Trump team signs agreement with Justice Department for background checks on administration picks
Washington (PTI): The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, paving the way for the department to conduct background checks and start the security clearance process for Trump administration nominees.
The Memorandum Of Understanding was signed on Tuesday and comes amid controversy over some of Trump’s picks for top positions in the government.
This is the next step in the ongoing preparation of senior administration officials for the purpose of serving in President Trump’s administration, a press release said on Tuesday.
“This agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day,” Susie Wiles, President-elect Trump’s Chief of Staff.
Ultimately, this will afford the transition process additional insights, and it facilitates our agency landing teams gaining access to the information they need to prepare for leadership of the federal agencies and departments, the press statement said.
The agreement outlines the terms of cooperation between the transition team and the DOJ, marking a significant step in preparation for the incoming administration. It comes after complaints from some Republican senators that the delay in signing the memorandum could hold up the confirmation process for Trump’s nominees, CNN reported.
President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States of America on January 20, 2025.
The transition said the agreement with the DOJ allows Trump’s team to “submit names for background checks and security clearances.”
The transition had previously resisted using the FBI, which is a division of the DOJ, to conduct background checks and instead indicated it would use a different vetting process, underscoring Trump's distrust of the bureau, the Hill reported.
Last week, Trump’s team announced it had signed an MOU with the Biden White House, allowing officials to meet with counterparts at departments and agencies ahead of the January transition of power.
The transition team missed an October 1 deadline to sign an agreement with the White House to provide for landing teams to begin meeting with departments and agencies.
The FBI plays a key role in the transition from one administration to the next, conducting background checks and processing security clearances for intended nominees and the transition officials, known as landing teams, who go into agencies before the inauguration to get ready, the National Public Radio reported.
The backgrounds of some of Trump’s picks for top positions in the government are raising concerns, the USA Today reported.
Former Representative Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration as Trump's attorney general pick after meeting resistance.
Gaetz was investigated but never charged by the DOJ over sex trafficking allegations, which he denies.
Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for defence secretary, was accused of sexual assault but never charged and denies the allegations. He paid a financial settlement to his accuser.
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India votes in favour of UNGA resolution on Palestine calling for end to Israeli occupation
United Nations, Dec 4: India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that called for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reiterated the call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in West Asia.
The draft resolution ‘Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine’ tabled by Senegal was overwhelmingly adopted in the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday.
India was among the 157 nations that voted in favour, while eight Member States - Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the United States voted against it.
Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine and Uruguay abstained.
The resolution, adopted as orally revised, reiterated its call for the “achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East (West Asia)” on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, including of East Jerusalem.
The resolution called for the “withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem” and for the realisation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent State.
Through the resolution, the General Assembly reaffirmed its unwavering support, in accordance with international law, for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders, based on the pre-1967 borders.
It also demanded that Israel, “the occupying Power, comply strictly with its obligations under international law, including as reflected in the advisory opinion of the International Court of 19 July 2024, including to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as rapidly as possible, to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to put an end to its unlawful acts, including by repealing all legislation and measures creating or maintaining the unlawful situation.”
It rejected any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza.
The resolution further stressed that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, and “reaffirms the vision of the two-state solution, with the Gaza Strip as part of the Palestinian State.”
The resolution further stressed the need for an immediate and complete cessation of all acts of violence, including military attacks, destruction and acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and incitement.
India also voted in favour of a resolution in the General Assembly that demanded that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of June 1967 in the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.
The resolution was adopted with 97 votes in favour, 64 abstentions and eight votes against, including by Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The resolution expressed deep concern that Israel has not withdrawn from the Syrian Golan, which has been under occupation since 1967, contrary to the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
It stressed the illegality of the Israeli settlement construction and other activities in the occupied Syrian Golan since 1967.
It declared that the Israeli decision of December 1981 to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is “null and void” and has no validity whatsoever and called upon Israel to rescind it.
