The Wall Street Journal - 19.10.2019 - 20.10.2019

A4| Saturday/Sunday, October 19 - 20, 2019 PWLC101112HTGKBFAM123456789OIXX ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Meadows (R., N.C.), a clock

starts ticking. Democrats get

an hour to question the wit-

ness, followed by Republicans

with the same time. Once the

first two hours are up, they

move to 45-minute incre-

ments. Lawmakers and staff

are asking questions.

“There is a clock, with a

timekeeper,” Mr. Meadows said,

noting that the aide makes sure

each party gets equal time.

Independent counsel Ken

Starr conducted his probe of

President Clinton using a

grand jury, which by law con-

poena, and members aren’t

supposed to discuss them once

they leave the secure area. Ac-

counts of some of the testi-

mony have appeared in vari-

ous publications, including

The Wall Street Journal.

Inside the room, lawmakers

and staff from both parties are

allowed to ask questions. The

depositions open with opening

remarks from Mr. Schiff, who

said he then invites a member

of the minority to do the

same. The witness also gives

an opening statement.

After that, said Rep. Mark

POLITICS

WASHINGTON

WIRE

Dispatches from the

Nation’s Capital

BYGABRIELT.RUBIN

Eligible voters

Those who voted

1990 2000 ’

0

10

20

30

40

50 million

’

Source: Pew Research Center

Voting Gap

While turnout among Latinos

increased from the 2014 to

2018 midterms, there is still a

gap among those who are

eligible and those who voted.

ducts all of its business behind

closed doors. In Watergate,

special counsel Leon Jaworski

also used a grand jury to col-

lect evidence that he transmit-

ted to Congress during its im-

peachment inquiry.

Several of the key players

in Watergate did end up testi-

fying publicly in front of the

Senate Watergate committee,

but that was a separate inves-

tigation from the House im-

peachment inquiry.

Democrats today say Con-

gress must conduct its own

fact-finding inquiry because

the Justice Department de-

clined to investigate the whis-

tleblower’s complaint that

sparked the investigation.

Republicans have objected

to the closed-door nature of

the hearings, though conduct-

ing witness interviews behind

closed doors was a common tac-

tic in recent high profile investi-

gations run by Republicans.

Democrats and Republicans

from the three investigating

committees are allowed to at-

tend the depositions and ask

questions. That means about

100 members of the House,

which currently has 432 law-

makers, are allowed to attend.

—Byron Tau

contributed to this article.

mittees, is in its early, fact-

finding stage. They point to

previous House investigations

that have had closed-door de-

positions and said they in-

tended to make the testimo-

nies public.

The White House isn’t co-

operating and is defying sev-

eral subpoenas, which Mr.

Schiff said will be considered

obstruction and additional evi-

dence “of the wrongfulness of

the President’s underlying

misconduct.” Refusal to com-

ply with the subpoenas could

be included in the articles of

impeachment, as it was for

President Nixon. (The House

Judiciary Committee approved

three impeachment articles

against Mr. Nixon in 1974, but

he resigned before the full

House voted on them.)

The depositions are taking

place in a secure area in the

basement of the U.S. Capitol

building. Mr. Schiff, who is

leading the inquiry, along with

the leaders of the Foreign Af-

fairs and Oversight panels,

said Wednesday the reason for

the closed-door interviews

was to prevent witnesses co-

ordinating their testimony to

line up a description of events.

Most of the interviews are

with witnesses under sub-

Nearly all of the witnesses
in the House impeachment in-
quiry have testified behind
closed doors, drawing atten-
tion—including objections—to
the process Democrats are
using to explore whether to
remove President Trump
from office.
The investigation into Mr.
Trump’s effort to have Ukraine
investigate former Vice Presi-
dent Joe Biden, a candidate for
the Democratic presidential
nomination, is taking a differ-
ent path so far than the three
previous presidential impeach-
ments. That has prompted ac-
cusations from Republicans
that Democrats are keeping se-
cret the information they are
gathering.
“You know who’s not in-
vited to these meetings...the
American people,” House Mi-
nority Whip Steve Scalise said
this week on Fox News Chan-
nel. He accused House Intelli-
gence Chairman Adam Schiff
(D., Calif.) of “trying to hide
from the American people
what’s really going on behind
these closed doors.”
Democrats counter that the
inquiry, which is being con-
ducted by three House com-

BYNATALIEANDREWS

Impeachment Plays Out Downstairs, on the Clock

Hispanic support for Re-

publicans peaked at 40% for

George W. Bush in 2004. Presi-

dent Trump and 2012 Republi-

can nominee Mitt Romney

each won less than one-third

of Hispanic voters, according

to the Pew Research Center.

Both Democrats and Repub-

licans in the past have strug-

gled to motivate Latino voters

to turn out. Going back to

1988, Hispanic voters have

voted at sharply lower rates in

presidential-election years

than white and black voters,

according to a 2017 Pew Re-

search Center analysis.

Lorella Praeli, who led Hil-

lary Clinton’s Latino vote

strategy in 2016, said activist

groups have stepped up their

organizing, but the 2020 can-

didates need to do more.

Before the 2018 midterms,

Democrats sent hundreds of

volunteers into Latino neigh-

borhoods. Latino turnout

jumped 96% nationally from

the 2014 midterms, compared

with a 37% increase among

non-Latino voters. In states

with large Hispanic popula-

tions—such as California,

Texas and New York—turnout

increased by as much as 133%,

according to an analysis by the

University of California, Los

Angeles. That analysis found

the Latino vote was responsi-

ble for flipping many House

seats to the Democrats.

In late September, about two

dozen Latino voters—along

with Democratic National Com-

mittee Chairman Tom Perez—

gathered at the Plumbers, Pipe-

fitters and Service Technicians

union in east Las Vegas, where

the Nevada State Democratic

Party held its first-ever Span-

ish-language caucus training.

“When we build a program

that looks and feels like and

reflects the communities we’re

working in...that ongoing rela-

tionship is important,” said Al-

ana Mounce, executive direc-

tor of the state party.

Republicans are also trying

to engage Latino voters, par-

ticularly in Florida, which Mr.

Trump won in 2016. The state

has a large Cuban population

that tends to be more conser-

vative than other U.S. Hispan-

ics, and the Trump campaign

has emphasized branding

Democrats as socialists in

hopes of appealing to Cubans

and Venezuelans in the state.

Democratic presidential

hopefuls have already launched

Latino-focused efforts. Front-

runners such as former Vice

President Joe Biden and Ver-

mont Sen. Bernie Sanders—as

well as lower-polling candi-

dates like former Housing and

Urban Development Secretary

Julián Castro, the only Latino

running for president this

year—have Latino outreach di-

rectors or specific programs.

“Latinos are going to make

the difference in this election

in deciding who the president

is, and it’s reflected through-

out our campaign,” said Biden

adviser Cristóbal Alex.

MIKE POMPEO SCRAMBLES
TO REASSURE ISRAEL:First
stop, Jerusalem. Washington is
keeping about 150 troops at the
Al Tanf base near the Syria-Iraq
border, which Israel and Ameri-
can officials see as important to
monitoring and deterring Iranian
efforts to move weapons and
personnel into Syria. Israel
wants assurances that the base
will stay open, former officials

said. The U.S. military has said

operations there are part of its

campaign against Islamic State.

“The Iranians will probably be

more aggressive, when there are

no Americans around, they feel

more free to act,” Yaakov

Amidror, a former national secu-

rity adviser to Israeli Prime Minis-

ter Benjamin Netanyahu, told the

Journal’s Felicia Schwartz. Former

officials have pointed to President

Trump’s muted reaction to the

Sept. 14 attack on Saudi oil sites

as evidence that Israel will have

to act more aggressively to tar-

get Iran in Washington’s absence.

Some Israelis think broader

fears that Trump could abandon

them, like the Syrian Kurds, are

overblown. “There’s no Kurdish

Jared Kushner or Jason Green-

blatt,” one Israeli analyst said,

citing the president’s son-in-law

and departing senior Middle East

adviser’s deep ties to Israel.

“I KNOW WHO I WORK FOR”:

Energy Secretary Rick Perry

might not comply with an out-

standing subpoena in the

House’s impeachment probe of

Trump, he told the Journal’s Tim

Puko. Perry is coordinating with

administration lawyers, as he

considers how to respond to

House Democrats’ demands.

Prior to the subpoena, Perry

told reporters he planned to co-

operate with Congress. That

changed when the White House

sent out what he described as a

“rather scathing” directive

against any cooperation, he said.

“I’mprettymuchontheteam.I

know who I work for,” he said. A

day after the Journal interview,

Perry notified Trump that he

plans to resign soon.

TRUMP’S FARMER BAILOUTis

working as designed overall, but a

closer look shows it benefiting

some states and congressional

districts over others. The total

program payments almost exactly

offset the revenues farmers lost,

compared with 2018, according to

an analysis by Gro Intelligence.

Iowa’s 4th Congressional Dis-

trict, represented by embattled

Rep. Steve King, who narrowly

beat a Democratic challenger in

2018, has received a dispropor-

tionate amount of money, as

have two competitive Kansas

districts. Illinois was the biggest

loser, with a net difference of

over $2 billion between its lost

revenue and bailout payments.

Minnesota and Wisconsin, both

top Trump targets in 2020, were

in the top five of state benefi-

ciaries. “These districts are large

agricultural producers, with more

acres of crops that have suf-

fered bigger trade damages,” a

USDA spokesman said.

TEXAS DEMOCRATSshow

fundraising muscle in third quar-

ter. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher and Co-

lin Allred, who both toppled

longtime Republican incumbents

in 2018, outraised well-funded

challengers. Gina Ortiz-Jones,

running for retiring Republican

Rep. Will Hurd’s seat along the

border, raised over $1 million, an

astounding figure for an off-year

summer quarter.

Wendy Davis, whose 2013

Texas state Senate filibuster

over abortion garnered national

attention, raised $930,000 as

she attempts to knock out Rep.

Chip Roy in a San Antonio-area

district. Recordings were re-

leased this week showing that

state GOP House Speaker Den-

nis Bonnen said Trump is “killing

us in the urban-suburban dis-

tricts”—a stance backed up by

fundraising numbers.

MEDICARE FOR ALLwould

raise taxes on middle-class fami-

lies—or, would it? Influential lib-

eral economists Emmanuel Saez

and Gabriel Zucman argue in a

new book and tax simulator out

this week that private health in-

surance costs can be thought of

as a tax when calculating house-

hold tax rates and examining

policy changes. Elizabeth Warren

clearly agrees: When asked in

Tuesday’s debate if Medicare for

All would raise taxes, she re-

peatedly said “costs will go

down” for middle-class families.

Depending on where you

start, the same plan can look like

a tax cut or a tax increase, espe-

cially for candidates who have

endorsed eliminating private

health insurance, like Warren and

Bernie Sanders. The tax rate for

a middle-income household under

Sanders’s plan would be cut from

37.6% to 28.8% if private insur-

ance is included, or raised from

24.7% to 28.8% if not. Warren’s

plan would yield a 25.3% rate, ei-

ther a less-than-one percentage

point tax boost or a large tax

cut. Joe Biden’s plan yields mini-

mal changes for middle-income

households with both formulas.

AMERICA’S MAYOR?Rudy Giu-

liani’s public support has dwin-

dled since his days as mayor of

New York. A recent Wall Street

Journal/NBC News poll puts the

president’s personal lawyer’s ap-

proval rating at 26%, with 42%

disapproval. Giuliani had a re-

markable 84% national approval

rating shortly after the Sept. 11,

2001, attacks, with just 2% dis-

approving.

MINOR MEMOS:Selfie lines

start forming everywhere for

Elizabeth Warren, including on

airplanes.... Long-shot Democratic

presidential candidate and Mira-

mar, Fla., Mayor Wayne Messam

raises $5 during third quarter

and spends $0.... Trump has Rep.

Billy Long use famed auctioneer-

ing skills to “auction off the

Stanley Cup” at ceremony for St.

Louis Blues.

LAS VEGAS—Democratic
organizers have long struggled
to earn robust Latino turnout
and support at the ballot box.
They think they have finally
hit on a winning strategy.

State parties, advocacy
groups and other organiza-
tions say they are investing
more resources earlier than
they have before in sending
volunteers into Latino neigh-
borhoods and engaging voters,
including registering young
people to vote and holding
Spanish-language events.
These groups are launching
efforts nationwide at a time
when Democratic presidential
campaigns are still largely fo-
cusing on four early-voting
states, only one of which has a
significant Latino population.
Democrats hope to replicate
their success in the 2018 elec-
tions, when Latino turnout in
several battleground states
was nearly double that of the
previous midterm cycle and
helped the party take control
of the House.
“They refer to us as a sleep-
ing giant,” said Raquel Cruz-
Juarez, who served as south-
ern Nevada field director for a
Planned Parenthood lobbying
arm in the 2018 election. “We
are a sleeping giant no more.”
Democrats have long
thought the growing Hispanic
population in the U.S., which,
according to the Pew Research
Center, is on track to be the
biggest racial and ethnic mi-
nority group in the electorate
in 2020, would give them a big
ballot-box advantage. Ahead of
the 2016 election, there were
predictions that President
Trump would significantly un-
derperform with this group in
comparison with previous Re-
publican presidential candi-
dates as a result of his immi-
gration rhetoric—expectations
that didn’t materialize.

ByEmily Glazer,

Joshua Jamerson

andJim Carlton

Democrats Focus on Latino Voters

Actress and activist Gina Rodriguez, left, participated in a 2018 event in Miami aimed at encouraging Hispanic women to vote.

GIORGIO VIERA/EFE/ZUMA PRESS

WASHINGTON—A career

State Department official told

congressional investigators

this week that he raised con-

cerns in 2015 with a senior of-

ficial at the White House

about then-Vice President Joe

Biden’s son being on the board

of a Ukrainian natural-gas

company because of worries

about the potential optics of a

conflict of interest, a person

familiar with the matter said.

The State Department offi-

cial, Deputy Assistant Secretary

of State George Kent, told law-

makers behind closed doors on

Tuesday that he raised the issue

in January 2015 and expressed

reservations about Hunter Bi-

den’s position at Burisma Hold-

ings because it could add to the

challenges to convey to Ukraine

the importance of cleaning up

corruption and avoiding even

potential conflicts of interest,

this person said.

“Regardless of whether any-

thing is wrong, it looks terri-

ble,” Mr. Kent told lawmakers

that he told the official who

worked in Mr. Biden’s office at

the time, the person said.

Mr. Kent was informed that

the vice president at the time

didn’t have the “bandwidth” to

deal with the matter in part be-

cause his other son, Beau, was

under treatment for cancer

that later in the year would

take his life, the person said.

The Washington Post earlier

reported on Mr. Kent’s con-

cerns.

Mr. Kent, described by peo-

ple who witnessed his testi-

mony this week as a straight-

forward diplomat who gave

precise details, told lawmakers

he worried that officials in Kyiv

possibly would consider the

younger Mr. Biden as someone

who could curry influence with

his father, the person said.

Mr. Kent’s testimony this

week was part of the congres-

sional impeachment inquiry fo-

cused on President Trump’s ac-

tions with Ukraine as he

pressed for investigations into

Joe Biden, who is seeking the

Democratic presidential nomi-

nation, and Hunter Biden.

The revelation that Mr. Kent

had expressed concern in 2015

is likely to put the Bidens’ deal-

ings in Ukraine back into the

spotlight.

Mr. Trump and his personal

lawyer Rudy Giuliani have ar-

gued, without evidence, that

Mr. Biden’s anticorruption

push in Ukraine was designed

to head off any investigation

of Burisma Holdings.

Both Bidens have denied

wrongdoing and said they

never discussed Hunter’s busi-

ness in Ukraine.

“On Joe Biden’s watch, the

U.S. made eradicating corrup-

tion a centerpiece of our poli-

cies toward Ukraine, including

achieving the removal of an

inept prosecutor who shielded

wrongdoers from accountabil-

ity,” Andrew Bates, a spokes-

man for the Biden campaign,

said in a statement Friday.

Burisma paid Hunter Biden

$50,000 a month to sit on the

board at a time when his fa-

ther, President Obama’s vice

president, was pushing anti-

corruption efforts in Ukraine.

BYDUSTINVOLZ

Concerns

Raised in

2015 About

Biden’sSon

U.S. Capitol Police officers were posted to the entrance of a

secure area during interviews in the House impeachment inquiry.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/ASSOCIATED PRESS