The Globe and Mail - 25.11.2019

MONDAY,NOVEMBER25,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O NEWS | A

Billionaire media mogul Michael
Bloomberg, the former mayor of
the U.S.’s largest city, jumped in-
to the race for the Democratic
U.S. presidential nomination on
Sunday as a moderate with deep
pockets unabashedly aiming to
beat fellow New Yorker Donald
Trump in the November, 2020,
election.
Mr. Bloomberg’s belated entry
into the race – just three months
before the first of the state-by-
state party nominating contests

• reflects his skepticism that any
  of the other 17 Democratic candi-
  dates can unseat the Republican
  president.
  “I’m running for president to
  defeat Donald Trump and re-
  build America,” Mr. Bloomberg,
  a 77-year-old former Republican,
  said in a statement launching his
  campaign.
  “We cannot afford four more
  years of President Trump’s reck-
  less and unethical actions,” he
  said.
  The move represents an
  about-face for Mr. Bloomberg,
  who had said in March he would
  not run for president. He will
  compete with former vice-presi-

dent Joe Biden and Mayor Pete

Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., to

become the moderate alterna-

tive to liberal U.S. Senators Eliza-

beth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Mr. Bloomberg, founder and

CEO of prominent media compa-

ny Bloomberg LP, has a financial

advantage over his Democratic

rivals. He has spent at least

US$31 million in television ads

that will run in states across the

country over the next two

weeks, a campaign spokesman

said.

He has won allies in the party

with his advocacy and philan-

thropy on climate change and in

fighting gun violence.

Mr. Bloomberg will face signif-

icant disadvantages because of

his late start, which means he

will be playing catch-up with ri-

vals.

Ranked by Forbes as the

eighth-richest American with an

estimated worth of US$53.4 bil-

lion, Mr. Bloomberg joins activist

and former hedge fund investor

Tom Steyer as the second billio-

naire to enter the race.

“We do not believe that billio-

naires have the right to buy elec-

tions,” Mr. Sanders said in a Twit-

ter post on Sunday. “That is why

multi-billionaires like Michael

Bloomberg are not going to get

very far in this election.”

While some Democratic can-

didates had warned against mak-

ing the election all about Mr.

Trump, Mr. Bloomberg kept the

focus squarely on the President,

with whom he has been well ac-

quainted for decades.

“I know what it takes to beat

Trump, because I already have.

And I will do it again,” Mr.

Bloomberg said.

Mr. Bloomberg, who filed pa-

perwork on Thursday with the

U.S. Federal Election Commis-

sion to run for president, previ-

ously had filed to be eligible for

the Democratic primaries in Ala-

bama and four other states with

early deadlines for ballot qualifi-

cation.

Mr. Bloomberg already has

come under fire from liberal crit-

ics who say he would be the

wrong choice for a Democratic

Party turning against corporate

money in politics and dedicated

to ending income inequality.

He apologized this month for

New York’s “stop and frisk” pol-

icy that allowed police to stop

and search people on the street,

which was decried by critics as

racist for overwhelmingly target-

ing black men. Black voters are a

critical Democratic voting bloc.

Bloomberg News said on Sun-

day it will not investigate its

founder, continuing a policy of

limiting coverage of him.

REUTERS

BloombergentersDemocraticpresidentialrace

FormerNewYork

mayorhadpreviously

saidhewouldnot

seeknomination

MichaelBloomberg,thebillionaireandformerNewYorkmayor,sitsataLittleRock,Ark.,restaurantafter

addinghisnametotheArkansasDemocraticprimaryballotonNov.12.CHRISTOPHERALUKABERRY/REUTERS

JOHNWHITESIDESWASHINGTON

Democratic House intelligence
committee chairman Adam
Schiff said Sunday he won’t fore-
close the possibility of his com-
mittee undertaking more deposi-
tions and hearings in the im-
peachment inquiry of President
Donald Trump.
Mr. Schiff said on CNN’sState of
the Unionthat his committee con-
tinues to conduct investigative
work, but he won’t let the Trump
administration stall the inquiry.
Mr. Schiff’s staff and others are
compiling the panel’s findings to

submit to the House judiciary

committee, which is expected to

open its own hearings to consider

articles of impeachment and a

formal recommendation.

“The investigation isn’t going

to end,” Mr. Schiff said.

Democrats argue that the Pres-

ident leveraged his office for per-

sonal political gain. Mr. Trump

had US$391-million in congres-

sionally approved U.S. assistance

withheld from Ukraine from July

to September and pushed Uk-

raine to launch investigations in-

to political rivals. But Republi-

cans contend that the allegation

he sought to bribe Ukraine is un-

supported by firsthand testimo-

ny.

The ranking Republican on the

House intelligence committee,

Representative Devin Nunes, said

on the Fox News showSunday

Morning Futuresthat the hearings

showed House Republicans are

serious legislators and were

“nothing but a total disaster” for

Democrats.

“It’s probably the first time that

they actually realized this whole

Russia thing was a hoax and the

Ukraine thing is a hoax,” Mr.

Nunes contended.

Mr. Schiff said he wants to talk

with constituents and colleagues

before making a final judgment

on impeachment. Still, he argued

that the evidence produced so far

“overwhelmingly shows serious

misconduct by the President.”

Congressional Republican sup-

port for Mr. Trump is showing no

overt signs of buckling. Mr. Schiff

said that if no Republicans ended

up voting to support impeach-

ment, he believes it would mean a

failure of the GOP to put the coun-

try over their party. He contended

that if president Barack Obama

had acted like Trump on Ukraine,

Republicans “would have voted

to impeach him in a heartbeat

with a fraction of the evidence.”

Polling has shown that while

public opinion has shifted recent-

ly toward slightly backing Mr.

Trump’s impeachment, Demo-

crats strongly support the effort

while Republicans vehemently

oppose it. Independents have

been divided.

Republican Senator John Ken-

nedy said onFoxNewsSundaythat

he expects the House to vote to

impeach.

“When it comes to the Senate, I

do not think the allegations will

be summarily dismissed,” Mr.

Kennedy said.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Schiffwon’truleoutmorehearings,witnessesinTrumpimpeachmentinquiry

KEVINFREKINGWASHINGTON

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Sunday
“to get Brexit done,” with his Conservative Party making an
election pledge to bring his deal to leave the European Union
back to Parliament before Christmas.
With Britain heading to the polls on Dec. 12,the governing
Conservatives rolled out an election manifesto that prom-
ised more public-sector spending and no further extensions
to the protracted departure from the EU. They also pledged
no new taxes, drawing a distinction with the opposition La-
bour Party that has promised to raise taxes on the rich and
businesses to fund a major expansion of the state. But the
manifesto offered little detail on other policy areas, with
aides wanting Mr. Johnson to play it safe after plans on social
care in 2017 saw an opinion-poll lead enjoyed by his prede-
cessor Theresa May all but disappear.
Mr. Johnson is the runaway favourite to win the election,
according to opinion polls.
“Get Brexit done and we shallsee a pent-up tidalwave of
investment into this country,” the Prime Minister said,
launching the manifesto in the central English town of Tel-
ford.
He also ruled out seeking any further delay to Brexit, say-
ing in the manifesto: “We will not extend the implementa-
tion period beyond December, 2020.”
Contrasting with Labour’s unabashed tax-and-spend ap-
proach, Mr. Johnson’s manifesto – titled Get Brexit Done,
Unleash Britain’s Potential – pledged to freeze income tax,
value-added sales tax and social security payments.
Instead, he promised a total of £23.5-billion ($40.1-billion)
in “sensible” tax cuts and day-to-day spending over four
years, including on the National Health Service, which
would gain 50,000 nurses. His pledges, which amount to a
day-to-day spending increase of £2.9-billion a year by the
2023/24 financial year, are dwarfed by Labour’s £83-billion
planned annual spending increase by that same year.
Mr. Johnson, portrayed by the opposition party as being in
the pockets of billionaires, said he was targeting his mea-
sures toward those who are less well off.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn described the manifesto as
one “for billionaires. They bought it and you’ll pay for it.”
Think-tanks such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies have
raised questions about how both the Conservatives and La-
bour parties would fund their plans.
“Business leaders will still want to see value for money
from the Conservative spending pledges, and there are some
concerns this is turning into a big-spending election,” said
Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors.
“But Tory [Conservative] plans are still well lower than
the absolutely massive expansion being advocated by La-
bour.”
Held after three years of negotiations to leave the Europe-
an Union since a 2016 referendum, the December election
will show how far Brexit has torn traditional political alle-
giances apart and will test an electorate increasingly tired of
voting.

REUTERS

Johnsonoffersup

newBrexitpromise

forChristmas

WILLIAMJAMES
KYLIEMACLELLANTELFORD,ENGLAND

LONDONBritish prosecutors

have charged a 23-year-old man

from Northern Ireland in the

deaths of 39 people from Viet-

nam whose bodies were found

in a refrigerated container truck

last month.

Essex Police said Sunday that

Christopher Kennedy was

charged with conspiracy to

arrange people trafficking and

conspiracy to break British

immigration law.

He is scheduled to appear in

court Monday.

The bodies were found Oct. 23

in the English town of Grays.

British police have already

charged 25-year-old Maurice

Robinson, a truck driver also

from Northern Ireland, with 39

counts of manslaughter and

conspiracy to traffic people.

They say he drove the cab of the

truck to Purfleet, England, where

it picked up the container,

which had arrived by ferry from

Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Another suspect is being held

in Ireland.ASSOCIATEDPRESS

BRITISHPOLICECHARGEANOTHERMANINDEATHSOF39MIGRANTSFOUNDINTRUCK

WASHINGTONDefence Secretary

Mark Esper on Sunday fired the

Navy’s top official for allegedly

proposing a deal with the

White House behind Mr. Esper’s

back to resolve the matter of a

Navy Seal whose case has been

championed by President Do-

nald Trump.

At Mr. Esper’s request, Navy

Secretary Richard Spencer

submitted his resignation Sun-

day, said the chief spokesman

for the Pentagon, Jonathan

Hoffman.

In a series of tweets Sunday

evening, Mr. Trump said he

had been unhappy with the

Navy’s handling of the Gallagh-

er case.

“Therefore, Secretary of the

Navy Richard Spencer’s services

have been terminated by Secre-

tary of Defence Mark Esper,”

Mr. Trump tweeted.

The firing was a dramatic

turn in a fast-changing and

politically charged controversy

involving Navy Chief Petty

Officer Edward Gallagher. On

Wednesday the Navy had noti-

fied CPO Gallagher that he

would face a Navy Seal review

board to determine if he

should be allowed to remain in

the elite force.

CPO Gallagher was acquitted

of a murder charge in the

stabbing death of an Islamic

State militant captive, but a

military jury convicted him of

posing with the corpse while in

Iraq in 2017. He was demoted

from chief petty officer to a 1st

class petty officer. Mr. Trump

this month restored CPO Gal-

lagher’s rank.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S.DEFENCESECRETARYFIRESNAVYSECRETARYOVERSEALCONTROVERSY