Month: April 2024

Tesla said that they are asking shareholders to vote again on Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package after a Delaware judge voided it earlier this year after ruling that the record-setting compensation deal was “deeply flawed.” In a proxy filing published Wednesday, Tesla said it would hold a vote on moving its state of incorporation to Texas from Delaware; Musk had suggested the move after his pay package was ruled illegal. Tesla is set to hold its annual shareholders meeting on June 13 (per CBS News).

A Delaware judge in late January threw out the share-based payout, calling it an “unfathomable sum” and unfair to shareholders. In her ruling, the judge accepted the shareholder lawyers’ argument that Musk personally dictated the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. The ruling had some investors anticipating that Tesla might revamp its governance, as the board had long faced criticism with Musk as CEO.

In looking to re-ratify Musk’s 2018 pay package, Tesla argued that “corporate democracy and stockholder rights” are at stake, telling shareholders the court had “rescinded the pay package that an overwhelming majority of you voted to grant.” n a letter to stockholders, Tesla cited the need to carefully manage its resources for its decision. The announcement came days after news that the electric-car manufacturer would reduce its workforce by 10% globally, or about 14,000 people.

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The White House said in a statement that the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Tehran in response to Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend (per CNN). Iran directly attacked Israel on Saturday with hundreds of missiles and drones, the vast majority of which were intercepted. Iran has described its attack as retaliatory for a strike on its diplomatic complex in Damascus early this month that killed several Iranian military leaders. Israel has said that Iran would “face the consequences” for the attack, while the United States and other allies have called for restraint.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the announcement in a statement issued by the White House, stating the punitive measures will be imposed shortly: “following Iran’s unprecedented air attack against Israel, President Biden is coordinating with allies and partners, including the G7, and with bipartisan leaders in Congress, on a comprehensive response. In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry. We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions.”

Sullivan said that the designations will target Iran’s missile and drone programs as well as entities supporting its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense,  adding they expect allies and partners to soon follow with their own blacklistings: “these new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.”

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier in the week that the Biden administration would use sanctions “to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity …from this weekend’s attack to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers.”

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ABC News reports that articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border were officially transmitted to the Senate on Tuesday. The House impeachment managers, selected by Republican leadership, walked the two articles through the Capitol led by the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms.

The House voted to impeach Mayorkas in mid-February over what they said was his failure to enforce border laws amid a surge in migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. The controversial vote, which had previously failed, was opposed by three Republicans and all Democrats. House leaders opted to wait until after a government funding fight to present the issue to the Senate, with Senate Republicans pushing to delay the proceedings until this week amid concerns over attendance. The House impeachment managers include Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and Reps. Andy Biggs, Ben Cline, Andrew Garbarino, Michael Guest, Harriet Hageman, Clay Higgins, Laurel Lee, August Pfluger and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denounced the effort to impeach Mayorkas as “baseless,” saying that House Republicans “continue to ignore the facts and undermine the Constitution” with the impeachment push. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement: “Congressional Republicans should stop wasting time with unfounded attacks, and instead do their job by passing bipartisan legislation to properly fund the Department’s vital national security missions and finally fix our broken immigration system.” 

The historic vote that marked the first time a Cabinet secretary has been impeached in nearly 150 years. Mayorkas is only the second Cabinet secretary to be impeached in U.S. history after William Belknap, a former secretary of war, in 1876.

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On Tuesday, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments on rioters involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which could potentially impact former President Donald Trump in his ongoing legal battles.

Per NBC News, the justices heard an appeal brought by defendant Joseph Fischer, a former police officer who is seeking to dismiss a charge accusing him of obstructing an official proceeding, namely the certification by Congress of Joe Biden’s election victory, which was disrupted by a mob of Trump supporters. The law in question criminalizes efforts to obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding. If convicted, it would result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Arguments took place for nearly two hours as Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito reportedly seemed to be skeptical of the government’s interpretation of legal arguments being made against defendant Joseph Fischer. A ruling by the 6-3 conservative majority high court could overturn felony obstruction charges for more than 300 individuals involved in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol building (from UPI).

Tuesday’s hearing comes just a week before the Supreme Court hears Trump’s bid to toss out his election interference charges based on a claim of presidential immunity. Fischer and Trump both say that the obstruction law does not apply to their alleged conduct, and as such, the charges should be dropped.

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