The Boston Globe - 07.08.2019

A2 The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019

TheNation

JACKSON, Miss. —

Fourth-term Attorney Gener-

al Jim Hood defeated seven

lesser-known candidates

Tuesday to grab the Demo-

cratic nomination for Missis-

sippi governor. In the Repub-

licangubernatorial primary,

second-term LieutenantGov-

ernor Tate Reeves had an ear-

ly lead over two others.

Hood hopes to break the

grip Republicans have held

on the office for 24 of the past

28 years.

‘‘People are ready for

change in Mississippi. Cer-

tainly, the working folks are,’’

Hood said after he won.

Mississippi is one of only

three states electing a gover-

nor this year. Louisiana and

Kentucky are the others.

Reeves is endorsedby Repub-

licanGovernor Phil Bryant,

who is term-limited, and he’s

raised millions more than any

of his GOPrivals.

The Republican and Dem-

ocratic nomineeswill face an

independent and a Constitu-

tion Party candidate in the

Nov. 5 general election.

Hood said he wants to im-

prove roads and education,

reduce the state’s 7 percent

tax on groceries and workon

‘‘cleaning up the Legislature’’

by eliminating contracts that

lawmakers have directed to-

wardspecific companies that

hire big lobbying firms.

He is currently the only

Democrat holding statewide

office in Mississippi.

Reeves has has run on a

record of cutting taxes and

being socially and fiscally

conservative

Winning a primary re-

quires a majority of the votes.

If runoffs are needed, they

will be on Aug. 27.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

AGwinsprimary for Miss.governor

Puerto Rico’s revenue out-

stripped its forecasts by $1.

billion in the fiscal year that

ended June 30, giving the

bankrupt island a cash boost

as it faces a succession crisis

over whether Governor Pedro

Pierluisi illegally took office

after large street protests

forced the resignation of his

predecessor.

The commonwealth col-

lected $11.38 billion of net

general-fund revenue from

July 1, 2018, through June

30, 2019, according to Puerto

Rico’s Treasury Department.

The stronger revenue perfor-

mance comes after island of-

ficials anticipated that the

economy, which had been in

a recession for more than a

decade, would grow by 4 per-

cent during the year as feder-

al disaster aid and insurance

money flowedin to help re-

build from Hurricane Maria.

Puerto Rico has been em-

broiledin a political crisis for

the past month after protest-

ers demanded the resignation

of then-Governor Ricardo

Rossello over the releaseof

chat messages in which ad-

ministration officials dispar-

aged residents and political

rivals.

Pierluisi, Rossello’s pick to

succeed him, was sworn in on

Friday but Senate President

ThomasRivera Schatz filed

suit in Puerto Rico court, de-

manding that Pierluisi give

up exercisingthe functions of

the office.

Prices on most Puerto Rico

securities have gained during

the political turmoil, as inves-

tors bet that a federal over-

sight board that manages the

island’s finances and its bank-

ruptcy may gain more power.

Tax revenue from busi-

nesses totaled $2.49 billion,

the biggest contributor, fol-

lowed by $2.3 billion of sales

tax revenue, $2.2 billion from

individuals, and $2.08 billion

frommultinational corpora-

tions, according to the Trea-

sury Department.

BLOOMBERGNEWS

Ta x gainsboostPuerto Ricancoffers

In a pair of photos, two
whitelawmenatop horses
guidea bound black man with
a rope downa wide and empty
street. If it weren’t for the cars
and pavement, a quickglance
may lead to the conclusion
that they werecolorized plates
from the antebellum South.
But it was Saturday in the
island city Galveston, Texas,
and officers arrested Brandon
Neely on suspicion of criminal
trespassing. They had horses
and a rope, but no patrol car.
The officers attachedthe blue
rope onto his handcuffs, and
Neely, 43, was led to a mount-
ed officer staging area.
Bystander photos fromthe
arrest wentviral across social
media, with many African-
Americans saying the photos

werereminiscentof captured

slaves in the 1800s. The outcry

prompted an apology on Mon-

day fromGalveston Police

Chief VernonHale, who called

the arrest an ‘‘unnecessary em-

barrassment’’ for Neely.

‘‘I believe our officers

showed poor judgment in this

instance and could have wait-

ed for a transport unit at the

location of the arrest,’’ Hale

said in a statement, adding the

officers did not have ‘‘mali-

cious intent.’’ The officers

trainedin the arrest technique

for crowdcontrol and other

scenarios, he said.

Neely was freed on bond,

the Associated Press reported.

He could not be reachedto

comment.

WASHINGTONPOST

Suspect ledbyrope;police apologize

WASHINGTON— If city
leaders in OceanCity, N.J.,
have their way, the days of pes-
ky seagulls grabbing fries from
beachgoers will be over and
everyone will have hawks, fal-
cons,and owls to thank.
The city, population around
11,000, is a popular summer-
time destination, but as at
many resort areas, seagulls in
Ocean City can get annoying.
The gulls become ‘‘dependent
on an unnatural supply of food
stolen frompeople on the
boardwalkand beach,’’ Jay Gil-
lian, the city’s mayor, said in a
statement.
Gulls are knownfor swoop-

ing in and grabbing leftovers

from trash cans or french fries

straight froma person’s buck-

et.

To try to get the gulls to

leave the beach area,Ocean

City officials said they’ve hired

a company — East Coast Fal-

cons — to bringin falcons,

hawks, and owls that will scare

away the gulls.

Gulls typically leave an area

and deem it unsafe at the sight

of raptors.

Officials said they believe

theirabatementprogram is

one of the first for a seashore

townalongthe East Coast.

WASHINGTONPOST

N. J. city enlistsraptorsto scare gulls

ROGELIO V. SOLIS/ASSOCIATEDPRESS

Poll worker GlendaMcHenry joked withRepublican

LieutenantGovernorTate Reeves Tuesday.

SALT LAKE CITY — US

Ambassador to Russia Jon

Huntsman Jr. has submitted

his resignation, signaling the

end of a two-year tenure dur-

ing what he called a historical-

ly difficult time in relations be-

tween the two countries.

Huntsman is planning to

return to Utah amidspecula-

tion that he may again run for

governor, said Salt Lake

Chamber president Derek

Miller, who served underhim

during his previous tenure.

Huntsman, a Republican,

left the Utah governor’s office

in 2009, when then-President

Obama tapped him as ambas-

sador to China. He was popu-

lar in the state and had been

elected to his second term the

year before.

Huntsman mounted a brief

run for president in 2011. In

2017, President Trump named

him as ambassador to Russia,

as the US investigatedMos-

cow’s meddling in the 2016

election.

In a letter first obtained by

the Salt Lake Tribune, Hunts-

man said he was honored by

the trust Trump placed in him

‘‘during this historically diffi-

cult period in bilateral rela-

tions’’ that has included expul-

sions and forced departures of

his staff.

In the letter, Huntsman

urged the United States to

hold Russia accountable for

behavior that threatens allies.

Huntsman said he wants to

leave to reconnect with family.

He is expected to serve

through Oct. 3.

In Russia, the state-run

Tass news agency quoted an

unnamed spokesperson in the

foreign ministry as saying

Huntsman is a professional,

but ‘‘the domestic political

state of affairs in the US’’ made

it impossible to fully develop

bilateral ties.

It’s unclear whether Hunts-

man would seek to return to

the governor’s mansion in

2020, but if he does step into

the race he would have imme-

diate credibility and populari-

ty, Miller said.

A recent poll from the Salt

Lake Chamber found Hunts-

man nearly tied with a de-

clared candidate, Republican

Lieutenant Governor Spencer

Cox, in a hypothetical general

election but trailing him

among GOP voters, Miller

said.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

HuntsmanresignsfromRussia post

Reportingcorrections

The Globe welcomes information about errors that call for

corrections. Information may be sent to [email protected] or

left in a message at 617-929-8230.

Daily Briefing

By Matt Zapotosky
WASHINGTONPOST
WASHINGTON — The FBI
agent whoseanti-Trump text
messages got himremoved
from the investigation into Rus-
sia’s election interferenceand
ultimately fired fromthe bu-
reau asked in a lawsuitTuesday
to be reinstated and awarded
back pay, arguinghe was un-
fairly terminated for criticizing
the president.
Peter Strzokasserted in the
suit that the Trump administra-
tion had ‘‘consistently tolerated
and even encouraged partisan
political speechby federal em-
ployees’’ — but onlyif that
speechpraised the president
and attacked his opponents.
The formeragent, whom
PresidentTrumphas attacked
repeatedly, alleged that his re-
moval was ‘‘part of a broader
campaign against the very prin-
cipleof free speech,’’ whichhe
said was ‘‘initiated and led by’’

the commanderin chief.

‘‘It’s indisputable that his

terminationwas a resultof

Trump’s unrelenting retaliatory

campaign of false information,

attacks, and direct appeals to

top officials,’’ AitanGoelman,

Strzok’s lawyer, said in a state-

ment. ‘‘Today, Pete Strzok is

fighting back, and sending a

message that the Administra-

tion’s purposeful disregard for

constitutionalrights must not

be tolerated.’’

Strzok, who joined the FBI

in 1996as an analyst on terror-

ism cases,was onceone of the

bureau’s go-to agents for espio-

nage and counterintelligence

work, and he was a key figure in

both the investigation into Hil-

lary Clinton’s use of a private e-

mail server while she was secre-

tary of state and the inquiry in-

to whether theTrump

campaign had coordinated

with Russia to influence the

2016 election.

But in the course of that

work, Strzokbegan exchanging

politically charged text messag-

es with an FBI lawyer, Lisa

Page, with whom he was having

an affair. The messages, sent on

work phones, werecriticalof

numerous politicians, but none

moreso thanTrump, who was

derided by Strzok as ‘‘abysmal’’

and a ‘‘disaster.’’

In August 2016, after Page

wrote Trumpwas ‘‘not ever go-

ing to become president, right?

Right?!’’ Strzok responded: ‘‘No.

No he’s not. We’ll stop it.’’

The Justice Department in-

spector general found that mes-

sage ‘‘implies a willingness to

take officialaction to impact

the presidential candidate’s

electoral prospects.’’ Strzok,

who had beenassignedto work

withspecialcounsel Robert

Mueller, was removed from the

Russia investigation whenthe

messages were discovered, and

in August 2018he was fired

fromthe FBI entirely.

The FBI had first proposed

firing Strzok a few months ear-

lier, writing in a notice that the

messageswould‘‘bethesubject

of damning public discoursefor

days, months, and even years to

come, and the FBI will be recip-

ient of the expressed outrage.’’

But FBI Assistant Director

Candice Will,who runsthe bu-

reau’s Office of Professional Re-

sponsibility, ultimately deter-

mined Strzok should be demot-

ed and suspendedfor 60 days,

according to the suit. It said she

was overruledby FBI Deputy

Director David Bowdich, who

determined that Strzok’s ‘‘sus-

tainedpattern of bad judgment

in the use of an FBI device’’ had

called into question the FBI’s

decisions in the Russia and

Clinton e-mailinvestigations.

Strzok alleged in the suit that

others in the bureau had not re-

ceivedsimilar discipline for crit-

icismof Clinton, and he asserted

that Bowdich’s decision was the

‘‘direct resultof unrelenting

pressurefromPresidentTrump

and his political allies on Capitol

Hill.’’ Trump had repeatedly at-

tacked Strzok publicly and

called for his firing.

Strzok asserted in the suit

that his sentiments were‘‘pro-

tected politicalspeech,’’ and

that his termination violated

the First Amendment. He con-

cededthat while the Hatch Act

restricts the politicalactivities

of someemployees, he had not

violated even that law, and not-

ed that Trumphad rejected a

recommendation to fire a se-

nior White House adviser, Kel-

lyanneConway, for her viola-

tions of the Hatch Act.

Strzokalleged the Justice

Department had violated the

Privacy Act in releasinghis and

Page’s texts and violated his

Fifth Amendmentrightsin not

allowing himto appeal

Bowdich’s decision to a disci-

plinary review board.

The suit was filed in the Dis-

trict of Columbia. The FBI and

the Justice Department did not

immediately respond to mes-

sages seeking comment.

Ex-agent fired for anti-Trump texts sues for job

Callsdismissal

fromFBIunfair

ASSOCIATED PRESS/20 18

Peter Strzoksays the FBI caved to “unrelentingpressure”

fromthe Trumpadministration whenit fired him in 2018.

MARKLENNIHAN/ASSOCIATEDPRESS
DRENCHED BUTDETERMINED—Coveredin plastic ponchos, pedestriansdidn’t let a midday summershower

interrupt theirplans in New York on Tuesday. Two weeksago, New York and New Jersey wereslammedwitha series
of stormsthat causedwidespread flooding and led to power outages in subways and thousandsof homes.

Jon HuntsmanJr. has

served as ambassadorto

Moscowfor two years.