Los Angeles Times - 02.10.2019

$2.75DESIGNATED AREAS HIGHER © 2019 WSCE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019 latimes.com

WASHINGTON — Presi-

dent Trump, desperate to

undermine a fast-moving

impeachment inquiry, could

be adding to his troubles.

House Democrats say

Trump’s stonewalling and

threats to unmask a whistle-

blower could lead to ob-

struction charges if articles

of impeachment are drafted

over the president’s request

for Ukraine’s government to

investigate a potential Dem-

ocratic opponent in next

year’s election.

“Congress will stand up

to the massive obstruction

of the Trump administra-

tion if they continue down

this course,” Rep. Ted Lieu

(D-Torrance), a member of

the House Judiciary Com-

mittee, said Tuesday. The

Judiciary Committee would

play a central role in the im-

peachment process.

Trump’s allies made

clear they’re digging in their

heels, however, resisting the

Democrats’ demands for

documents and testimony.

Secretary of State

Michael R. Pompeo said five

current and former State

Department officials who

dealt with Ukraine would

not provide depositions to

House investigators as

scheduled because they had

“woefully inadequate” time

to prepare, and because the

request was not made

through normal channels.

In a sharply worded

three-page letter to Rep. El-

iot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chair-

man of the House Foreign

Affairs Committee, Pompeo

Democrats may

charge president

with obstruction

As Trump and his

GOP allies resist the

House’s inquiry, rivals

see increasing grounds

for his impeachment.

By Chris Megerian,

Sarah D. Wire

and Eli Stokols

[SeeTrump,A9]

■■■ ELECTION 2020■■■

MORE COVERAGE

The children

of politicians

Hunter Biden and the

Trump offspring follow a

long line of White House

relatives to cash in, Doyle

McManus writes. PAGE A

Impeachment talk

is ‘a total boon’

President Trump’s re-

election campaign says it

has raised millions from

supporters outraged by

the inquiry. NATION, A

He’s the whistle-

blower. No, he is

The Trump adminis-

tration is yet again using

doublespeak to hijack

terminology, says Mary

McNamara. CALENDAR, E

HONG KONG — It was a

close-range gunshot seen

around the world.

On Tuesday, a police offi-

cer shot a young protester at

point-blank range in Hong

Kong, the first time author-

ities had used live ammuni-

tion to stop a demonstrator.

The 18-year-old was shot in

the chest during protests

against China’s National

Day.

“My chest is hurting. I

need to go to the hospital,”

the protester gasped as he

lay on the ground, pulling

down his respirator as blood

gushed from his chest, in a

video immediately shared

thousands of times on social

media.

For a moment, the city

paused, tens of thousands of

protesters, journalists, med-

ics and residents stunned at

the news that police had

shot a Hong Konger with a

real gun for the first time.

Then they went back into

battle. “Dirty cops!” pro-

testers screamed as the sky

darkened with volleys of tear

gas. Black smoke curled into

the air from blazing barri-

cades and Molotov cock-

tails. Protesters smashed

windows of a government of-

fice as police blasted the

crowds with capsicum-laced

blue water.

“If they killed someone,

that means we get to kill

them. An eye for an eye and a

life for a life,” said Jack, 25, a

protester who paused while

running from police. “More

people will die.”

The protester who was

shot was taken to the hospi-

tal and was in critical condi-

tion. Authorities said

Wednesday morning that

his condition had improved.

Meanwhile, hundreds of

people held a sit-in outside

HONG KONG pro-democracy demonstrators retreat as police advance. Protests

in the territory were a stark contrast to the National Day festivities in Beijing.

Marcus YamLos Angeles Times

Hong Kong police shooting

mars China’s celebrations

By Alice Su and

Ryan Ho Kilpatrick

[SeeHong Kong,A4]

The subject line, target-
ing President Trump, was
purposely provocative: A
string of angry emojis and a
call to “dump the
^%#%/!!!!!!!”
“Sometimes,” read the
email launching a prog-
ressive fundraising drive,
“cursing is required.”
Sometimes actually
seems to be quite often, as
the path to the White House
has become a blue streak of
vulgarity, cuss words and
four-letter effusions.
Trump and New Jersey
Sen. Cory Booker have em-
ployed a barnyard-related
expletive numerous times.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock
has offered a crude rework-
ing of his campaign’s catch-
phrase, “Governors get
stuff done.” Former Texas
Rep. Beto O’Rourke mar-

kets T-shirts echoing his

profanely stated concern

about gun violence and

proudly boasts of his off-col-

or vocabulary.

“I was talking to some

people today,” he said dur-

ing a recent stop in Los An-

geles, “and somebody said,

‘I’m so glad that you say f—,

because I say f—.’ ”

The profusion of profan-

ity, which has drastically in-

creased during the 2020

campaign, stems from nu-

merous factors, including

the mores of a less decorous

society, the cultural influ-

ence of anything-goes cable

TV and the internet, and,

not least, a president who

began shredding political

norms and behavioral

boundaries the moment he

launched his candidacy.

Because of Trump’s suc-

cess, “politicians on both

sides of the aisle are think-

They kiss babies

with those mouths

Does cussing alienate voters or

make candidates more relatable?

By Mark Z. Barabak

BETO O’ROURKE,greeting homeless women in
downtown L.A. last month, has been unapologetic
about his f-bombs since the mass shooting in El Paso.

Carolyn ColeLos Angeles Times

[SeeCursing,A12]

W

hen news
about
President
Trump
flickers
across their television,
Laura and John Hunter
know that one of them
needs to leave the room.
They’d rather not quar-
rel about how Trump is
handling an issue they both
care about deeply: immigra-
tion.
John is part of a conser-
vative political dynasty: His
older brother, Duncan Lee
Hunter, served in Congress
from 1981 to 2009 and

pushed — successfully — for

the “triple fencing” that

separates the cities of Ti-

juana and San Diego. His

nephew is Rep. Duncan

Duane Hunter (R-Alpine),

who succeeded his father

and was indicted on corrup-

tion charges in August of

last year.

John believes in Trump.

Laura is a Mexican immi-

grant who dismisses Trump

as a “despicable human

being.”

But there’s one mission

that continues to bind

them.

About once a month,

they travel into the desert

east of San Diego with a

handful of volunteers who

are focused on one of the

BRETT STALBAUM,left, and Rob Fryer, volunteers with the Water Station project, carry barrels loaded
with jugs of water in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park for immigrants who cross illegally into the U.S.

Photographs byLuis SincoLos Angeles Times

COLUMN ONE

Water unites, Trump divides

He stands by ‘45.’ His wife finds him ‘despicable.’ A mission to

save thirsty migrants at the border binds this couple together

By Cindy Carcamo
reporting from
ocotillo, calif.

LAURA HUNTER replenishes water with Stal-

baum. She disagrees with her husband, John, about

President Trump but backs John’s desert project. [SeeWater,A8]

L.A. County

votes to freeze

sheriff ’s budget

Supervisors enact

new spending controls

as a rebuke of Sheriff

Alex Villanueva’s

fiscal stewardship.

CALIFORNIA, B

Female athletes

favor new law

With Title IX, women

say most of the money

went to men’s sports.

California’s new

NCAA rule would at

least allow indviduals

to get paid. SPORTS, D

Weather

Sunny.

L.A. Basin: 82/60. B

Printed with soy inks on

partially recycled paper.

SACRAMENTO —

Three years after California

legalized the sale of recre-

ational marijuana, most vot-

ers want municipalities to

permit pot shops in their

communities even though

the vast majority of cities

have outlawed them, ac-

cording to a UC Berkeley In-

stitute of Governmental

Studies poll conducted for

the Los Angeles Times.

According to the poll,

68% of Californians say le-

galization has been a good

thing for the state, an in-

crease in support since 2016,

when 57% of voters approved

Proposition 64, which legal-

ized growing, selling and

possessing cannabis for rec-

reational use. The poll re-

sults come as city and state

leaders are battling in court

and the Legislature over

control of California’s pot

market, including a dispute

over efforts by California

lawmakers to force cities to

open their doors to cannabis

shops.

“There hasn’t been any

real buyer’s remorse about

the initiative. If anything,

support has gone up,” said

Mark DiCamillo, director of

the Berkeley IGS poll.

California has emerged

as the largest market for le-

gal marijuana in the world,

WE WANT

A LOCAL

POT SHOP,

MANY SAY

Times poll finds most

voters say state’s

legalization of weed

was a good thing, want

cities to lift sales bans.

By Patrick McGreevy

[SeePot shops,A12]

Show of military

might in Beijing

Communist China marks

70 years with a parade

of high-tech weaponry,

inspiring boasts and

tears. WORLD, A

Protester critically injured on day of ‘national grief ’