Posted September 2, 2015 9:24 PM ET; Last updated September 3, 2015 9:11 PM ET
Even if the United Nations investigated the White House today, there is no will in the Congress to prosecute the President of the US. They fear being called racists, haters. No spines among elected officials. Is that why Donald Trump is popular?
[From article]
Guatemalan President Otto Perez on Thursday said he was resigning, after Congress stripped him of immunity over corruption allegations and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The embattled conservative leader, in power since 2012, took the decision to step down to confront "individually the proceedings against him," his spokesman Jorge Ortega said, hours after the arrest warrant was issued.
A judge issued the arrest warrant Wednesday for Mr Perez, who faces prosecution for allegedly masterminding a huge fraud scheme.
[. . .]
Under Guatemalan law, Mr Perez will be automatically removed from office if remanded in custody by a criminal court.
Guatemala's attorney general also said Wednesday she is confident embattled Mr Perez will be convicted of corruption, as the country's top court rejected his challenge to prosecutors' moves to try him.
[. . .]
Mr Perez is the first president in the Central American country's history to be stripped of his immunity, a decision that caused exasperated Guatemalans to burst into celebration Tuesday night after months of unprecedented protests.
A judge subsequently barred the 64-year-old retired general from leaving the country.
[. . .]
The scandal, which has already felled his former vice president and a string of top officials, comes as Guatemala prepares for elections Sunday to choose his successor.
Mr Perez, in power since 2012, is constitutionally barred from running for re-election. His term ends on January 14.
The president has been left increasingly isolated by the scandal.
Six of his 14 ministers have resigned in recent days, along with several other top officials.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/679644/arrest-warrant-issued-for-guatemala-president
Guatemalan president facing arrest resigns
3 Sep 2015 at 14:53
AFP
* * *
[From article]
Guatemala’s Congress voted on Tuesday to strip President Otto Pérez Molina of his immunity from prosecution, a unanimous decision that acknowledged the outpouring of citizen demands for an end to entrenched impunity.
The 132-0 vote was the culmination of a tumultuous five months since prosecutors revealed the existence of a customs fraud ring in April, describing how officials received bribes in exchange for discounted tariffs, a scheme that effectively stole millions from the treasury.
[. . .]
The case ignited a flood of protest from ordinary Guatemalans, who began staging weekly protests in Guatemala City’s central plaza, demanding the president’s resignation, although he had yet to be linked directly to the scheme.
But it was not until Aug. 21, when prosecutors announced that their evidence pointed to Mr. Pérez Molina as one of the scheme’s ringleaders, that Guatemala’s elite joined the calls for Mr. Pérez Molina to step down.
[. . .]
But removing the president’s immunity has enormous symbolism in a country long divided by class and race and where impunity for the powerful was the rule in a system fueled by corruption.
“It sends a very powerful message both to Guatemalans and to other countries in the region,”
[. . .]
The case against Mr. Pérez Molina, which forced the resignation of his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, in May, was brought by a United Nations-backed commission of independent prosecutors that has been working alongside the Guatemalan attorney general’s office for almost a decade. The commission has brought down a series of corrupt officials, developing complex cases using wiretaps and other evidence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/world/americas/guatemala-votes-to-strip-its-president-of-immunity.html
President Otto Pérez Molina Is Stripped of Immunity in Guatemala
By ELISABETH MALKIN and AZAM AHMED
SEPT. 1, 2015
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