THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 The Boston Globe TheNation A
By Marina Villeneuve
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo
signed a law Wednesday clear-
ing away legal hurdles that
could have prevented state
prosecutions of people par-
doned by President Trump for
federal crimes.
Supporters of the new law,
including newly empowered
Democrats elected last year,
said New York’s broad double
jeopardy law didn’t explicitly
give state prosecutors a green
light to bring charges when a
defendant has received a feder-
al pardon. The law says a presi-
dential pardon wouldn’t be suf-
ficient for a member of a presi-
dent’s family or close associate.
Cuomo, a Democrat, signed
the bill months after its May
passage was led by Democrats
whoworriedTrumpwouldpar-
don associates charged amid
the probe of Russian election
meddling. It also comes days af-
ter state prosecutors in New
York City asked a judge to reject
claims by the defense team for
twice-convicted former Trump
campaign chairman Paul
Manafort that their mortgage
fraud case is double jeopardy.
New York Democrats have
argued that the law will ensure
that the state’s ongoing investi-
gations into associates of the
president can’t be derailed by a
White House pardon. Republi-
cans, meanwhile, have decried
the law as a partisan attack thatassumes hypothetical pardons
that may never be issued.
Presidents can’t issue par-
dons for state crimes.
But supporters of New
York’s law say it could keep a
president from using federal
pardon power to shield associ-
ates, and perhaps the presi-
dent, from liability under state
law.
The idea behind New York’s
law is to prevent a president’s
abuse of pardon power if state
prosecutors file criminal charg-
es against associates who could
provide information that could
be used against the president,
according to Ian Farrell, profes-
sor of constitutional law at the
University of Denver Sturm Col-
lege of Law.
‘‘The whole point of this law
is to prevent a president from
saying to his associates: ‘Don’tworry. If you get charged under
federal law, I will pardon you,
and then you aren’t in danger of
any state law charges, so there’s
no reason you have to flip,’’’ Far-
rell said.
Former attorney general Er-
ic Schneiderman, a Democrat,
first raised the alarm about the
double jeopardy loophole last
year. In a letter to Cuomo and
lawmakers, he wrote: ‘‘Recent
reports indicate that the presi-
dent may be considering issu-
ing pardons that may impede
criminal investigations.’’
The law was passed this year
amid speculation that Trump
might pardon his former cam-
paignchairman,Manafort,or
former lawyer Michael Cohen.
Both have been convicted of
federal crimes.
Manafort is awaiting trial on
a New York state mortgagefraud charge that closely mir-
rors part of his federal case.
Manafortisservinga
7½-year sentence in a Pennsyl-
vania lockup, and has pleaded
not guilty to state charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy
Vance Jr., who announced the
charges against Manafort in
March, declined comment
Wednesday.
On Oct.9, prosecutors filed
court papers in Manhattan ar-
guing that the case against
Manafort is based on allega-
tions that weren’t resolved in
his 2018 federal trial.
Columbia Law School pro-
fessor Daniel Richman said it’s
‘‘far from clear’’ how exactly
New York’s new law would im-
pact Manafort’s case.
‘‘The hypothetical is that the
president did pardon Manafort,
and New York went forward ona charge or set of charges that
until now were covered by New
York’s expansive statute,’’ Rich-
man said. ‘‘Then Manafort
would move for protection un-
der New York’s law, and the
prosecution would respond
that this protection is no longer
available to him.’’
What happens next would
play out in state court, accord-
ing to Richman, without over-
sight from federal courts.
The new law — which is ef-
fective immediately — applies
to future and past offenses as
long as the individual hasn’t al-
ready been tried or entered a
plea. Twenty-four states already
have laws making it clear that
presidential pardons do not
cover state charges, according
to Senator Todd Kaminsky, a
Long Island Democrat and the
bill’s Senate sponsor.WASHINGTON — Bernie
Sanders and Elizabeth Warren
don’t just lead the Democratic
presidential
primary in
fund-raising.
They’ve stock-
piled millions more than their
rivals, including former vice
president Joe Biden, who
burned through money at a
fast clip over the past three
months while posting an ane-
mic fund-raising haul.
Sanders held $33.7 million
cash on hand in his third quar-
ter fund-raising report. Warren
had $25.7 million during the
same period, while South
Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Butt-
igieg came next with $23.
million.
Biden, meanwhile, held just
$8.9 million, a small fraction of
what his leading rivals have at
their disposal.
With the first votes of the
Democratic contest a few
months away, the candidates
are entering a critical and ex-
pensive period when having an
ample supply of cash can make
or break a campaign. Biden’s
total raises questions about his
durability as a front-runner.
‘‘Can he do better at fund-
raising? Absolutely. And I
think he will,’’ said Biden do-
nor and fund-raiser Steve
Westly.
While many contenders in
the crowded field will be triag-
ing resources and making diffi-
cult spending decisions in the
coming months, the advantage
enjoyed by the Vermont and
Massachusetts senators means
they will have the luxury of
spending when and where they
want. That will allow them to
buy large amounts of advertis-
ing, respond to attacks, and
boost their ground games in
the early voting states of Iowa,
New Hampshire, and South
Carolina.
Biden has built a formida-
ble campaign, but it’s come at a
cost. The $17.6 million he
spent over the past three
months was more than the
$15.7 million he took in, ac-
cording to his fund-raising fig-
ures that were submitted to the
Federal Election Commission
on Tuesday’s reporting dead-
line.
Despite his lackluster totals,
he still remains a favored can-
didate in recent public opinion
polls, along with Warren. And
in recent weeks, both Biden
and his wife, Jill, have kept up
a busier fund-raising schedule.
‘‘People focused on the mi-
nutia and the details,’’ said
Westly, a Silicon Valley venture
capitalist. ‘‘The reality is this is
quickly boiling down to a two-
person race — and that’s be-
tween Joe Biden and Elizabeth
Warren.’’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FormerN.J.governorlikens
TrumptoHitlerintweet
TRENTON, N.J. — Former
New Jersey governor Christie
Whitman said she stands by a
tweet she deleted in which she
compared President Trump to
Adolf Hitler.
The Republican tweeted
Hitler ‘‘has nothing on’’
Trump.
Whitman’s tweet was in re-
sponse to reports that a violent
parody video depicting a like-
ness of Trump shooting and
stabbing opponents and mem-
bers of the media was played
during a conference at his Mi-
ami golf resort.
Whitman told WNBC-TV in
New York the comparison was
‘‘inflammatory’’ but she hoped
the shock value would make
people realize the severity of
the situation.
Whitman, who also served
as administrator of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency,
said she is ‘‘really frightened
for the country.’’
After the White House con-
demned the video, Whitman
tweeted again saying the video
was ‘‘the stuff of dictators.’’
ASSOCIATED PRESSTrumpdivertsPentagon
fundstoborderwalleffort
WASHINGTON — President
Trump has quietly transferred
more than $200 million from
Pentagon counterdrug efforts
toward building his long-
promised wall along the US-
Mexico border, drawing pro-
tests from Democrats, who say
he is again abusing his powers.
The move would shift $
million to wall construction
from antidrug efforts in Af-
ghanistan — the source of per-
haps 90 percent of the world’s
heroin — along with $90 mil-
lion freed up by passage of a
stopgap funding bill, top Dem-
ocrats said in a letter to Secre-
tary of Defense Mark Esper.
The Defense Department
‘‘was faced with a simple
choice: either additional funds
be used for their intended pur-
pose, to accelerate our mili-
tary’s efforts to combat heroin
production in Afghanistan; or
divert these funds to pay for
cost increases of a border wall
project that does not have the
support of the American peo-
ple,’’ the Democrats wrote.
Senators Dick Durbin of Illi-
nois, Chuck Schumer of New
York, and Patrick Leahy of Ver-
mont took the lead, noting that
the heroin trade is a major
funding source for the Taliban
and urging the Pentagon to
‘‘redouble its efforts to starve
the Taliban of a vital funding
source and reduce the scourge
of heroin abuse in this country
and abroad.’’
Trump has shifted more
than $6 billion from Pentagon
accounts to pay for border
fence construction, consider-
ably more than lawmakers
have provided through annual
appropriations bills.
Wall funding has been a
major source of conflict be-
tween Capitol Hill Democrats
and Trump as they negotiate
agency funding bills each year.
For instance, Trump was
forced to settle for $1.4 billion
in wall funding in talks this
winter.
He issued a controversial
declaration of a national emer-
gency shortly afterward that
allowed him to shift almost
three times as much money
from military construction ac-
counts to wall building.
A fight over the wall issue is
tying up efforts to begin seri-
ous negotiations on wrapping
up $1.4 trillion worth of agen-
cy appropriations by Thanks-
giving.
Separately, the Senate is ex-
pected to vote Thursday to sus-
tain Trump’s veto Tuesday of
legislation to reject his emer-
gency declaration.
ASSOCIATED PRESSSanders,Warren
leadcashstockpiles
POLITICAL
NOTEBOOK
N.Y.governorsignslawaimedatfoilingTrumppardons
Clears the way for
state prosecutions
after federal action
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