Former US president Donald Trump and his allies are locked in battles with departments and politicians over their alleged roles in the January 6 insurrection.
His former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, recently turned himself over to federal authorities after a grand jury indicted him for criminal contempt of the US Congress.
The US House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection said it would vote on a contempt report for former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark for defying a subpoena.
Mr Trump has been blocking the House select committee's efforts to receive his January 6 records, suing the national archivist. A federal appeals court heard arguments on Tuesday.
Disputes over executive privilege go back centuries, and its definition is ill-defined and markedly contentious.
What is executive privilege?
Mr Trump, Mr Bannon and Mr Clark have all sought protection under executive privilege, a power that permits the president and officials in the executive branch to withhold certain types of communication from the judiciary and legislative branches.
The power is typically claimed in the case of "certain national security needs" and when in the public interest to do so, said Mark Rozell, founding dean of George Mason University's school of policy and government.
Although not mentioned in the US Constitution, executive privilege has been considered an implied endowment to ensure that one branch of the US government does not become too powerful.
Executive privilege essentially curbs some of the power the legislative branch, Congress, has on the executive, the president.
But this power is not absolute.
In a landmark case at the height of the Watergate scandal in 1974, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Richard Nixon did not have absolute privilege to withhold information.
The high court ruled that Nixon's tapes showed no danger to the US if they were turned over, dealing a fatal blow to his presidency. He resigned 16 days later.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who originally refused to block Mr Trump's records, made a similar argument in her November ruling.
“Presidents are not kings and plaintiff is not president,” she said.
Do former presidents keep executive privilege?
Three years after resigning as president, Nixon challenged a law that directed he must hand over presidential papers and tapes so archivists could review them for potential judicial proceedings.
The high court ruled against Nixon's claim that handing them over would disrupt the executive branch since it had access to the documents, but simultaneously stated executive privilege did not fall on the current president alone.
"We reject the argument that only an incumbent president may assert such claims, and hold that appellant, as a former president may also be heard to assert them," the Supreme Court wrote in 1977.
Still, the Supreme Court seemed to give greater weight to the incumbent president's claim on executive privilege.
President Joe Biden waived executive privilege so Mr Trump's records may be released from the National Archives, which houses White House records.
Mr Trump sued the archivist to prevent the release.
An appellate court judge on Tuesday questioned if a former president ever overruled the incumbent's decision on which papers to be handed over.
"Is there a circumstance where the former president ever gets to make this sort of call?" asked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Whether Mr Trump's claim is valid may never be known.
With Republicans primed to retake the US House of Representatives next year, it is possible the investigation is closed before an answer is given.
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
