The New York Times - 08.10.2019

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WASHINGTON — President Trump threw Middle East policy into turmoil on Monday with a series of conflicting signals after his vow to withdraw American forces from the region touched off an up- rising among congressional Re- publicans and protests by Ameri- ca’s allies. Defending his decision to clear the way for a Turkish military operation against America’s Kurdish allies in northern Syria, an- nounced in a White House statement on Sunday night, Mr. Trump said it was “time for us to get out” and let others “figure the situation out.” But his move touched off a broad rebuke by Republicans, including some of his staunchest allies, in some of the sharpest lan- guage they have leveled against a Trump foreign policy decision. And in response, the president pivoted sharply and said he would restrain Turkey. “As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Tur- key does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will to- tally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!),” the president wrote on Twitter. He did not explain what would be off limits, but aides in- sisted he had not given a green light to an invasion. A Defense Department official said the president’s threat to destroy the Turkish economy should make clear that Mr. Trump had not approved a Turkish attack on the Kurds. “The Department of Defense made clear to Turkey — as did the president — that we do not endorse a Turkish operation in northern Syria,” Jonathan Hoff- man, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. “The U.S. armed forces will not support or be in- volved in any operation.”

Backtracking on Syria,

President Mixes Signals,

Inciting a G.O.P. Furor

Vow to Leave Leads

to Worries About

Turkish Plans

By PETER BAKER and LARA JAKES

Continued on Page A

WASHINGTON — President Trump is once again pursuing a national security strategy at odds with the official position of his government, ordering a pullback of American forces just inside the Syrian border. It is a move that his own senior advis- ers have warned would risk new chaos throughout the region. He is demonstrating that in his pursuit of ending America’s “endless wars,” no American troop presence abroad is too small to escape his desire to terminate it. In this case, the mission has been to prevent Islamic State forces from recon- stituting, and to keep another conflict at bay — a Turkish attack on Kurdish forces, including on those that have been America’s staunchest allies in the fight against ISIS. To the Pentagon and the State Department, that is a traditional role for American troops, honed over 75 years of global leader- ship. But if there is a Trump doctrine around the world after 32 months of chaotic policymak- ing, it may have been expressed in its purest form when the president vented on Twitter on Mon- day morning: “Time for us to get out.” Just this summer, the State Department’s special envoy for Syrian affairs, James F. Jeffrey, one of America’s most experi- enced Middle East hands, told a public forum not to worry about a precipitous withdrawal. “We plan on having a small residual force to remain on for an indefi- nite time,” he said. The president, he added, “is much seized with this.” But perhaps not seized the way Mr. Jeffrey imagined. Long before he was elected, Mr. Trump had sounded a recur- rent theme about Syria — as well as about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Ameri-

NEWS ANALYSIS

When ‘Get Out’ Is

the Entire Strategy

By DAVID E. SANGER

A military base near the Turkey-Syria border. President Trump ordered a pullback of American forces from the area on Sunday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

For years, he lived outside, sleeping in a small alcove in a storefront on the southern end of the Bowery. For meals, he often ate at modest restaurants in the neighborhood, always ordering inexpensive, filling meals — a pork chop or roast duck over rice. People tried to get to know him: an 83-year-old homeless man that some residents of Chinatown knew as Uncle Kwok. But he kept to himself, they said, never want- ing to talk about what landed him on the streets. Uncle Kwok, whose given name was Chuen Kwok, was bludg- eoned to death on Saturday as he slept in the familiar alcove where he had sought a degree of security. He was among four homeless men beaten to death with a three-foot, 15-pound metal bar in attacks that took place just after 1:30 a.m. on a chilly night. Randy Rodriguez Santos, a homeless 24-year-old man with a history of violence, was arrested two blocks away and charged with their murders. Homelessness in New York is

not always fleeting or anonymous. A homeless person can become a fixture in a neighborhood, ac- cepted as part of the local commu- nity fabric, and cared for — a re- cipient of spare change, castoff clothes or the leftovers from a meal. Mr. Kwok seems to have been that kind of character, ac- cepted and liked by those who en- countered and helped him. “There are many homeless men around, but for some reason he caught my eye,” said Kim Mui,

Chinatown Mourns an ‘Uncle’

Whose Life Met a Brutal End

By SHARON OTTERMAN and JEFFREY E. SINGER

A memorial was set up for the four men who were killed.

DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES

LOSS OF LEVERAGEAnalysts say a United States pullback in Syria would leave a void that could benefit Russia, Iran or ISIS. PAGE A

WASHINGTON — The House on Monday expanded its sprawl- ing impeachment inquiry, issuing subpoenas to the Defense Depart- ment and the Office of Manage- ment and Budget for documents that could solve lingering myster- ies about whether President Trump’s decision to withhold security aid for Ukraine was tied to his efforts to pressure the government there to investigate his political rivals. The action kicked off what was expected to be another busy week of investigation in Washington, where questions related to Ukraine appear increasingly likely to result in a vote on Mr. Trump’s impeachment. Two senior American diplomats caught up in the scandal are scheduled to speak to investiga- tors before the week is through, while a third who was scheduled to be deposed on Monday failed to show up. And lawmakers ap-

peared to be in the final stages of arranging a highly secure inter- view with the anonymous C.I.A. whistle-blower whose complaint prompted the inquiry. As three congressional commit- tees pressed forward to determine the validity of the whistle-blower’s complaint, which accused Mr. Trump of hijacking American foreign policy for his political benefit, the president sounded defiant and continued to lash out at his accus- ers. “People understand it’s a fraud, it’s a scam, it’s a witch hunt, and all we do is keep fighting for the American people because that’s all I do,” Mr. Trump said Monday evening at the White House. He called his actions “very terrific.” But there were also signs of continued Republican uneasiness with his statements and actions. Senator Rob Portman, Republican

Impeachment Inquiry Expands

To Pentagon and Budget Office

By NICHOLAS FANDOS

A federal judge on Monday re-
jected President Trump’s effort to
shield his tax returns from Man-
hattan state prosecutors, calling
the president’s argument that he
was immune from criminal inves-
tigation “repugnant to the nation’s
governmental structure and con-
stitutional values.”
The decision from Judge Victor
Marrero of Federal District Court
in Manhattan was the first signifi-
cant ruling in a case that could re-
quire Mr. Trump to hand over his
tax returns and ultimately test the
limits of presidential power.
The judge dismissed a lawsuit
that had been filed by Mr. Trump,
who was seeking to block a sub-
poena for eight years of his per-
sonal and corporate tax returns.
The Manhattan district attorney
demanded the records in late Au-
gust as part of an investigation
into hush-money payments made
in the run-up to the 2016 presiden-
tial election.

Mr. Trump’s tax returns, howev- er, remain protected for now. His lawyers quickly appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which agreed to tem- porarily delay enforcement of the subpoena while it considers arguments in the case. In a 75-page ruling that included detailed constitutional analysis and cited Supreme Court prece- dents, Judge Marrero systemat- ically dismantled the president’s arguments that investigating a sitting president was unconstitu- tional. The judge said Mr. Trump’s lawyers were, in essence, arguing that the president, along with his family, associates and companies, were above the law. “This court finds aspects of such a doctrine repugnant to the nation’s governmental structure and constitutional values,” wrote the judge, who was appointed to

Judge Rejects Effort to Shield

Trump’s Tax Returns in N.Y.

By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and BENJAMIN WEISER

Since Hurricane Irma hit St. Martin in
2017, a fight over rebuilding has ex-
posed racial and class tensions. PAGE A

INTERNATIONAL A4-

A Battle Over Rebuilding

Erie County, Pa., voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald J. Trump in

Now it’s up for grabs. PAGE A

NATIONAL A11-

Will Swing County Hold Firm? At the New York convention, fans donned wigs and clown face paint in honor of their favorite villain. PAGE C

ARTS C1-

Comic Con, Full of Jokers

A push to shield tech giants from foreign regulators is the latest salvo in a global fight over who gets to set the rules for the modern internet. PAGE B

BUSINESS B1-

Trade Deals Protect Tech Tampa Bay pounded Houston’s Zack Greinke to extend the teams’ A.L. divi- sion series. In the N.L., St. Louis rallied to force Game 5 with Atlanta. PAGE B

SPORTSTUESDAY B8-

Rays and Cardinals Stay Alive

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on
a U.S. diplomat’s wife who fled after a
fatal crash to return to Britain. PAGE A

Traffic Crash Tests Immunity

As the utility defends its bankruptcy plan, its liabilities from wildfires are still being calculated. PAGE B

Stakeholders Circle PG&E

The M.T.A. is promising to spend $5. billion over five years to add elevators to 70 subway stations. PAGE A

NEW YORK A17-

Elevating the Subway After an outcry from farmers, the Trump administration shifted ethanol policy to increase demand. PAGE A

A Win for the Corn Belt

Some 50 former patients of a pediat- rician hope to use a new law, the Child Victims Act, to bring him to civil court, years after he lost his license. PAGE D

SCIENCE TIMES D1-

Still Searching for Justice

Jorge Ramos PAGE A

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-

The N.B.A. superstar LeBron
James has routinely insulted
President Trump. Two of the
league’s most successful coaches,
Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich,
have repeatedly slammed Ameri-
can lawmakers for inaction on gun
legislation. And other basketball
stars regularly speak out on social
and political issues — police
shootings, elections and racism —
without fear of retribution from
the league.
But this weekend, a Houston
Rockets executive unwittingly ex-
posed an issue that may have
been too much for the National
Basketball Association: support
for protesters in Hong Kong,
which infuriated China.
“Fight for freedom, stand with
Hong Kong,” Daryl Morey, the
Rockets’ general manager, said in
a post on Twitter that included an
image of protests. It was quickly
deleted.
But the damage was done, and
the N.B.A. quickly moved to
smooth things over in a lucrative
market that generates millions of

dollars in revenue. The league said it was “regrettable” that many Chinese fans were offended by the comment. Sponsors in China paused their deals with the Rockets, and the country’s main broadcaster said it would remove the team’s games

from its schedule. Two exhibition games scheduled for a low-level team affiliated with the Rockets were also canceled. The issue is familiar to Holly- wood studios, major companies and individual athletes chasing business in a country with 1.4 bil-

lion people, and the N.B.A.’s reac- tion reflects a corporate sensitiv- ity toward China’s low tolerance for criticism of its political system. The league’s statement, in turn, inflamed supporters of the Hong Kong protests and many fans in

Beijing’s Power

To Stifle Speech

Reaches N.B.A.

By DANIEL VICTOR

A Houston Rockets executive tweeted support for protests in Hong Kong, drawing ire from China.

LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Late Edition Today,showers occurring early this morning, high 69. Tonight,brief showers occuring late, low 54. To - morrow,occasional rainfall, high 61. Weather map appears on Page C8.

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The New York Times - 08.10.2019

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