Los Angeles Times - 26.11.2019

LATIMES.COM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2019A

repetition” by lawyers for the
current and previous admin-
istrations, she said.
“Stated simply, the pri-
mary takeaway from the
past 250 years of recorded
American history is that
presidents are not kings,”
she wrote.
The ruling, if upheld on
appeal, could affect a wide
swath of senior officials. In
addition to McGahn, House
Democrats would like to ob-
tain testimony from acting
White House Chief of Staff
Mick Mulvaney and former
national security advisor
John Bolton, among others.
While Jackson’s ruling
doesn’t definitely answer the
question of whether those
other officials must testify,
lawyers for the House are
certain to cite it as a strong
precedent. If the case
reaches the Supreme Court
while Trump’s impeach-
ment is still pending, it could
have a major effect on any
impeachment trial in the
Senate.
The judge, who was ap-
pointed by former President
Obama, agreed there may
be limits on what a White
House official may disclose
or discuss before Congress.
If, for example, the president
invoked executive privilege
over certain topics, a subor-
dinate might be barred from
testifying about those.
But no such concern jus-
tifies ignoring or defying a
subpoena entirely, she con-
cluded.
“Compulsory appear-
ance by dint of a subpoena is
a legal construct, not a polit-
ical one, and per the Consti-
tution, no one is above the
law,” she wrote. “However
busy or essential a presi-
dential aide might be, and
whatever their proximity to
sensitive domestic and na-
tional security projects, the
president does not have the
power to excuse him or her
from taking an action that
the law requires.”
House Judiciary Com-

mittee Chairman Rep. Jer-

rold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a

statement that “now that

the court has ruled,” he ex-

pected McGahn “to follow

his legal obligations and

promptly appear before the

committee.”

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-

Burbank), chairman of the

House Intelligence Commit-

tee, similarly called the rul-

ing a “significant victory.”

“The witnesses who have

defied Congress at the be-

hest of the president will

have to decide whether their

duty is to the country, or to a

president who believes that

he is above the law,” Schiff

said.

McGahn’s attorney,

William Burck, said his cli-

ent would testify unless the

judge’s order is stayed on ap-

peal.

A Justice Department

spokeswoman said the ad-

ministration would appeal

the ruling.

The White House said in

a statement that the deci-

sion “contradicts long-

standing legal precedent es-

tablished by administra-

tions of both political

parties. We will appeal and

are confident that the im-

portant constitutional prin-

ciple advanced by the ad-

ministration will be vindi-

cated.”

Ordinarily, appeals

courts can take months to

consider a case, but given

the pressing nature of the

current impeachment pro-

ceedings, the judicial proc-

ess could move much more

quickly.

One key question will be

whether the judge or the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Dis-

trict of Columbia Circuit will

grant a stay to put Monday’s

ruling on hold at least tem-

porarily while that appeal

moves forward.

The appeals court may

not be favorable terrain for

Trump.

A majority of the judges

are Democratic appointees.

In recent weeks, those

judges have ruled that the

president’s accountants

may be required to turn over

his tax returns and financial

records to a House oversight

committee. Trump’s lawyers

are now urging the Supreme

Court to block that decision.

The Judiciary Commit-

tee has been eager to ques-

tion McGahn about whether

Trump obstructed Mueller’s

investigation, including

whether the president may

have lied in written answers

that he furnished to the spe-

cial counsel.

The committee has also

been looking at possible ef-

forts by Trump to obstruct

justice. According to

Mueller’s report, Trump di-

rected McGahn to tell the

Justice Department to fire

Mueller. McGahn refused to

do so, and when Trump’s de-

mand became public, the

president told McGahn to lie

about what Trump had

asked him to do, the report

said.

In his report, Mueller de-

clined to say whether the

president could be charged

with obstruction of justice,

in part because of a Justice

Department ruling that sit-

ting presidents can’t be in-

dicted. But the Judiciary

Committee could include at-

tempts to obstruct justice as

a count in an impeachment

resolution.

In August, the committee

filed suit seeking an order

that would compel McGahn

to testify. McGahn left the

White House in October of

last year and returned to the

Jones Day law firm.

The legal dispute over the

subpoena turned into a bat-

tle over history and the Con-

stitution.

Two weeks ago, Atty.

Gen. William Barr said the

framers of the Constitution

sought to create a strong

and independent executive.

He described the presidency

as “one of the most success-

ful features of the Constitu-

tion in protecting the liber-

ties of the American people.”

“Unfortunately, over the

past several decades, we

have seen steady encroach-

ment on presidential au-

thority by other branches of

government,” he said, refer-

ring to Congress and the ju-

diciary.

By contrast, Judge Jack-

son said the Constitution

was designed to put limits

on the president’s power.

“The Constitution vests

the legislature with the

power to investigate abuses

of official authority — when

necessary to hold govern-

ment officials, up to and in-

cluding the president, ac-

countable,” she wrote.

“What is missing from the

Constitution’s framework as

the framers envisioned it is

the president’s purported

power to kneecap House in-

vestigations of executive

branch operations by de-

manding that his senior-lev-

el aides breach their legal

duty to respond to com-

pelled congressional proc-

ess.”

Ruling is a win for House Democrats

[McGahn,from A1]

THEN-WHITE HOUSECounsel Donald McGahn, right, at a Cabinet meeting with President Trump in 2018.

Chip SomodevillaGetty Images

WASHINGTON —

Michael R. Bloomberg held
his first presidential cam-
paign event Monday, and if it
sets the pattern for the rest,
don’t expect to see the newly
minted candidate in public
very much.
Bloomberg visited a
diner in Norfolk, Va., ordered
a cup of decaf coffee with
milk while cameras whirred,
then held a five-minute
question and answer session
with reporters before head-
ing back behind closed
doors.
The former New York
mayor never put much stock
in retail politics — his huge
fortune allowed him to cam-
paign heavily on television
ads, and he made clear that
he expects to do that again.
His plan to forgo raising
money from any donors —
including the hundreds of
thousands of small donors
fueling rival campaigns —
will cost him considerable
exposure. Candidates who
don’t raise money from indi-
vidual donors don’t qualify
for the televised candidate
debates.
But the 77-year-old me-
dia billionaire said being ex-
cluded from the debates
didn’t bother him.
His plan to reach voters
through tens of millions of
dollars in ads will effectively
“explain what I’ve done and
what I would do and give
them some comfort that be-
cause of what I have done in
the past, I would deliver in
the future,” he said. “They
are not just empty promises.
If you can say that in a de-
bate, OK. It is hard to do
that. I think I would be much
better off talking to the pub-
lic.”
As for the charge from ri-
val candidates that he is try-
ing to buy the nomination —
an accusation repeated on
the campaign trail Monday
— Bloomberg brushed it
aside, saying, “I am going to
make my case and let the
voters, who are plenty
smart, make their choice.”

Taking no donations

means he can’t be bought, he

said, adding that he will take

a salary of $1-per-year if

elected.

Bloomberg said he chose

Norfolk for his campaign

kickoff because it was in Vir-

ginia, where his money

helped Democrats take con-

trol of both houses of the

state Legislature in this

month’s election.

“Southeast Virginia

proves that with the right

candidate, we can turn areas

from red to blue,”

Bloomberg said. “We need to

do that all across this coun-

try.”

While that may be true,

the path he’s chosen in-

volves a big gamble.

Bloomberg’s initial $37-mil-

lion ad buy eclipses the en-

tire advertising budget of

other candidates who have

been in the race for many

months. Yet America has a

long history of wealthy can-

didates whose outsized

spending produced a paltry

return in voter support.

There is one in the Demo-

cratic presidential field al-

ready: California billionaire

Tom Steyer is floundering in

the polls despite a hefty in-

vestment in his own presi-

dential bid. And Steyer is ac-

tually on the debate stage.

Bloomberg said that a

presidential bid is his call-

ing, even at a time when a

glut of candidates has left

many Democratic voters

wishing for fewer choices,

not more.

He avoided explicitly

declaring his rivals aren’t up

to the job, but echoed the

anxieties about the field

that have swirled among

some party establishment

figures.

“There is a greater risk of

having Donald Trump re-

elected than there was be-

fore,” Bloomberg said. “I

looked in the mirror and

said, ‘I just cannot let this

happen.’ ”

As expected, Bloomberg

positioned himself as a cen-

trist, promising, for exam-

ple, affordable healthcare

for everyone, but not an end

to private insurance. His re-

marks sounded similar to

those of former Vice Presi-

dent Joe Biden, who contin-

ues to lead the race in most

national polls but whose

stumbles have potentially

left an opening for a candi-

date like Bloomberg.

Bloomberg’s billions

both open his path to the

nomination and complicate

it. His rivals are gaining trac-

tion by holding out wealthy

individuals like him as a

symbol of the country’s

deepening economic in-

equality.

Some, notably Sens. Eliz-

abeth Warren and Bernie

Sanders, are calling for steep

wealth taxes that would cost

Bloomberg a not-insignifi-

cant chunk of his fortune.

The former mayor said in

his launch video Sunday and

again in Norfolk that he too

believes people like him

should be taxed more. He

did not specify how much.

He also moved to miti-

gate the political harm

caused by the “stop and

frisk” police tactics he

backed as mayor. Those

policies are deeply unpopu-

lar with many African

American voters, who are

crucial to winning the

Democratic nomination.

Bloomberg said he

“worked very hard to make

sure we would tackle dis-

crimination wherever I saw

it. New York City has a

record that is not perfect,

but I think we should be

proud of in terms of making

it a city open to everyone.”

“I worked hard in minor-

ity communities, brought

the crime rate down and

saved an awful lot of lives,”

he said.

There was other major

baggage confronting Bloom-

berg as he launched his run:

the Bloomberg media em-

pire owned by the billionaire,

which reports extensively on

presidential politics. Editor

in chief John Micklethwait

told journalists there on

Sunday that they would not

be doing any investigations

into Bloomberg or his

Democratic rivals, a deci-

sion that was not received

well in journalism circles.

“It is truly staggering

that any editor would put

their name on a memo that

bars an army of unbelievably

talented reporters and edi-

tors from covering massive,

crucial aspects of one of the

defining elections of our

time,” tweeted Megan Mur-

phy, the former Washington

bureau chief at the com-

pany. “Staggering.”

On Monday, Bloomberg

also stepped down from his

post as the United Nations’

special envoy for climate ac-

tion. He’s done work with

the U.N. on climate change

since 2014.

At his news conference,

the candidate talked about

all the things he has done in

government and political

advocacy in making the case

that “more than plans, I offer

the leadership to turn plans

into reality.”

But he also worked to

project some humility.

Asked whether any big

Democratic power brokers

— such as former President

Obama — had called to offer

guidance, Bloomberg de-

clined to name names but

did say he received “some

very flattering calls.”

“I didn’t grow up in a

world where I knew famous

people,” he said.

“When you get a call from

one of them, I still pinch my-

self a little.”

Bloomberg signals unorthodox strategy

Latest Democratic

candidate will not be

part of the debates,

but will focus on ads

to persuade voters.

By Evan Halper

MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG speaks with Virginia delegate-elect Nancy Guy as

he kicked off his bid for the Democratic nomination with retail-style politicking.

Bill TiernanAssociated Press

■■■ ELECTION 2020■■■

FORT LAUDERDALE,

Fla. — A federal judge on

Monday sentenced a Chi-

nese businesswoman to

eight months in prison for

trespassing at President

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club

and lying to Secret Service

agents.

U.S. District Judge Roy

Altman also ordered that 33-

year-old Yujing Zhang be

turned over to immigration

officials for deportation up-

on her release.

Because she received

nearly eight months’ credit

for being jailed since her ar-

rest March 30, she has about

a week more to serve.

Sentencing guidelines

called for a sentence of zero

to six months, but the law al-

lowed for up to six years.

Altman said trespassing

on a government property,

particularly one where the

president is staying, is a “se-

rious offense.” He also said

“the evidence was over-

whelming” that Zhang had

lied to Secret Service agents.

Zhang told Altman she

went to Mar-a-Lago “to

meet the president and fam-

ily and just make friends.”

When an incredulous Alt-

man questioned her about

whether she thought she

could really meet the

Trumps, Zhang laughed

loudly and said she hoped to

meet other people too.

Assistant U.S. Atty.

Rolando Garcia cited

Zhang’s falsehoods in argu-

ing for an 18-month sen-

tence, saying Zhang “lied to

everybody” to get into Mar-

a-Lago, including Secret

Service agents, the club’s re-

ceptionist and even her taxi

driver.

When Zhang was ar-

rested, she was carrying four

cellphones, a computer and

an external hard drive, and

her hotel room contained

more electronics. That led to

speculation she might be a

spy, but she was never

charged with espionage.

Intruder

at Trump

resort is

sentenced

Woman trespassed at

Mar-a-Lago and lied

to the Secret Service.

associated press

A disservice to

American voters

Bloomberg News is

wrong to limit investiga-

tive work as its boss joins

the race, Michael Hiltzik

writes. BUSINESS, C