Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

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THE NATION

involved with the project,

Trump has told concerned

members of his administra-

tion who suggested that

some orders are illegal that

he would pardon them if get-

ting the barriers con-

structed quickly would re-

quire breaking laws.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pardon

you,” President Trump re-

portedly told officials in

meetings about the wall.

When reporters with the

Post reached out for com-

ment, a White House official

told them on the condition of

anonymity that Trump is

joking when he makes state-

ments about pardons in the

context of the border wall.

The construction of a

border wall along the nearly

2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico bor-

der has been one of Trump’s

signature promises. When

he was on the campaign

trail, he vowed to erect a

southern border wall to

block people from illegally

crossing into the U.S.

The report comes after

the Department of Home-

land Security announced

WASHINGTON — Presi-

dent Trump has told offi-

cials that he would pardon

them if they’re convicted of

breaking any laws in the

rush to complete several

hundred miles of wall along

the U.S.-Mexico border

ahead of the 2020 election,

according to the Washing-

ton Post.

The Post reported that

the president had directed

aides to aggressively push

ahead with construction

contracts and seizing pri-

vate land while glossing over

environmental rules, brush-

ing off worries about con-

tracting procedures and em-

inent domain, giving orders

to “take the land.”

Based on interviews the

Post conducted with those

Tuesday that $271 million

would be moved from other

agencies including the Fed-

eral Emergency Manage-

ment Agency and the Coast

Guard to fund operations at

the border wall.

In a statement, officials

said they would transfer $

million to create temporary

facilities along the border for

holding hearings with the

aim of moving asylum cases

through the system faster.

The money would also in-

crease the number of beds

for detained immigrants

and would support the de-

partment’s policy of forcing

asylum seekers to wait in

Mexico while their cases are

considered.

The shuffling of funds

targeting immigration

comes after the president

has long battled Congress to

allocate money for the wall

project that hadn’t seen any

headway as of the two-year

mark of Trump’s presidency.

The bitter clash has involved

a government shutdown, the

declaration of a national im-

migration emergency in or-

der to pull money from other

parts of the federal budget,

and legal battles challenging

the government’s spending

policy.

Even so, Trump has

maintained the wall’s con-

struction as a central theme

of his presidency and has

claimed at rallies that “the

big beautiful wall right on

the Rio Grande” was under-

way even when the Depart-

ment of Homeland Security

told The Times that only

some brush had been

cleared in anticipation of

construction.

That approach is why

since 2016, chants and signs

saying “Build the wall” have

evolved into “Finish the

wall” at the president’s ral-

lies.

Immigration issues, in-

cluding the border wall, have

been a flashpoint between

Trump and California. The

Post’s report comes after

state officials announced a

federal lawsuit challenging a

rule that allows indefinite

detention of migrant chil-

dren and their families.

THE BORDERfence in Tijuana. The building of a border wall has been one of the president’s chief promises.

Guillermo AriasAFP/Getty Images

Break the law, but get a pardon?

Trump reportedly

tells officials to push

ahead with border

wall and ignore rules.

By Alexa Díaz

WASHINGTON — For-
mer Defense Secretary
James N. Mattis is warning
of bitter political divisions
that threaten American so-
ciety, echoing themes he
often cited before he re-
signed from the Trump ad-
ministration in protest.
The retired Marine gen-
eral, who quit in December
2018 amid policy disagree-
ments with President
Trump, says he is concerned
about the state of American
politics and the administra-
tion’s treatment of allies.
“We all know that we’re
better than our current poli-
tics,” Mattis wrote in an
essay adapted from his
new book and published
Wednesday by the Wall
Street Journal. “Unlike in
the past, where we were uni-
fied and drew in allies, cur-
rently our own commons
seems to be breaking apart.”
Mattis said the problem
is made worse by this admin-
istration’s disregard for the
enduring value of allies,
which he alluded to in his
resignation letter to Trump
on Dec. 20.
“Nations with allies
thrive,” he wrote in the Wall
Street Journal, “and those
without them wither. Alone,
America cannot protect our
people and our economy. At
this time, we can see storm
clouds gathering.”
In an apparent reference
to Trump, Mattis added: “A
[polemist’s] role is not suffi-
cient for a leader. A leader
must display strategic acu-
men that incorporates re-
spect for those nations that
have stood with us when
trouble loomed.”
The ex-general is break-
ing months of public silence

as he promotes his new

book, “Call Sign Chaos:

Learning to Lead,” which is

to be published Tuesday.

Next week, he is to discuss

the book at the Council on

Foreign Relations in New

York.

Without citing Trump by

name, Mattis suggested the

administration and its

strongest critics are en-

gaged in destructive politics.

He said he worries more

about internal divisions in

American society than

about external threats.

“We are dividing into hos-

tile tribes cheering against

each other, fueled by emo-

tion and a mutual disdain

that jeopardizes our future,

instead of rediscovering our

common ground and finding

solutions,” he said.

He said Americans must

realize that their democracy

is an experiment.

“Tribalism must not be

allowed to destroy our expe-

riment,” he wrote.

A longtime colleague,

Marine Gen. Joseph Dun-

ford, chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff, was asked at

a Pentagon news conference

whether he agrees with Mat-

tis that political tribalism in

the U.S. is threatening

democracy.

Dunford said he is careful

to remain apolitical and

would not make judgments

about Trump. He said the

military has managed to

avoid politicization, despite

a few lapses since Trump

took office.

Mattis offered a slightly

more pointed explanation

for leaving than he outlined

in his resignation letter:

“When my concrete solu-

tions and strategic advice,

especially keeping faith with

our allies, no longer reso-

nated, it was time to resign.”

Political divisions

put U.S. at breaking

point, Mattis warns

associated press