The Washington Post - 24.10.2019

advance public hearings in hopes

of avoiding further disruptions.

Among the witnesses Demo-

crats hope to question in open

session are the acting ambassa-

dor to Ukraine, William B. Taylor

Jr., and his predecessor, former

ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

Both are seasoned diplomats

who, in earlier House testimony,

effectively conveyed outrage over

a White House plan to withhold

much-needed military aid from

Ukraine, a long-standing ally bat-

tling pro-Russian separatists.

In testimony Tuesday, Taylor

also directly contradicted

Trump’s account of his interac-

tions with Ukrainian officials,

making clear that Trump de-

manded that President Volod-

ymyr Zelensky order an investiga-

tion of Democratic presidential

candidate Joe Biden and his fam-

SEE DEMOCRATS ON A

BY RACHAEL BADE

AND KAROUN DEMIRJIAN

House Democrats are prepar-

ing to move their largely private

impeachment inquiry onto a

more public stage as soon as

mid-November and are already

grappling with how best to pre-

sent the complex Ukraine saga to

the American people.

Over the past three weeks, a

parade of current and former

Trump administration officials

have testified behind closed

doors, providing House investiga-

tors with a compelling narrative

of President Trump’s campaign to

extract political favors from

Ukrainian officials. But on

Wednesday, after conservative

lawmakers stormed the hearing

room and delayed the proceed-

ings for five hours, some Demo-

crats were feeling pressure to

ABCDE

Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington. K SU V1 V2 V3 V

Sunny 70/50 • Tomorrow: Partly sunny 70/54  B8 Democracy Dies in Darkness T H U R S D A Y , O C T O B E R  2 4,  2 0 1 9. $ 2

BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA,

JOSH DAWSEY

AND MIKE DEBONIS

Republicans’ defense of Presi-

dent Trump grew more frantic and

disjointed Wednesday, with

House members storming a

closed-door meeting, delaying the

testimony of an impeachment wit-

ness as the GOP grappled with a

growing abuse-of-power scandal

centered on the president.

A group of Trump’s congres-

sional allies escalated their com-

plaints about the impeachment

inquiry by barging into a secure

facility on Capitol Hill where a

Pentagon official was to testify be-

fore the House Intelligence Com-

mittee.

Their intrusion, which caused

the testimony to be delayed for

about five hours over security con-

cerns, came a day after the top U.S.

diplomat in Ukraine testified

under oath that the White House

had threatened to withhold mili-

tary aid unless the Ukrainian gov-

ernment announced investiga-

tions for Trump’s political benefit.

The testimony undercut

Trump’s claims of his “perfect”

dealings with Ukraine and ap-

peared to push Republican law-

makers into a more aggressive

stance as they sought to defend

the president from his greatest

legal and political peril yet.

“I led over 30 of my colleagues

into the SCIF where Adam Schiff is

holding secret impeachment de-

positions,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-

Fla.) said Wednesday morning on

Twitter, referring to the Sensitive

Compartmented Information Fa-

cility. “Still inside — more details

to come.”

The lawmakers staged the dra-

matic protest while making proc-

ess arguments that sidestepped

the substance of the central allega-

tions underpinning the impeach-

ment inquiry. Democrats accused

the protesting members of com-

promising security by taking their

phones into the secure area, where

SEE IMPEACHMENT ON A

Republicans storm impeachment hearing room

Democrats prepare to move

inquiry onto public stage

JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

More than two dozen GOP lawmakers face the media in the Capitol before barging into the secure room where the House Intelligence

Committee was conducting a closed-door hearing in the impeachment inquiry. The intrusion delayed testimony for about five hours.

BY KAREN DEYOUNG,

ERIN CUNNINGHAM

AND KAREEM FAHIM

President Trump said Wednes-
day that a “permanent” cease-fire
had been established in northeast-
ern Syria, declaring a major diplo-
matic victory for his administra-
tion even as Russian forces began
moving into territory once con-
trolled by the United States and its
Syrian Kurdish allies.
The president said that Turkish
officials pledged to end their of-
fensive in Syria and that he had
ordered the lifting of sanctions
imposed on Turkey this month.
“This was an outcome created
by us, the United States, and no-
body else, no other nation. Very
simple,” he said.
Speaking in the Diplomatic Re-
ception Room at the White House,
Trump couched the agreement as
part of his commitment to “a dif-
ferent course” in the Middle East,
ending “endless wars” for which
he has blamed his predecessors.
“Let someone else fight over
this long-bloodstained sand,” he
said.
Responding to those who he
said had “scorned” him for aban-
doning the Kurds and capitulating
to Turkish demands, Trump said
that “now people are saying, ‘Wow.
What a great outcome. Congratu-
lations.’ ”
But many of those critics, in-
cluding both Republican and
Democratic lawmakers, were far
from congratulatory, charging
that Trump had opened the door
to a resurgence of the Islamic State
and expanded control of the re-
gion by Russia and Iran, allies of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump, who announced the
withdrawal of all U.S. troops in
Syria two weeks ago, confirmed
that a residual American force
would remain near oil fields in
SEE SYRIA ON A

In Syria

cease-fire,

Trump sees

a victory

Sanctions on Turkey to

be lifted; critics warn of

moves by ISIS, Russia

BY MICHELLE YE HEE LEE,

MICHAEL SCHERER,

JOSH DAWSEY

AND ANU NARAYANSWAMY

When Brad Parscale was look-

ing for advice about how to

navigate Washington after run-

ning the digital strategy for Don-

ald Trump’s upstart presidential

campaign in 2016, the brash po-

litical newcomer turned to a Belt-

way power couple.

Katie Walsh and Mike

Shields, both former chiefs of

staff at the Republican National

Committee, advised him on how

to make the most of his new

perch, he said.

Since then, the three have

helped one another flourish in-

side the Republican Party ecosys-

tem, recommending each other’s

services to top GOP officials and

candidates. Together, the trio

have broad influence across the

party — drawing millions of dol-

lars from 23 party committees

and organizations since the be-

ginning of 2017, according to

campaign finance filings and

people familiar with their work.

Their dominance has alarmed

other Republican Party strat-

egists, who say the three have a

disproportionate amount of sway

— and have helped each other

sustain that power, according to

people with knowledge of their

roles.

The symbiotic relationship be-

tween Parscale — who as Trump’s

2020 campaign manager regular-

ly attacks the “Washington

swamp” — and the low-profile

GOP establishment couple

speaks to how longtime party

figures have acclimated to and

benefited from the Trump era.

“Who else do I trust more than

myself? The two people that I saw

SEE GOP ON A

BY ANTHONY FAIOLA

buenos aires — The peso is
falling — and so, it seems, is the
sky. Inflation and poverty rates
are soaring. National reserves are
shrinking fast. In short, Argenti-
na — in a terrible deja vu of cri-
ses past — is hurtling once again
toward the economic abyss.
But on the bar stools and wood-
en chairs of Santa Evita, a grill
house dedicated to Eva “Evita”
Perón, the political heroine who
died a Broadway-worthy death in
1952, the customers are retran­
qui, Argentine slang for cool and
calm. Because the presidential
election is coming. And the
Peronistas — the heirs to the com-
plex populist political machine
launched in the 1940s by Juan
and Eva Perón — are poised for a
massive comeback.
The ticket heavily favored to
win this month has the corrup-
tion-tainted former president,
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner,
returning to the political stage as
the vice-presidential candidate. A
larger-than-life Peronista who
ruled Argentina from 2007 to
SEE ARGENTINA ON A

As economy flails, Argentina looks to the Peronistas Power trio have thrived

together in Trump era

SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

A man reads next to campaign posters last week in Buenos Aires. Argentina votes Sunday, and analysts

predict a strong win for a ticket that includes former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Nationals erupt late, rout Astros for 2-0 World Series lead. Sports, D

NEW URGENCY AS

TRUMP’S PERIL RISES

Intruders decry process;

others in GOP hold back

Symbiotic relationship has

led to immense sway in

the GOP, alarming some

‘Quantum supremacy’ Researchers said they

achieved a breakthrough allowing a machine

to do calculations in seconds that would take

a supercomputer centuries. A

Breast implant warnings The FDA proposed

that manufacturers spell out risks associated

with the devices, including rare cancers. A

LOC AL LIVING

It’s not too late

to start exercising

Recent research shows

improvements in muscle

strength and mortality.

ST YLE

The spin cycle

The president’s favorite

venue for making news is

in front of his chopper. C

In the News

THE NATION

As Chicago’s teachers 

strike enters its second 

week, patience is wear­

ing thin. A

Justice Ruth Bader 

Ginsburg was awarded 

the $1 million Berggru­

en Prize for Culture and 

Philosophy. A

THE WORLD

In Mali, fighters linked 

to al­Qaeda and the Is­

lamic State are provok­

ing feuds between old 

neighbors. A

THE ECONOMY

SoftBank has struck a 

$9.5 billion deal to take 

control of WeWork,

staving off bankruptcy 

for the office­space 

company. A

Boeing’s third­quarter 

revenue and profit were 

down sharply from a 

year earlier amid the 

737 Max crisis. A

THE REGION

The District has begun 

a major cleanup of the 

Anacostia using thou­

sands of mussels. B

Maryland is strength­

ening requirements for 

Holocaust education in 

some schools. B

The U.S. attorney for

the District refused to 

appear at a D.C. Council 

panel’s hearing on her 

record prosecuting hate 

crimes. B1^1

CONTENT © 2019

The Washington Post

Year 142, No. 323

BUSINESS NEWS.........................A

COMICS.........................................C

OPINION PAGES..........................A

LOTTERIES....................................B

OBITUARIES..................................B

TELEVISION...................................C

WORLD NEWS.............................A

BY ANN E. MARIMOW

AND JONATHAN O’CONNELL

new york — President Trump’s

private attorney said Wednesday

that the president could not be

investigated or prosecuted as

long as he is in the White House,

even for shooting someone in the

middle of Fifth Avenue.

The claim of “temporary presi-

dential immunity” from Trump’s

private attorney William S.

Consovoy came in court in re-

sponse to a judge’s question that

invoked the president’s own hy-

pothetical scenario. As a candi-

date in 2016, Trump said his polit-

ical support was so strong he

could “stand in the middle of Fifth

Avenue and shoot somebody” and

not “lose any voters.”

The president’s lawyer was ask-

ing the U.S. Court of Appeals for

the 2nd Circuit to block a subpoe-

na for Trump’s private financial

records from New York prosecu-

tors investigating hush-money

payments made before the 2016

election. The judges seemed skep-

tical of the president’s sweeping

claims of immunity from not just

prosecution but also investiga-

tion.

Judge Denny Chin pressed

Consovoy about the hypothetical

shooting on the streets of Man-

hattan.

“Local authorities couldn’t in-

vestigate? They couldn’t do any-

thing about it?” he asked, adding,

“Nothing could be done? That is

your position?”

“That is correct,” Consovoy an-

swered, emphasizing that such

immunity would apply only while

Trump is in office.

The exchange came during an

hour-long argument centering on

SEE TRUMP ON A

President’s lawyer beats immunity

drum in financial records case

‘Take the gloves off’: House

conservatives heed Trump’s call. A

Ukraine aid: White House sought

to cut anti-corruption funding. A

The Debrief: Trump paints Syria
withdrawal as a promise kept. A