The Wall.St Journal 21Feb2020

A2| Friday, February 21, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

President Apologizes

To Victims of Doctor

The president of the Univer-

sity of Michigan apologized on

Thursday to any victims of sex-

ual abuse by a now-deceased

doctor who worked for the

school for more than 30 years.

From 1968 until 2003 Dr.

Robert E. Anderson was a team

physician at the University of

Michigan’s athletic department

as well as the director of the

university’s health service. Five

of his former patients recently

reported that he committed sex-

ual misconduct during the 1970s

until 2002, school officials said.

A police investigation found

significant evidence of abuse. Dr.

Anderson died in 2008.

This week the school publicly

asked anyone who believes they

were subjected to sexual mis-

conduct during medical exams

by him to contact the school.

“On behalf of the university, I

apologize to anyone who was

harmed by Dr. Anderson,” Presi-

dent Mark Schlissel said to the

school’s board of regents.

—Douglas Belkin

CALIFORNIA

USC to Increase Aid,

End Tuition for Some

The University of Southern

California will phase in free tu-

ition for undergraduate students

from families with an annual in-

come of $80,000 or less, USC

President Carol L. Folt said

Thursday.

As part of the initiative, own-

ership of a home won’t be

counted in determining a stu-

dent’s financial need to attend

the Los Angeles private univer-

sity, where tuition and living ex-

penses top $77,000 annually.

“We’re opening the door wider

to make a USC education possi-

ble for talented students from all

walks of life,” Ms. Folt said.

The changes will be phased in

beginning with first-year students

entering USC in the fall of 2020

and the spring of 2021, USC said.

The university also said it

would increase undergraduate fi-

nancial aid by more than $30 mil-

lion annually.

—Associated Press

ECONOMY

USDA Sees Difficult

Year for Farmers

This year is shaping up as

another tough one for U.S. farm-

ers.

Despite trade deals in North

America and between the U.S.

and China, crop prices remain

subdued. The federal govern-

ment isn’t expected to step in

with fresh aid as it did last year.

The U.S. Department of Agri-

culture said Thursday that it ex-

pects farm debt in 2020 to rise

to a record $425 billion, up from

$415 billion last year. The debt-

to-asset ratio for farms remains

at its highest point in more than

15 years, the USDA said, and

farm bankruptcies jumped 24%

last year.

“The farm balance sheet re-

mains tight,” USDA chief econo-

mist Robert Johansson said.

Average corn prices are ex-

pected to drop 6% to $3.60 a

bushel this year, according to

the USDA, while soybean prices

are expected to rise 1% to an av-

erage $8.80 a bushel.

—Kirk Maltais

NEW ORLEANS

Woman Is Killed

By a Parade Float

New Orleans is mourning the

death of a woman who was run

over by a parade float as the

city celebrates the season lead-

ing up to Mardi Gras.

The Orleans Parish Coroner’s

Office identified the victim

Thursday as Geraldine Car-

mouche, 58 years old, of New

Orleans.

Ms. Carmouche apparently

tried to cross between two parts

of a tandem float, tripped over a

hitch connecting the sections

and was run over, witnesses told

news outlets. It happened

Wednesday night during the pa-

rade of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx,

an all-female Carnival group.

The parade was ended early,

and the rest of the floats were

diverted off the parade route.

“We are devastated over the

tragic event last night that re-

sulted in the death of a relative

of two Nyx sisters,” Krewe of

Nyx captain Julia Lea said.

—Associated Press

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Michael Bennett, head of

derivatives and structured fi-

nance at the World Bank, at

the Trading Risk conference in

New York in October said: “A

number of journalists and

bosses of mine have said, you

made a huge mistake” because

pandemic-catastrophe bonds

didn’t pay out for a 2019 Ebola

outbreak. A Business & Fi-

nance article Thursday about

the bonds and coronavirus in-

correctly quoted Mr. Bennett

as saying “a number of gov-

ernments and bosses of mine.”

A March 2, 2019, Exchange

article about the hottest and

coldest U.S. job markets mis-

stated the methodology for cal-

culating changes in employ-

ment and labor-force levels,

which were calculated based on

a 12-month average. The article

incorrectly said the changes

were for the fourth quarter of

2018 from a year earlier.

Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by

[email protected] by calling 888-410-2667.

CORRECTIONSAMPLIFICATIONS

of criminal cases.

The judge said she was bas-

ing her sentence on those im-

posed in other comparable

cases, referencing the 30

months that I. Lewis “Scooter”

Libby, a former top aide to

Vice President Dick Cheney, re-

ceived for his 2007 conviction

of lying to a grand jury and

obstructing justice. Mr. Trump

pardoned Mr. Libby in 2018.

At the hearing, Assistant

U.S. Attorney John Crabb

backed the original recommen-

dations of prosecutors in calcu-

lating a guideline range, a de-

velopment that seemed to

minimize the Justice Depart-

ment’s second recommendation

calling for a lighter sentence.

Judge Jackson acknowl-

edged Mr. Stone’s history of

cultivating a public persona

as a provocateur and a prank-

ster. But she ruled that Mr.

Stone’s pretrial behavior—in-

cluding questioning the legiti-

macy of the proceedings and

posting online after being or-

dered not to—should be taken

into account.

She also chastised Mr.

Stone’s defense team for try-

ing to argue at trial that Mr.

Stone’s lies didn’t amount to

much, an argument they

boiled down to: “So what?”

“The truth still exists,” Judge

Jackson said, describing that

argument as the “most perni-

cious” aspect of the case.

Crowds began gathering

early Thursday at the federal

courthouse in Washington,

with cameras lining both en-

trances and Mr. Stone’s sup-

porters holding a banner out-

side the courthouse that asked

lower recommendation that

suggested the court could ap-

propriately discount several

additional levels of punish-

ment. That prompted the four

trial prosecutors to withdraw

from the case.

At the sentencing hearing,

Judge Jackson noted that it

was unusual for the govern-

ment not to argue for the

maximum sentence.

“The Department of Justice

and United States attorney’s

office is committed to enforc-

ing the law without fear, favor

or political influence,” said Mr.

Crabb. “This prosecution was

and is righteous.”

Mr. Trump’s criticism of Mr.

Stone’s prosecution centered

on one of the jurors in his

case, a woman who had previ-

ously run for Congress as a

Democrat. He called her “to-

tally tainted” on Thursday.

According to transcripts of

jury selection, Mr. Stone’s law-

yers asked the juror in ques-

tion about potential bias—in-

cluding Democratic politics—

but didn’t seek to exclude her

from the jury pool.

A federal jury convicted Mr.

Stone of lying to Congress in

its investigation of Russian

election interference and mis-

leading lawmakers about his

efforts to make contact with

WikiLeaks, which published

emails stolen from Democrats

that jolted the 2016 campaign.

He was also convicted of tam-

pering with a witness, Randy

Credico, a New York comedian

who had evidence to contra-

dict Mr. Stone.

—Rebecca Ballhaus

contributed to this article.

sentence. “I’m going to watch

the process...and at some point

I’m going to make a recom-

mendation.” His comments

marked a sharp shift from two

days earlier, when he said he

hadn’t given “any thought” to

pardoning Mr. Stone.

Mr. Stone, a Republican

consultant who has known Mr.

Trump for decades, was con-

victed in November in a case

that resulted from former spe-

cial counsel Robert Mueller’s

investigation of Russian inter-

ference in the 2016 election

and any ties between Russia

and the Trump campaign.

The sentence was far less

than the seven to nine years

that trial prosecutors had ini-

tially recommended under

federal guidelines before At-

torney General William Barr

and other senior officials

overruled their recommenda-

tion and suggested a lighter

punishment.

Judge Jackson said follow-

ing the guidelines would result

in a sentence that “would be

greater than necessary,” but

criticized what she described

as the Justice Department’s

“unprecedented” reversal. She

said prosecutors were right to

endorse a guideline sentence,

as they do in the vast majority

ContinuedfromPageOne

Stone Gets

More Than

Three Years

Mr. Trump to #PardonRoger-

Stone and another group with

a two-story inflatable rat.

Mr. Stone declined to speak

at the hearing. The flamboyant

Republican operative won’t

have to start serving his sen-

tence until after Judge Jack-

son rules on his request for a

new trial. She hasn’t specified

when that will occur.

His defense attorneys ar-

gued that his age, lack of crim-

inal history and involvement

in charitable causes warranted

a sentence of probation.

Given the lack of criminal

history, the judge calculated

the recommended sentence at

5.8 to 7.25 years in prison.

Judges often depart from

those guidelines. The guide-

lines suggested that Mr.

Trump’s former campaign

chairman, Paul Manafort, for

example, faced around 20 years

in prison for financial crimes

including tax fraud, but he was

ultimately sentenced to a total

of around 7½ years in prison.

In the Stone case, prosecu-

tors filed their initial recom-

mendation last week based on

those guidelines. Mr. Trump

said their recommendation

was “horrible and very unfair.”

Within hours, senior Justice

Department officials ordered a

Trump leaves door

open to granting

clemency to former

political adviser.

To get a clemency case on a

president’s desk, it often comes

down to who you know. That

dynamic is even more acute in

the current White House.

President Trump granted a

series of pardons and sentence

commutations this week, a list

that featured high-profile

cases involving political cor-

ruption and corporate greed

as well as more routine drug

and fraud charges. In the 11

cases, Mr. Trump leaned on

advice from friends and allies,

as well as a woman he freed

from prison in a previous

clemency round.

“I really rely on the recom-

mendations of people that

know them,” the president

told reporters Tuesday in ex-

plaining his decisions.

On Thursday, at a Hope for

Prisoners event for former in-

mates re-entering society, Mr.

Trump asked the crowd for

their own recommendations,

and signaled he was open to

clemency for confidant Roger

Stone, who was sentenced to

three years and four months

in prison for lying to Congress

and other crimes.

“I love doing it. You can be

poor, you can be middle income,

you can be rich, injustice is in-

justice,” Mr. Trump said.

Past presidents also took on

recommendations from allies,

and like Mr. Trump faced fire

for controversial decisions.

But the personal nature of Mr.

Trump’s clemency announce-

ments, and the fluidity of his

approach, at times bypassing

traditional Justice Department

processes, differentiates him.

“Obviously, being able to

make your case to the presi-

dent is an advantage because

he’s a very hands-on decision

maker,” said Matt Schlapp, a

Republican consultant who

serves as chairman of the

American Conservative Union.

He advocated on behalf of Da-

vid Safavian, a former govern-

ment official convicted of

making false statements, who

was pardoned by Mr. Trump.

Under the traditional pro-

cess, the Justice Department’s

Office of the Pardon Attorney

offers recommendations to the

White House, though the final

decision rests with the presi-

dent. The department doesn’t

discuss any private delibera-

tions with the White House. For

some time, Trump advisers

have been reviewing ways to

revise the clemency process,

possibly giving the White

House more control, said a per-

son familiar with those talks.

Clemency is the broader

term that includes both par-

dons and commutations.

Critics argue that the presi-

dent’s approach unfairly ad-

vantages the well-connected.

“It is the mingling of his self

interest and the presidency

that has permeated his whole

term,” said Noah Bookbinder of

the advocacy group Citizens

for Responsibility and Ethics in

Washington. “It seems to be a

case of putting the views and

wishes of people with unusual

access to the president and of-

ten financial ties to the presi-

dent, ahead of regular people.”

Under the Constitution,

presidents have power to par-

don and commute sentences

related to federal crimes. Other

presidents have made contro-

versial choices, based on

friendships or other relation-

ships, but often waited until

right before leaving office to

minimize the political fallout.

White House officials ac-

knowledge that Mr. Trump has

his own approach and says the

president is focused on correct-

ing what he sees as excessive

sentencing. Some cases, such as

that of former Illinois Gov. Rod

Blagojevich, were highlighted on

FoxNews,Mr.Trump’spre-

ferred cable channel.

BYCATHERINELUCEY

Connections Drive Clemency Moves

U.S. NEWS

of a Montana man who testi-

fied that the doctor had sexu-

ally abused him. “They’re just

going to learn how to hide

stuff better.”

The IHS, which provides

health care to 2.6 million Na-

tive Americans, commissioned

Integritas Creative Solutions

LLC to do the review soon after

an investigation by The Wall

Street Journal and the PBS se-

ries Frontline showed agency

officials had missed warning

signs, punished whistleblowers

and—despite their suspicions—

transferred the pedophile,

Stanley Patrick Weber, from

one reservation to another be-

fore he retired in May 2016.

Weber was sentenced to

five lifetime prison terms last

week, following convictions for

sexually abusing six boys on

two reservations. Days later,

court records revealed another

IHS doctor had been indicted

on charges of sexually abusing

adult women at a different

South Dakota government hos-

pital, ratcheting up pressure

on the agency to publicly ad-

dress abuse at its facilities.

Lawyers for the doctors de-

clined to comment or didn’t

respond to inquiries.

The Integritas investigators

gathered a detailed account of

how specific IHS officials ig-

nored explicit warnings—in-

cluding in one case, a state

medical board investigation of

Weber—allowing him to con-

tinue practicing, and how con-

cerns about the doctor

spread more widely across the

agency earlier than previously

known, according to people fa-

miliar with the matter.

Last month, the IHS said

that it is committed to trans-

parency, but that records such

as the report “are protected

from public disclosure.” In a

statement Thursday, the IHS

cited a broad interpretation of

the law it says requires it to

withhold the report.

Integritas won its contract

in May and finished the work

in January, according to con-

tracting records and people fa-

miliar with the matter.

The IHS claim that the re-

cords can’t be disclosed hinges

on a 2010 law that makes re-

cords of IHS “medical quality

assurance programs” and

“medical treatment review

committees” confidential and

privileged. It is an interpreta-

tion some legal experts ques-

tion.

Most states have secrecy

laws for such records, but they

usually apply only to clinical

reviews of the sort conducted

by peer groups, said William

Maruca, a health-care attorney

at Fox Rothschild LLP. “This

protection was created to en-

courage candor in physician

self-policing,” he said.

The IHS said that a court

had found the statute protect-

ing its quality assurance re-

cords is far broader.

The Bozeman, Mont.-based

Integritas team includes for-

mer law-enforcement officers

who don’t appear to have any

medical or health-care quality-

assurance experience. Carl

Caulk, Integritas’s leader,

didn’t respond to inquiries.

An IHS spokeswoman said

the agency “is in discussions

about publicly releasing a

summary of the report and

will...announce its plans soon.”

The kinds of details in the

full report that don’t make the

summary could be valuable

when communities are grap-

pling with the role former IHS

officials—some still in posi-

tions in which they are en-

trusted with the safety of chil-

dren—played in the scandal.

“We deserve to know which

of our people failed to protect

those boys,” said Pauletta Red

Willow, a social worker on the

Pine Ridge reservation in

South Dakota.

The U.S. Indian Health Ser-

vice says it can’t disclose a re-

port that identifies the officials

responsible for mishandling a

government pediatrician who

abused Native American boys

for decades, citing a law meant

to protect medical reviews.

That stance has angered rel-

atives of the pediatrician’s vic-

tims, tribal members and for-

mer agency employees who

hoped the report would pro-

vide a public reckoning and

greater accountability for those

who didn’t do enough to pro-

tect Native American children.

“I don’t think they want

change, or are capable of it,”

said Chris Boy, the stepfather

BYCHRISTOPHERWEAVER

ANDDANFROSCH

U.S. Agency Won’t Release Abuse Report

U.S. WATCH

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s sentence for corruption was commuted by President Trump this week.

SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES