U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before he and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, before signed phase 1 ... [+] of a trade deal between the U.S. and China. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesTopline: A nonpartisan watchdog agency concluded on Thursday that President Donald Trump violated the law when he froze military assistance to Ukraine last year, a ruling that could give fuel to Democrats during the president's impeachment trial in the Senate. The Government Accountability Office said that Trump violated a 1974 law called the Impoundment Control Act, which prevents the executive branch from withholding funds appropriated by Congress and signed into law. The agency found that Trump did not alert Congress to the aid freeze and that his justification for doing so was to advance his foreign policy, both of which violate the law. Chief critics: The White House budget office, which had attempted to craft a legal justification when Trump requested the aid freeze, said it objected to the GAO’s decision.

Source: Forbes January 16, 2020 16:33 UTC