List of All Articles with Tag 'ame'

(Reuters) -British American Tobacco appointed finance director Tadeu Marroco as CEO on Monday, succeeding Jack Bowles who is stepping down

As the stalemate over addressing the debt ceiling continues and the threat of default looms larger, President Joe Biden has resurfaced the controversial idea of using the 14th Amendment as a way to lift the borrowing cap without Congress.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, one of the largest U.S. pharmacies, said on Thursday it has sold some of its

U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican infamous for fabricating his life story, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didn't deserve. Afterward, he said wouldn't drop his reelection bid, defying calls to resign. Santos' 13-count federal indictment was a reckoning for a web of fraud and deceit that prosecutors say overlapped with his fantastical public image as a wealthy businessman — a fictional biography that began to unravel after he won election last fall. Santos, 34, was released on $500,000 bond following his arraignment, about five hours after turning himself in to authorities on Long Island to face charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. “This is the beginning of the ability for me to address and defend myself,” Santos told reporters afterward, vowing to clear his name and calling his prosecution a “witch hunt.” Santos had said little during his arraignment, which lasted about 15 minutes. His lawyer, Joseph Murray, asked the judge for permission for Santos to travel freely for his campaign, though he did surrender his passport. Santos said he was returning to Washington for votes Thursday. Among the allegations, prosecutors say Santos induced supporters to donate to a company under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign. Instead, they say, he used the money for personal expenses, including designer clothes and his credit card and car payments. Santos also is accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and applying for and receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed as regional director of an investment firm that the government shut down in 2021 over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme. The indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself." Reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Santos said he was unaware of the charges. Santos has defied calls to resign — some from fellow Republicans — as details of his fictitious resume came to light, though he did decline his committee assignments. He has given no indication that he plans to step aside because of his indictment. In the past, members of Congress in both parties have remained in office while facing charges. Santos, 34, was elected to Congress last fall after a campaign built partly on falsehoods. He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker with a substantial real estate portfolio who had been a star volleyball player in college, among other things. In reality, Santos didn't work at the big financial firms he claimed had employed him, didn't go to college and struggled financially before his run for public office. He claimed he fueled his run largely with self-made riches, earned from brokering deals on expensive toys for wealthy clients, but the indictment alleges those boasts were also exaggerated. In regulatory filings, Santos claimed he loaned his campaign and related political action committees more than $750,000, but it was unclear how he would have come into that kind of wealth so quickly after years in which he struggled to pay his rent and faced multiple eviction proceedings. In a financial disclosure form, Santos reported making $750,000 a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed Wednesday allege that Santos never received that sum, nor the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the firm. Santos has described the Devolder Organization as a broker for sales of luxury items like yachts and aircraft. The business was incorporated in Florida shortly after Santos stopped working as a salesman for Harbor City Capital, the company accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme. In November 2021, Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his lifestyle. According to the indictment, Santos told an associate to solicit contributions to the company and gave the person contact information for potential donors. Emails to prospective donors falsely claimed that the company was formed “exclusively” to aid Santos’ election bid and that there would be no limits on how much they could contribute, the indictment said. Santos falsely claimed that the money would be spent on television ads and other campaign expenses, it said. Last October, a month before his election, Santos transferred about $74,000 from company coffers to bank accounts he maintained, the indictment said. He also transferred money to some of his associates, it said. Many of Santos' fellow New York Republicans called on him to resign after his fabricated life story was revealed. Some renewed those calls after news of his indictment. "Sooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican representing parts of upstate New York. Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who confronted Santos at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address in February, said Santos should have resigned a long time ago. “I think we’re seeing that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind fine,” Romney said. House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise were more circumspect, saying Santos deserved a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Santos has faced criminal investigations before. When he was 19, he was the subject of a criminal investigation in Brazil over allegations he used stolen checks to buy items at a clothing shop. Brazilian authorities said they have reopened the case. In 2017, Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania after authorities said he used thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks to buy puppies from dog breeders. That case was dismissed after Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs. Federal authorities have separately been looking into complaints about Santos' work raising money for a group that purported to help neglected and abused pets. One New Jersey veteran accused Santos of failing to deliver $3,000 he had raised to help his pet dog get a needed surgery. ___ Farnoush Amiri in Washington and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report. ___ On Twitter, follow Jake Offenhartz at twitter.com/jangelooff and Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/ ___ Follow the AP's coverage of U.S. Rep. George Santos at https://apnews.com/hub/george-santos. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Kevin McCarthy says he won’t support George Santos’s re-election bid after all The 13 counts New York representative George Santos faces McCarthy says he will not back George Santos re-election bid after arrest – live

George Santos has been arrested after surrendering himself to authorities at a federal court on Long Island on Wednesday morning. The congressman for New York’s third district, who won his election after a campaign that was littered with lies about his past, was arrested shortly after 9am. He slipped past dozens of reporters to enter via a backdoor of the building. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, alleges a series of fraudulent schemes over several years. Mr Santos has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. The arrest represents a rapid rise and fall for a man his own constituents decried as an “imposter,” but whom national Republicans utilised in order to bolster their narrow majority in the House. In the 13-count indictment, federal prosecutors accused Mr Santos of lying on financial disclosure forms he filed to the House when he became a candidate, first by overstating his income from one job and failing to disclose income from another, and secondly by lying about his earnings from his company, the Devolder Organization. Prosecutors also allege that Mr Santos fraudulently used donations to his political campaign for his own benefit, spending “thousands of dollars of the solicited funds on personal expenses, including luxury designer clothing and credit card payments.” The indictment alleges that Mr Santos’s fraud began before his successful run for Congress, accusing him of running an unemployment insurance fraud scheme in which he applied for government assistance in New York while still employed by a Florida-based investment firm. The sweeping charges follow a steady drumbeat of revelations about Mr Santos in the press dating back to his campaign. Mr Santos was elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District in November 2022, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman by a margin of 54 per cent to 46 per cent. Soon after that victory, it emerged that Mr Santos had lied about much of his personal history and work experience. A New York Times investigation found that he had lied about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, lied about the college he attended, fabricated an animal charity, that the company from which he had earned a salary of $750,000 and dividends of $1m did not have any online presence, lied about saying he lost four employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, and that he faced criminal charges in Brazil for cheque fraud. The revelations set off a firestorm in his district. A local pressure group started by local citizens was formed with the aim of forcing Mr Santos from office. Concerned Citizens of NY03 held regular protests outside his campaign office and called on Republican leaders to expel him from Congress. But Republican House majority leader Kevin McCarthy — the person with the power to call the vote — refused to do so, instead leaving his fate to the House Ethics Committee. Reacting to news that charges were imminent on Tuesday, Mr McCarthy signalled that Mr Santos would be allowed to continue serving in Congress. “I’ll look at the charges,” he told reporters. “If a person is indicted, they’re not on committees. They have the right to vote, but they have to go to trial.” On Wednesday, Concerned Citizens of NY03 renewed their call for Mr McCarthy to expel Mr Santos. “The world has known for months that Santos is a liar, an imposter, a criminal. The only thing we didn’t know was which of his many crimes would be prosecuted first. It’s beyond time for Speaker Kevin McCarthy to withdraw his support for Santos and show him the door,” the group said in a statement. Since Mr Santos was sworn into office in January, revelations about his past have continued to emerge. The most recent report found that Mr Santos was charged with writing bad checks to purchase puppies from Amish farmers in 2017. That case was dismissed after Mr Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs. Mr Santos, 34, has apologised for what he described as “résumé embellishment,” but has refused to resign. Read More George Santos: Every lie disgraced Republican Congressman has been accused of making In George Santos’s district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of ‘imposter’ abound From resume lies to criminal charges: A timeline of George Santos’ many scandals Can George Santos still serve in Congress even if he is convicted? Kevin McCarthy dodges questions about George Santos and Donald Trump

North American travelers are unhappy with high ticket prices, staffing shortages and reduced routes, according to consumer research company J.D. Power's 2023 North American Airline Satisfaction Study.

LONDON Bank of America has hired former BNP Paribas banker Benoit Nevouet to be the manager of a

With the US government just weeks away from being legally unable to pay its bills for the first time, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet at the White House on Tuesday. The meeting is an attempt to break what has become an economy-threatening logjam over Republican demands for Mr Biden to endorse rolling back large swaths of his legislative record. The Oval Office confab will be the first face-to-face sit-down between the two men since 1 February, when Mr Biden and the House Speaker met for what the White House described as a “frank and straightforward dialogue”. This time, the president and speaker will be joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. After their last meeting, Mr McCarthy told reporters outside the West Wing that the meeting with Mr Biden that the meeting left him hopeful that he and the president could “find common ground”. It was the first meeting the California Republican had with the president since he won the speaker’s gavel after a week-long marathon of 15 separate ballots. Mr McCarthy also said he’d told Mr Biden that he wanted to hammer out an agreement that would see the GOP-controlled House vote to raise the US statutory debt limit “long before” the June deadline laid out by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Ms Yellen notably warned in January that the Treasury had begun taking “extraordinary measures” to avoid defaulting on the nation’s sovereign debt. Since that February meeting, the White House and the House of Representatives have remained far apart on what is needed before legislation allowing the US to resume issuing new debt instruments can reach Mr Biden’s desk for his signature. For his part, the president’s view has remained consistent since the beginning of the year. Mr Biden has repeatedly said that Congress should pass a “clean” debt ceiling increase and negotiate on spending cuts desired for next fiscal year when Congress begins work on a budget. Mr McCarty, who only gained the Speaker’s gavel after promising far-right members of the House Republican Conference that he’d weaponise the debt limit to extract massive cuts to programs favoured by Democrats, is insisting that he and House Republicans have provided a solution to the problem with what the House calls the “Limit, Save and Grow Act”. That legislation, which passed the House with a bare majority of GOP votes last month, would provide just a year’s worth of relief coupled with spending provisions that slash non-defence spending by as much as 20 per cent. Among the programmes on the chopping block: President Joe Biden’s student debt relief initiative, as well as funding for new IRS personnel. The plan would also add new work requirements for adults on Medicaid, cap the growth of the federal government, and impose 2022 limits on discretionary spending. The White House said in response to the bill’s passage that Republicans were attempting to “strip away health care services for veterans, cut access to Meals on Wheels, eliminate health care coverage for millions of Americans and ship manufacturing jobs overseas”. While the House-passed bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, thus far Mr McConnell and Senate Republicans have backed up Mr McCarthy’s demand for Mr Biden to sign off on GOP-endorsed austerity measures in exchange for Republican votes to allow the US to continue paying its’ debts. Prominent GOP figures frequently claim that raising the statutory debt limit to enable the US to continue meeting financial obligations — a practice that was once routine under presidents of both parties and met no objections when it was done under Mr Biden’s predecessor — is akin to authorising new spending. That claim, however, is not how the debt limit works. Raising the debt limit does not increase or decrease the amount of money that is spent on programmes that have already been authorised by Congress and have had funds allocated to them in appropriations legislation. Experts say a failure to raise the debt limit would force the government to default on its debt and precipitate a worldwide financial crisis. The last time the US flirted with that disastrous outcome was 2011, when Republicans controlled the House and Democrats controlled the Senate and the White House. Mr Biden, then the vice president under Barack Obama, led the negotiations with congressional leaders that headed off a default, but not before the US had its credit rating decreased for the first time in history. That 2011 dispute ended with Republicans suffering a drop in their approval ratings and facing accusations of endangering the US economy for political reasons. It also came along with an unprecedented downgrade in America’s credit rating. Those same charges are being raised again now by the White House and the president’s allies in Congress, who are holding firm on Mr Biden’s call for a clean debt limit boost. With both sides as far apart as they were three months ago, it’s unclear whether the White House expects Tuesday’s congressional confab to end with any positive progress on ending the impasse and preventing a default. One clue as to what Mr Biden’s advisers may be thinking can be found in the president’s travel schedule. The White House has said Mr Biden will travel to New York on Wednesday for what it describes as remarks on “why Congress must avoid default immediately and without conditions, and how the House Republican Default on America Act will cut veterans’ health care visits, teachers and school support staffs, and Meals on Wheels for seniors”. White House aides have also refused to describe the Tuesday meeting as a negotiating session. At Monday’s daily press briefing, White House Press Secretary reiterated the president’s position opposing any negotiations and demanding a clean debt ceiling increase. “There shouldn't be negotiations on the debt on the debt limit. This is something that they should get to regular order and get to work on. We should not have our House Republicans manufacturing a crisis on something that has been done 78 times since 1960. This is their constitutional duty, Congress must act. That's what the President is going to make very clear with with the leaders tomorrow,” she said.

Colombian rebel leader Pablo Beltran said on Tuesday that peace talks between his National Liberation Army and the government have been put “on pause” due to remarks made last week by President Gustavo Petro. Petro questioned whether members of the rebel group's delegation in Cuba could effectively control the actions of their own commanders on the battlefield. He also said the younger leaders of the group, known as the ELN, were motivated not by political goals, but by drug trafficking profits. In an interview published on Youtube by the ELN’s communication team, Beltran said that delegations from both sides would have to meet to “examine” the comments by Colombia's president before issues like a ceasefire and rural development schemes can continue to be discussed. The negotiations began in November and have failed to produce any major breakthroughs so far. The ELN was recognized as “an armed rebel group” by Colombia’s government during the last round of talks which took place in Mexico, a designation that enables it to seek policy changes in peace talks instead of just negotiating reduced sentences for their crimes. Beltran argued that Petro’s recent comments are putting its status as a “political organization” in jeopardy. “If they are saying one thing in the negotiations, while the president says another we feel like we are stuck in the middle,” Beltran said. “So we are asking for an explanation.” During a speech to military officers on Friday, Petro described members of the ELN’s peace delegation as “elderly” leaders who were interested in discussing political changes. But he questioned whether younger ELN commanders who lead troops on the ground have the same kind of goals. “They may use the same banners,” Petro said. “But what motivates them is (profiting from) illicit economies.” Petro added that elderly leaders like Beltran were “willing to sit down and talk. But are they really in charge?” The ELN was founded in the 1960s by union leaders, students and priests inspired by the Cuban revolution. It is Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group and has been notoriously difficult for previous Colombian governments to negotiate with. In 2016, Colombia’s government signed a peace deal with the larger FARC group that ended five decades of conflict in which an estimated 260,000 people were killed. But violence has continued to affect rural pockets of the country where the ELN has been fighting the Gulf Clan and FARC holdout groups for the control of drug trafficking routes and other resources. Petro promised during his presidential campaign that he would seek peace deals with all of Colombia’s major armed groups by rolling out a strategy he described as “total peace.” But the Gulf Clan recently gave up on the peace talks, while negotiations with FARC holdout groups are still in preliminary stages. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

A former aide to Rudolph Giuliani says he told her the ex-New York City mayor and then-president Donald Trump were offering to sell presidential pardons for $2 million apiece, according to court documents. The bombshell allegation was levied in a complaint filed against Mr Giuliani by Noelle Dunphy, a New York-based public relations professional who is suing him for “unlawful abuses of power, wide-ranging sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and other misconduct” committed while she worked for him in 2019 and 2020. Mr Giuliani has strongly denied the claims in the lawsuit. Earlier it it was reported that Mr Trump was shown tweets from Democrats blasting CNN for hosting the town hall with him to psyche him up during the live broadcast. During the initial commercial break, Trump adviser Jason Miller showed the former president recent tweets backstage at the New Hampshire college where the event was hosted, according to Axios. Mr Trump grew more bellicose as the night went on after being shown posts by several people slamming CNN, including New York progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted 23 minutes into the event: “CNN should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost total control of this ‘town hall’ to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim.” “The audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host,” she added. Meanwhile, Mr Trump posted an oddly phrased Mother’s Day message attacking the parents of his main foes on Sunday, as he rushed to stick it to the “Radical Left Fascists”. Read More Trump news – live: Aides showed Trump tweets by AOC and Andrew Yang to psyche him up during break in town hall Jason Sudeikis reveals his Ted Lasso character was changed because of Donald Trump Prosecutor ends probe of FBI's Trump-Russia investigation with harsh criticism, but no new charges One of far-right Rep Paul Gosar’s top aides pledged his loyalty to white supremacist Nick Fuentes, report finds Rick Perry teases possible 2024 run against Trump

A former aide to former Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani says he told her the ex-New York City mayor and then-president Donald Trump were offering to sell presidential pardons for $2 million apiece, according to court documents. The bombshell allegation was levied in a complaint filed against Mr Giuliani by Noelle Dunphy, a New York-based public relations professional who is suing him for “unlawful abuses of power, wide-ranging sexual assault and harassment, wage theft, and other misconduct” committed while she worked for him in 2019 and 2020. The lawsuit also claims that she was subjected to sexual assault, harassment, wage theft and other misconduct by Mr Giuliani, and alleges that she was forced to perform sex acts on him and work in the nude. Ms Duphy’s lawsuit details an interaction she allegedly had with Mr Giuliani on or about 16 February 2019, when he was serving as Mr Trump’s personal attorney and attempting to dig up overseas dirt on then-former vice president Joe Biden, who at the time was two months away from entering the 2020 presidential race against Mr Trump. She writes that as they reviewed emails between him and Ukrainian government officials, she asked if he had to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and offered to do the required paperwork for him. The former mayor replied that he was allowed to violate Fara and other US laws because “[he had] immunity”. She then states that Mr Giuliani asked her “if she knew anyone in need of a pardon” because he was “selling pardons for $2 million, which he and President Trump would split”. “He told Ms Dunphy that she could refer individuals seeking pardons to him, so long as they did not go through “the normal channels” of the Office of the Pardon Attorney, because correspondence going to that office would be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,” she added. During Mr Trump’s presidency, he frequently granted pardons to wealthy or well-connected individuals without the involvement of the Pardon Attorney, the Department of Justice official who is charged with reviewing petitions for executive clemency and making recommendations as to whether a given petition should be granted. No evidence has ever emerged that Mr Trump or Mr Giuliani were ever compensated for any presidential pardon granted during Mr Trump’s time in office, but Ms Dunphy’s allegation matches that made by another person who once sought a pardon from the then-president. In August, The New York Times reported that former CIA officer John Kiriakou broached the topic with Mr Giuliani during a meeting at the Washington, DC hotel Mr Trump’s company ran between 2016 and 2022. Mr Kiriakou, who in 2012 was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for disclosing classified information, told the Times that one of Mr Giuliani’s associates at the meeting said the ex-New York City mayor could assist him — for a price. “It’s going to cost $2 million — he’s going to want two million bucks,” he recalled the Giuliani associate as saying. He also told the Times that he did not pursue a pardon through Mr Giuliani because he could not afford to pay him $2 million. “I laughed. Two million bucks — are you out of your mind?” Kiriakou told the outlet. “Even if I had two million bucks, I wouldn’t spend it to recover a $700,000 pension,” he said. Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for and adviser to Mr Giuliani, told The Independent in an email that the former New York mayor “unequivocally denies the allegations raised by Ms Dunphy”. “Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims,” he added. The Independent has reached out to Mr Trump’s team for comment. Read More Trump news – live: Aides showed Trump tweets by AOC and Andrew Yang to psyche him up during break in town hall Rudy Giuliani sued for $10m for alleged sexual assault by former employee Trump claimed the Durham probe would uncover the 'crime of the century.' Here's what it really found Trump tells former adviser Michael Flynn: 'We’re going to bring you back' Trump says AOC ‘went crazy’ over CNN town hall as he slams Democrat’s relationship Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Rudy Giuliani has been sued for $10m for sexual assault, harassment, wage theft and other misconduct by a former associate who claims he forced her to perform sex acts on him and work in the nude. Noelle Dunphy alleges that the former New York City mayor made “sexual demands” throughout her employment and went on “alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks,” many of which she recorded. She also alleges that the ex-New York City mayor and then-president Donald Trump were offering to sell presidential pardons for $2 million apiece, according to court documents. “He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands-which came virtually anytime, anywhere-was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation,” the lawsuit states. She claims that she agreed to start working for Mr Giuliani for a salary of $1m per year, but he told her he would have to defer payment as he was going through a divorce with his “crazy” ex-wife. Ms Dunphy states that she was also asked to record conversations with Mr Giuliani “as well as Giuliani’s interactions with others.” “But unbeknownst to Ms Dunphy, Giuliani apparently decided during the interview that he would use the job offer and his representation as a pretext to develop a quid pro quo sexual relationship with Ms Dunphy. He was later recorded telling Ms Dunphy, ‘I’ve wanted you from the day I interviewed you,’” the lawsuit states. She also claims that the first week she worked for Mr Giuliani, 78, he flew her to New York and invited her to stay at his apartment in the city, where they drank together. “Giuliani then pulled her head onto his penis, without asking for or obtaining any form of consent. He held her by her hair. It became clear to Ms Dunphy that there was no way out of giving him oral sex. She did so, against her will,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also states that Mr Giuliani insisted that she carried out her work naked, wearing a bikini, or tiny shorts with an American flag on them that he provided for her. And she accuses him of inappropriate conduct while on video calls with her. “When they were apart, they would often work remotely via videoconference, and during those conferences Giuliani almost always asked her to remove her clothes on camera. He often called from his bed, where he was visibly touching himself under a white sheet,” the lawsuit states. Ms Duphy’s lawsuit details an interaction she allegedly had with Mr Giuliani on or about 16 February 2019, when he was serving as Mr Trump’s personal attorney and attempting to dig up overseas dirt on then-former vice president Joe Biden, who at the time was two months away from entering the 2020 presidential race against Mr Trump. She writes that as they reviewed emails between him and Ukrainian government officials, she asked if he had to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and offered to do the required paperwork for him. The former mayor replied that he was allowed to violate Fara and other US laws because “[he had] immunity”. She then states that Mr Giuliani asked her “if she knew anyone in need of a pardon” because he was “selling pardons for $2 million, which he and President Trump would split”. “He told Ms Dunphy that she could refer individuals seeking pardons to him, so long as they did not go through “the normal channels” of the Office of the Pardon Attorney, because correspondence going to that office would be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,” she added. The lawsuit states that she began working for Mr Giuliani in January 2019 and that he fired her in January 2021, without paying her the deferred salary. She is seeking $10m from Mr Giuliani and three of his namesake companies. Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for and adviser to Mr Giuliani, told The Independent in an email that the former New York mayor “unequivocally denies the allegations raised by Ms Dunphy”. “Mayor Giuliani’s lifetime of public service speaks for itself and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims,” he added. Read More Trump news – live: Aides showed Trump tweets by AOC and Andrew Yang to psyche him up during break in town hall Rudy Giuliani said he and Trump were selling pardons for $2m apiece, ex-aide claims Trump goes after Fox for Dominion settlement ‘insult’ to election deniers Rudy Giuliani says he ‘expected’ Fox News to fire Tucker Carlson in conspiracy-filled interview Woman sues Rudy Giuliani, saying he coerced her into sex, owes her $2 million in unpaid wages Rudy Giuliani said he and Trump were selling pardons for $2m apiece, ex-aide claims Trump claimed the Durham probe would uncover the 'crime of the century.' Here's what it really found