and “weak” attorney general, Mr. Trump on his social media platform Truth Social said he only made the comments because he was disgruntled and that they were misinformation. “Turn off Fox News when that “Gutless Pig” is on,” Mr. Trump said.

The former president is due to appear in a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday to make his initial appearance on the charges, which include the willful retention of highly sensitive national defense records under the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, making false statements, conspiracy and concealment.

Mr. Trump told Politico on Saturday that he would continue his presidential campaign, even if he were convicted in the case, saying “I’ll never leave.”

He plans to make remarks at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday (0015 GMT on Wednesday) at his Bedminster, New York, golf club, his presidential campaign said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Trump supporters drove in a caravan from Miami to Palm Beach on Sunday to show their support for the former president, as has been done on several previous occasions since he left office.

Cars decked out with American flags and pro-Trump slogans on placards made the 80-mile (130-km) trip, honking most of the way and meeting at a Palm Beach grocery store parking lot for a rally.

Of the 37 counts against Mr. Trump, 31 of them relate to secret and top secret classified documents that he kept after leaving the White House in early 2021.

The indictment alleges that Mr. Trump stored the documents in a haphazard manner at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, refused to give them back to the government, and tried to hide them from the FBI and even his own attorney after a grand jury issued him a subpoena demanding that he turn over all records bearing classified markings.

His attorney Alina Habba, who is not representing him in the case, told Fox News Sunday that Mr. Trump is innocent of the charges and plans to vigorously defend himself in the case.

In the past, Mr. Barr has been a fierce defender of Mr. Trump, going so far as to appoint his own special counsel to probe whether the FBI improperly opened an investigation into Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign over possible ties to Russia based on flimsy evidence.

But towards the end of his tenure, Mr. Barr’s views on Mr. Trump soured after the former president tried to pressure the Justice Department to launch bogus voter fraud investigations, in a failed bid to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

NOT ‘PERSONAL DOCUMENTS’
Mr. Trump has previously defended his retention of classified records, claiming without evidence he declassified them while in office — a defense that his allies have also repeated.

“I go on the president’s word that he said he did,” US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan told CNN’s State of the Union program on Sunday when asked if he had any evidence to back up Mr. Trump’s claim.

In previous litigation related to the FBI’s search of his Florida home, however, Mr. Trump’s lawyers repeatedly declined to make that argument in their court filings, and the indictment also contains evidence that Trump knew he had retained records that remained highly classified.

“As president, I could have declassified it,” the indictment quotes Mr. Trump as saying about one military document he allegedly displayed during a meeting at his New Jersey golf club in July of 2021. “Now I can’t, you know, because this is still a secret.”

Mr. Trump and his allies have also separately tried to argue that the records at the heart of the case are personal in nature and covered by the Presidential Records Act.

“He has every right to have classified documents that he declassifies under the Presidential Records Act,” Ms. Habba told Fox News Sunday.

But Mr. Barr said the claim that the documents were Trump’s personal records is “facially ridiculous.” The records referenced in the indictment are “official records” prepared by government intelligence agencies, he said, and therefore they are the property of the US government.

“Battle plans for an attack on another country or Defense Department documents about our capabilities are in no universe Donald J. Trump’s personal documents,” he said. — Reuters

1...4,7444,7454,746...14,244Page 4,745 of 14,244
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube