WASHINGTON: More than two decades later, Congress is on the verge of writing a closing chapter to the war in Iraq. The Senate voted Thursday to repeal the resolution that authorized the 2003 US invasion, following a House vote last month that would return the basic war power to Congress. The amendment by Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, and Indiana Sen. Todd Young, a Republican, was approved by voice vote to an annual defense authorization bill that passed the Senate late Thursday &mdash; a unanimous endorsement for ending the war that many now view as a mistake. Iraqi deaths were estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and nearly 5,000 US troops were killed in the war after President George W. Bush&rsquo;s administration falsely claimed that then-President Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way the war ends, not with a bang but a whimper,&rdquo; Kaine said after the vote, which lasted only a few seconds with no debate and no objections. Still, he said, &ldquo;America is forever changed by those wars, and the Middle East is too.&rdquo; Supporters in both the House and Senate say the repeal is crucial to prevent future abuses and to reinforce that Iraq is now a strategic partner of the United States. The House added a similar amendment to its version of the defense measure in September, meaning the repeal is likely to end up in the final bill once the two chambers reconcile the two pieces of legislation. Both bills also repeal the 1991 authorization that sanctioned the US-led Gulf War. While Congress appears poised to pass the repeal, it is unclear whether President Donald Trump will support it. During his first term, his administration cited the 2002 Iraq resolution as part of its legal justification for a 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani. It has otherwise been rarely used. Young said after the vote that he thinks Trump should &ldquo;take great pride&rdquo; in signing the bill after campaigning on ending so-called &ldquo;forever wars,&rdquo; especially because he would be the first president in recent history to legally end a longstanding war. He said the vote establishes an important precedent. &ldquo;Congress is now very clearly asserting that it is our prerogative and our responsibility not only to authorize but also to bring to an end military conflicts,&rdquo; Young said. The bipartisan vote, added to the larger bipartisan defense measure, came amid a bitter partisan standoff over a weeklong government shutdown. Young said the quick vote was an &ldquo;extraordinary moment&rdquo; that he hopes &ldquo;will help some people see that we can still do consequential things in the U.S. Congress.&rdquo; The Senate also voted to repeal the 2002 resolution two years ago on a 66-30 vote. While some Republicans privately told Kaine that they were still opposed to the measure, none objected to the unanimous vote on the floor Thursday evening. A separate 2001 authorization for the global war on terror would remain in place under the bill. While the 2002 and 1991 resolutions are rarely used and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan, approving force &ldquo;against those nations, organizations, or persons&rdquo; that planned or aided the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Passed in September 2001, it has been used in recent years to justify US military action against groups &mdash; including al-Qaida and its affiliates, such as the Islamic State group and al-Shabab &mdash; that are deemed to be a threat against America.

Americas

Congress is set to withdraw the 2002 Iraq War authorization with bipartisan support, formally ending the conflict and reinforcing congressional war powers, as Iraq is now seen as a strategic US ally.


US Senate unanimously endorses repeal of 2002 Iraq war resolution

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LAS VEGAS: A federal judge disqualified Nevada acting US Attorney Sigal Chattah from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">US District Judge David G. Campbell disqualified Chattah from supervising the criminal prosecutions, siding with defense lawyers who argued that her authority expired in July. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Campbell ordered government attorneys on the cases to tell the court within seven days that Chattah is not directing their work. He did not dismiss the indictments, however. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A phone call seeking comment was not answered Tuesday night by Chattah&rsquo;s office, and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to an emailed request. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The decision marks the second setback in recent weeks for the Trump administration&rsquo;s effort to keep acting US attorneys in place beyond the 120-day legal limit. In August, another judge reached a similar conclusion regarding Alina Habba, the acting US attorney in New Jersey. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Under federal law, if a permanent U.S. attorney is not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate within 120 days, judges of the federal district court can appoint an interim until the vacancy is filled, Campbell wrote in his ruling. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Campbell took aim at the Trump administration&rsquo;s strategy of using a string of temporary appointments to allow Trump&rsquo;s candidates to bypass the usual requirement that US attorneys be confirmed by the Senate &mdash; something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He pointed to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which Congress passed specifically to regulate the temporary filling of executive branch vacancies that require presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;The procedure used by the government to appoint Ms. Chattah was never intended by Congress,&rdquo; Campbell wrote. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chattah, a conservative lawyer, drew opposition from Nevada&rsquo;s Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Both vowed to block her if the administration sought to make her appointment permanent, calling her an election denier who has advocated for political violence and supported illegal actions by Trump. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chattah previously represented Nevada churches that challenged the state&#39;s COVID-19 restrictions, arguing they violated First Amendment rights by treating churches differently than casinos or other secular businesses. She ran for state attorney general in 2022 but lost to Aaron Ford, a Democrat. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chattah also represented one of six Nevada Republican Party members accused of submitting certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election in the state. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The appointment of Trump loyalists to the Department of Justice has also deepened concerns that the agency, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of people the president regards as political enemies. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last Thursday former FBI Director James Comey was charged with lying to Congress in a criminal case filed days after Trump appeared to urge Bondi to prosecute him. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump has also pushed the department to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully sued him for fraud. Pressure from the White House also led to the resignation of a top federal prosecutor in Virginia.

Attorney Sigal Chattah appears in court in Las Vegas, March 4, 2024

A federal judge disqualified Nevada acting US Attorney Sigal Chattah from several cases after concluding Tuesday that the Trump appointee has stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law.

Nevada judge disqualifies Trump-appointed US attorney over tenure

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WASHINGTON &mdash; James Comey was charged on Thursday by a federal grand jury with lying to Congress in a criminal case. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The case was filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official involved in one of Trump&#39;s chief grievances, the long-concluded investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, to face prosecution.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump has for years derided that investigation as a &ldquo;hoax&rdquo; and a &ldquo;witch hunt&rdquo; despite multiple government reviews showing Moscow interfered on behalf of the Republican&rsquo;s campaign, and has made clear his desire for retribution. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The criminal case is likely to deepen concerns that the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi is being weaponized in pursuit of investigations and now prosecutions of public figures the president regards as his political enemies. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;It was filed as the White House has taken steps to exert influence in unprecedented ways on the department, blurring the line between law and politics at an agency where independence in prosecutorial decision-making is a foundational principle. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump on Thursday hailed the indictment as &ldquo;JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!&rdquo; Bondi, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. &ldquo;No one is above the law,&rdquo; Bondi said. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comey, in a video he posted after his indictment, said: &ldquo;My heart is broken for the Department of Justice but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I&#39;m innocent. So let&#39;s have a trial.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comey was fired months into Trump&rsquo;s first administration and since then has remained a top target for Trump supporters seeking retaliation related to the Russia investigation.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was singled out by name in a Saturday social media post in which Trump appeared to appeal directly to Bondi to bring charges against Comey and complained that Justice Department investigations into his foes had not resulted in criminal cases. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t delay any longer, it&rsquo;s killing our reputation and credibility,&rdquo; Trump wrote, referencing the fact that he himself had been indicted and impeached multiple times.&nbsp;

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on two charges of lying to Congress. The case follows Trump’s calls for prosecution, sparking concerns over Justice Department politicization. Comey maintains innocence saying he will stand trial.

Articles tagged with "Congress"

US Senate unanimously endorses repeal of 2002 Iraq war resolution

Nevada judge disqualifies Trump-appointed US attorney over tenure

Former FBI Director James Comey indicted on two charges