Argentina ex-president denies bribery charges News
Argentina ex-president denies bribery charges

[JURIST] Former Argentinian President Fernando de la Rua [BBC profile] Tuesday denied charges [BBC report] that he attempted to bribe lawmakers with millions of dollars to secure the approval of labor reforms during his presidency from 1999 to December 2001. Judge Daniel Rafecas formally charged de la Rua Monday. Nine other former officials are facing related bribery charges. De la Rua's lawyer said that he will appeal to have the charges dropped. De la Rua could be sentenced to as many as six years in prison if convicted. AP has more.

These are not the first charges brought against de la Rua. In December 2004, an Argentinian court charged [JURIST report] him with improperly allocating public funds for his own private use and for the use of his political party while serving in public office. In October 2007, he was charged with five counts of manslaughter [JURIST report] for failing to prevent the deaths of five demonstrators during 2001 confrontations with police in Buenos Aires. The deaths came during riots sparked by a national economic crisis [BBC report] that caused de la Rua to flee the presidential residence and eventually resign his office just two years into his term.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

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On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

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