The Washington Post - 17.02.2020

a22 EZ RE the washington post.friday, february 21 , 2020

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taking exception

I

N THE ongoing challenge to impartial justice and the rule of law that is the Roger Stone case, there was a victory for the constitutional system Thurs- day, i n the form of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s sentencing of Mr. Stone to three years and four months in prison. We s ay t his not b ecause the punishment n ecessarily fits the crime, or, rather, crimes: In November, a federal jury convicted Mr. Stone, a longtime crony and political c ounselor t o President Trump, o n seven counts of lying to Congress and tampering with a witness. Reasonable people can disagree about whether Judge Jackson’s sentence is appropriate. Mr. Stone’s is a first conviction for nonviolent crimes, but his wrongdoing consequentially ob- structed a crucial House investigation of the Trump campaign’s efforts to learn about Democratic Party computer files h acked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks. Given the seriousness of those charges, career prosecutors at t he Justice Department initial- ly wanted him to spend up to nine years behind bars. That recommendation was overturned by Attor- ney General William P. Barr under murky circum-

stances, i ncluding a tweet from President Trump that seemed to demand Mr. Stone get leniency to avoid a “miscarriage of justice!” Three of the department’s attorneys quit the case, and a fourth quit altogether, in protest, while Mr. Barr, as he denied that Mr. Trump’s tweets influenced his decision, was reduced to pleading publicly with Mr. Trump to let him do his job i ndependently. What’s beyond reasonable debate, however, is that this entire situation was avoidable and c reated at least the appearance of undue presidential meddling in what are supposed to be autonomous Justice Depart- ment deliberations — highly politically sensitive ones affecting the president’s friend at t hat. Also, it put Judge Jackson in a difficult position. She handled it well, leavening her moderate sentence for Mr. Stone with remarks obviously directed at Mr. Trump. “This case also exemplifies why it is that this system, for good reason, demands that the responsibil- ity [for sentencing] falls on someone neutral,” s he said. “Someone whose job may involve issuing opinions in favor of and against the same administration in the same week. Not someone who has a long-standing

friendship with the defendant. Not someone whose political career was aided by the defendant. And surely not someone whose personal involvement underlined the case.” “The court cannot be influenced by those com- ments,” s he went on. “They were entirely inappropri- ate. But I will not hold them against the defendant, either.” In s hort, the rule of law, A merican-style, i s composed of many ingredients, among which are autonomy and procedural fairness i nside the Justice Department, b ut another of which — as an ultimate check — is judicial independence, which Judge Jackson epitomized. Her conduct was especially restorative of public trust in view of Mr. Trump’s attempt to bludgeon her verbally on Twitter, and his even cruder attcks on the foreperson of the Stone jury, which the judge also pointedly praised. Mr. Trump may yet pardon Mr. Stone to get his way, b ut disavowed that, for now, on Thursday. Ideally, presidential discretion, restraint and respect would make it less necessary for any judge to push back. Right now, however, those are the very ingredients that the rule of law most palpably lacks.

Justice for Mr. Stone

A judge’s fair and independent sentencing bolsters the rule of law.

C

HINA’S DECISION to expel three Wall Street Journal reporters, ostensibly in retribution for a headline on an opinion piece that it found offensive, speaks volumes about the rigid, insecure and coercive mind-set of China’s rul- ers. China revoked press credentials for three news correspondents based in Beijing, the first time in decades it has done so, although in more recent cases it has refused renewal of visas or denied entry to selected j ournalists. Chinese officials said they were kicking out Josh Chin, Chao Deng and Philip Wen because of the headline on an opinion column by Walter Russell Mead on Feb. 3: “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia.” The opinion and news sections of the Journal, as at The Post, operate independently of one another. Chinese officials know this and could easily have submitted a response to compete in the marketplace of ideas. Instead, they chose m isdirected punishment, displaying antipathy toward a free press and open society. In the greatest information revolution hu- manity has ever experienced, the C hinese C ommunist Party has built a vast moat around itself to keep selected knowledge and views from reaching its people. It devotes immense resources to censoring what its own citizens see, hear and say inside the country. Mr. Mead’s column was never published in China because the Journal, like many foreign publications, is blocked there. The expulsions followed the announcement Tues- day by the State Department that five Chinese news outlets working in the United States are being desig- nated as official government entities, to be treated as diplomatic outposts, and required to provide information about the identity of staffers and other matters. The designations are likely to be more symbolic than punitive for Xinhua News Agency; China Global Te levision Network, k nown as CGTN, t he i nternation- al arm of state broadcaster CCTV; China Radio Inter-

national; the China Daily; and the People’s D aily. All serve China’s party-state. A large number of employees of these organizations work freely i n the United States. The China Daily produces advertising inserts that The Post, among others, agrees t o publish, as long as the i nserts are clearly l abeled as a dvertising. One rationale for allowing this freedom was that it would showcase democratic values and, hopefully, encourage China to embrace them. At least as far as

the second goal is concerned, it hasn’t worked. China tightly r estricts the access o f U.S. correspondents (and scholars) in China while seeking to control Chinese- language m edia here a nd in other c ountries. More symmetry is long overdue. Our preference would be for that to happen through an expansion of unfettered inquiry in China, not more restrictions here. But if China won’t permit that, the U.S. government must weigh other o ptions.

Insecure

a nd coercive

China’s expulsion of U.S. journalists is misguided.

ABCDE FREDERICK J. RYAN JR., Publisher and Chief Executive Officer news pages: editorial and opinion pages: MARTIN BARON FRED HIATT Executive Editor Editorial Page Editor CAMERON BARR JACKSON DIEHL Managing Editor Deputy Editorial Page Editor EMILIO GARCIA-RUIZ RUTH MARCUS Managing Editor Deputy Editorial Page Editor TRACY GRANT JO-ANN ARMAO Managing Editor Associate Editorial Page Editor SCOTT VANCE Deputy Managing Editor BARBARA VOBEJDA Deputy Managing Editor Vice presidents: JAMES W. COLEY JR. ..................................................................................... Production L. WAYNE CONNELL..........................................................................Human Resources KATE M. DAVEY .................................................................................. Revenue Strategy ELIZABETH H. DIAZ ................................................. Audience Development & Insights GREGG J. FERNANDES........................................................Customer Care & Logistics STEPHEN P. GIBSON...................................................................Finance & Operations SCOT GILLESPIE.........................................................................................................Arc KRISTINE CORATTI KELLY...................................................Communications & Events JOHN B. KENNEDY.................................................................General Counsel & Labor MIKI TOLIVER KING........................................................................................Marketing KAT DOWNS MULDER........................................................................Product & Design SHAILESH PRAKASH...............................Digital Product Development & Engineering JOY ROBINS ........................................................................................... Client Solutions the Washington post 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-6000

The Feb. 16 editorial “A close call for D.C. students” recognized what many of us involved in education for many years already understand: The saying “too many cooks in the kitchen can spoil the broth” can apply to schools as well. The fight for mayoral control of D.C. schools was difficult but worth the effort. It began with then- Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) and was finally won by then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). We now have a school system on the rise because those not involved in it from day to day no longer make decisions about running it. The schools chancellor’s desk must have a sign that all respect: “The buck stops here.” The D.C. Council should understand while it approves the budget, it must leave individual education decisions to the chancellor and not try to micromanage the system. Council members should recognize their trying to keep the alternative Wash- ington Metropolitan High School open was misguided. Hopefully, it was a one-off effort. Peter D. Rosenstein, Washington

The schools chancellor knows best

Regarding the Feb. 14 Politics & the Nation article “Rats can cause serious damage to your car. Is there any way to stop them?”: Okay, rats, get in line behind the other varmints! Last year, the squirrels got there first. They chewed every wire they could find. Even the mechanic could not find all of the bitten wires on my first visit. This year, a mouse decided to nest in one of the vents. I could not imagine why, when I put the car heater on, only one side of the car was warming up — until a trusted mechanic found the nest in a vent. Rats are not the only miscreants to invade the toothsome world under the hood. June Schmitz, Hyattsville

Squirrels and mice and rats, oh my

I appreciated Michael Gerson’s thoughtful Feb. 14 op-ed, “Christian voters can be both anti-abortion and anti-Trump,” about the reasons that people who oppose abortion could (and should) vote for a Democrat who supports a woman’s right to choose whether to reproduce. Another reason may be this: Which party or candidate is more likely to support policies that may very well reduce abortions, separate and apart from laws that limit or outright ban abortions? What about effective, acces- sible and affordable contraception? What about providing more and better options for the poor and middle class? What about higher-quality sex education in our schools? What about quality family leave, child care and health care? What about an emphasis on treatment, r ather than criminalization, for those addicted to drugs? What about stronger interven- tions to stop and prevent domestic and sexual violence? When will we finally understand that abortion is the symptom, not the disease? Thankful Vanderstar, Silver Spring

While Michael Gerson pointed out several “moral matters” as grounds for antiabortion voters to reject President Trump, he left out some of the most important: Mr. Trump’s and other Republi- cans’ rejection of climate change science is likely to result in harm or death to huge numbers of already- born people or people born in the future, as is their gutting of pollution regulations and their nonstop opposition to the Affordable Care Act or any univer- sal health-care plan. Rick Smith, Triangle

Christians can be both antiabortion and anti- Trump. Moreover, Christians can be both pro- r eproductive choice and anti-Trump. This combina- tion of positions is quite widespread. Much more problematic is: Ta king into consideration Jesus’ Gospel of love and compassion, can Christians be Christians without being anti-Trump? Elizabeth Layton, Washington

Pro-lifers should be anti-Trump

My gut hurt reading about the trajectory of William B. Ta ylor Jr.’s short but commendable service to our country in Ukraine [“Back home, Ukraine envoy ponders his surreal swirl,” f ront page, Feb. 15]. He and former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch are dedicated public servants swept into a maelstrom that is not supposed to happen in our country. How can anyone justify what is happening to these intelligent, dedicated State Department employees? Mr. Ta ylor has a positivity that I want but can’t quite cling to — that, despite everything, Ukraine is still a n ally. B ut w hat choice does it have? What choice do so many other countries and diplomats have? The people with a choice are Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republican senators. And we have seen what they will do to insanely bat these things away. If a Democratic president had done these things, can you imagine Senate Republicans would act similarly? Linda Mooring, Fairfax

No justification for ousting Mr. Taylor

Regarding the Feb. 14 news article “Limiting im- migration could lead to population decline, Cen- sus report says”: How much longer can we rely on population growth to grow the economy? How many people can U.S. natural resources sustainably support: 350 million, 700 million, a billion? Is it really true that we cannot be economically stable if population de- clines? In a finite physical world, we cannot grow forever. On a warming planet with less and less clean water, it is high time we moved past the days of growth as a measure of economic well-being. I propose to use the unemployment rate. To gether with the Gini coefficient (a measure of income equality), we can better understand how well-off the total population is, regardless of its number. Amy Burkholder Tschudin, Chevy Chase

Time to grow out of growth

P

RESIDENT TRUMP’S campaign to purge the government of a nyone n ot blindly loyal to h im continued Wednesday with the appointment of Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence. Mr. Grenell, who currently serves as ambassador to Germany, i s manifestly u nqualified for the job, even in an acting capacity. He has no experience in intelligence or in managing large organizations — like the 17 a gencies that will now report to him. Mr. Grenell has nevertheless won the president’s favor i n a familiar way: by loudly p raising h im and h is agenda on Fox News programs and social media. Probably, he has convinced Mr. Trump he can be counted on to put t he president’s p ersonal and p oliti- cal i nterests a bove those of n ational security — some- thing t he two previous DNIs would n ot reliably do. Daniel Coats, the first intelligence chief under Mr. Trump, infuriated the president by publicly re- porting and defending the agencies’ overwhelming consensus that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in an effort to help Mr. Trump, and was likely to do so again. Joseph Maguire, who served as acting director

after Mr. Coats’s departure last summer, brokered a deal with the House Intelligence Committee to hand over a whistleblower’s r eport on Mr. Trump’s a buse of power in Ukraine. He was also blamed by the president for a briefing on 2020 election security given by an intelligence official t o Congress last week. Mr. Grenell’s sycophantic pandering to Mr. Trump suggests he will show no such independence. Before being elevated b y the p resident to the Berlin ambassador’s post, his government experience amounted to working in the e arly 2000s a s a U. S. spokesman at t he United Nations, where he was known for nasty dis- putes with journalists. In Berlin, he quickly made himself unwelcome with public attacks on German government policies a nd outspoken s upport for r ight- wing nationalist m ovements around E urope. Though he can’t n ecessarily be b lamed f or Mr. Trump’s d ismal standing among Germans — 1 3 percent said in a recent Pew Research Center poll that they had confi- dence in the U.S. president to do the right thing regarding w orld affairs, the l owest figure in E urope — Mr. Grenell certainly contributed to it. He will reportedly retain his post as ambassador

even while serving as acting DNI, s omething t hat will probably disappoint the Germans. U.S. intelligence professionals already struggling to preserve the vital work of providing accurate information to government decision-makers will be further demoralized. Mr. Grenell tweeted Thursday that he would not be formally nominated for the DNI position; that is not surprising, since he barely o btained Senate c onfirma- tion for the Berlin post and would likely face still greater opposition to becoming the nation’s intelligence c hief. Mr. Grenell’s t weet s aid a permanent DNI would b e nominated “sometime soon.” Mr. Trump nevertheless may well leave his minion in place for months. The president has developed a penchant for placing acting officials in high positions; by doing so, he dodges the need for Senate approval and reduces the clout and independence of department heads. Mr. Grenell could remain i n command of t he intelligence c ommu- nity through most of this year’s presidential campaign. W ill h e stand up against i nterference by R ussia or other hostile powers? Not, we suspect, unless Mr. Trump t ells h im t o do so.

The political purge continues

Mr. Trump installs a loyalist as acting national intelligence director.

ABCDE

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editorials

tom toles

In his Feb. 16 op-ed, “The Senate’s descent into irrelevance,” George F. Will bemoaned the “biparti- san bonhomie” i n “disregarding rules and violating norms.” He used the passage of the United States- Mexico-Canada Agreement, “larded with Democrat- ic policy objectives,” as evidence of this descent into irrelevance. Mr. Will cited another instance of the Senate’s decline: the passage of the December “$1.4 trillion spending extravaganza.” I n both cases, Mr. Will quoted Republican senators who are unhappy with the outcomes and are seemingly powerless to effect an outcome that would be worthy of the Senate, while implying that the Democrats are at least as, if not chiefly, responsible for this. But who is actually responsible for what the Senate accomplishes, and why does Mr. Will neglect to even mention them? The chief architect of the Senate’s “descent into irrelevance” has been Senate

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). As m ajori- ty leader since January 2015, Mr. McConnell has stewarded the decline of this once-great institu- tion. That the 116th Congress has voted on only 20 amendments and that the Finance Committee has had only one substantive markup in its 13 months falls at the feet of only one person: Mr. McConnell. If Mr. Will is unhappy with the trajectory of the Senate, he should be training his prodigious opining skills on Mr. McConnell. Maurice Werner, Washington

Don’t blame ‘the Senate’ The chief architect of the

S enate’s ‘descent into irrelevance’

h as been Mitch McConnell.

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The Washington Post - 17.02.2020

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