The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 17, 2018, Image 3

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The times., December 17, 2018, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextTODAYS TOP HEADLINES The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Monday, December 17, 2018 3A Giuliani: No Mueller-Trump interview Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for President Donald Trump, speaks at the Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights and democracy in Washington, May 5. BY JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press WASHINGTON — With a number of probes moving closer to the Oval Office, President Donald Trump and his attorney unleased a fresh series of attacks Sunday on the investigators, questioning their integrity while categori cally ruling out the possibility of a presidential interview with the special counsel. Trump and Rudy Giuliani used Twitter and television interviews to deliver a series of broadsides against special counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors in New York. Giuliani said he was “disgusted” by the tactics used by Mueller in his probe into Russian election inter ference, including in secur ing guilty pleas from the president’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on a charge of lying to federal investigators. Trump, Giuliani said, would not submit to an inter view by Mueller’s team. “They’re a joke,” Giuliani told “Fox News Sunday.” ’’Over my dead body, but, you know, I could be dead.” The special counsel, who is investigating possible ties between the Trump cam paign and Russia, has contin ued to request an interview with the president. Last month, the White House sent written answers in response to the special counsel’s ques tions about possible collu sion. The White House has resisted answering questions on possible obstruction of justice. Giuliani sarcastically said that the only thing left to ask the president was about “sev eral unpaid parking tickets that night, back in 1986, ’87 that haven’t been explained.” If the president officially refuses an interview request, the special counsel’s team could theoretically seek to subpoena him to compel his testimony. Such a move would almost certainly trigger an immedi ate court fight. The Supreme Court has never directly ruled on whether a president can be subpoenaed for testimony in a criminal investigation, though the justices have said that a president can be forced to turn over records that have been subpoenaed and can be forced to answer questions as part of a lawsuit. The special counsel’s investigation has spun out charges and strong-armed guilty pleas from Trump underlings while keeping in suspense whether the presi dent — “ Individual-1,” in Mueller’s coded legalese — will end up accused of crimi nal behavior himself. This past week, his legal exposure grew as his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting he issued hush-money pay ments to women who alleged sexual trysts with Trump. Prosecutors and Cohen say he acted at the president’s direction, which Trump and Giuliani deny. Trump and Giuliani have ANDREW HARNIKI Associated Press repeatedly tried to paint Cohen as untrustworthy, with the former New York City mayor calling him a “patho logical liar.” “Which is the truth?” Giuliani said of the compet ing stories from Trump and Cohen. “I think I know what the truth is. Unless you’re God, you’ll never know what the truth is.” Trump and Giuliani have also accused prosecutors of intimidating the president’s associates into making false claims. “Remember, Michael Cohen only became a ‘Rat’ after the FBI did some thing which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started,” Trump tweeted. “They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE!” It was not a break-in. The FBI executed a search warrant obtained from a judge in conducting a raid in April on Cohen’s home, office and hotel room and seizing records on a variety of matters, among them a $130,000 payment made to porn actress Stormy Dan iels by Cohen. The applica tion for the warrant was approved high in the Justice Department. In response to Trump’s tweet, former FBI Director James Comey tweeted, “This is from the President of our country, lying about the law ful execution of a search warrant issued by a federal judge. Shame on Republi cans who don’t speak up at this moment — for the FBI, the rule of law, and the truth. Prosecutors have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run up to the 2016 campaign. Federal prosecutors in New York say the payments amounted to illegal cam paign contributions because they were made at the height of election season to keep voters from learning of Trump’s alleged infidelities. Giuliani has argued the payments were made to pro tect Trump’s family, not to influence the election. “If there’s another pur pose, it’s not a campaign contribution,” Giuliani told ABC. “Suppose he tried to use campaign funds to pay Stormy Daniels. It wouldn’t be illegal. These are not cam paign contributions.” The hush money wasn’t ini tially reported on campaign finance documents and, in any case, far exceeded the legally acceptable amount for in-kind contributions. The federal limit on individual contributions is $2,700. Cohen also pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about the Trump Organization’s goals to build a tower in Moscow. His representative, Lanny Davis, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that his written statement to Con gress, which contained the lie, was published ahead of his testimony and Cohen then spoke to the White House. White House risks shutdown to fund border wall BY HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON — The White House on Sunday pushed the fed eral government closer to the brink of a partial shutdown later this week, digging in on its demand for $5 billion to build a border wall as congressional Democrats stood firm against it. “We will do whatever is neces sary to build the border wall to stop this ongoing crisis of immi gration,” said White House senior adviser Stephen Miller. Asked if that meant having a government shutdown, he said: “If it comes to it, absolutely.” Trump said last week he would be “proud” to have a shutdown to get Congress to approve a $5 bil lion down payment to fulfill his campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. But the president doesn’t have the votes from the Republican-controlled Congress to support funding for the wall at that level. Democratic congressional lead ers, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, have proposed no more than $1.6 billion, as out lined in a bipartisan Senate bill. The money would not go for the wall but for fencing upgrades and other border security. Democrats also offered to sim ply keep funding at its current level, $1.3 billion. Showing no signs of budging, Schumer said Sunday that it was up to Trump to decide whether parts of the federal government shut down at midnight Friday over his border wall, sending thou sands of federal employees home without pay during the holidays. About one-quarter of the gov ernment would be affected, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transporta tion, Agriculture, State and Jus tice, as well as national parks. “He is not going to get the wall in any form,” Schumer said. Both parties in Congress have suggested that Trump would likely need to make the next move to resolve the impasse. The House is taking an extended weekend break, returning Wednesday night. The Senate returns Monday after a three-day absence. Trump had neither accepted nor rejected the Democrats’ pro posal as of Friday, according to the Democrats, telling them he would take a look. Trump will need Democratic votes either way, now or in the new year, for passage. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the Sen ate, said Republicans remain hopeful they can come up with a proposal that can be acceptable to Trump and pass both chambers. He suggested that could take the form of a stopgap bill that extends funding until January, or a longer- term bill that includes money for border security. “There are a lot of things you need to do with border security,” he said. “One is a physical barrier but also the technology, the man power, the enforcement, all of those things, and our current laws are in some ways an incentive for people to come to this country ille gally, and they go through great risk and possibly great harm.” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, urged senators to revisit a bill she helped push earlier this year that would provide $2.5 billion for bor der security, including physical barriers as well as technology and border patrol agents. Schumer declined to say whether Democrats would be willing to consider proposals other than the two options that he and Pelosi offered. Republicans “should join us in one of these two proposals, which would get more than enough votes passed and avoid a shutdown,” Schumer said. “Then, if the presi dent wants to debate the wall next year, he can. I don’t think he’ll get it. But he shouldn’t use innocent workers as hostage for his temper tantrum.” Miller and Barrasso spoke on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Schumer appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and Collins was on ABC’s “This Week.” Child’s death highlights communication challenges faced on US southern border OLIVER DE ROS I Associated Press Claudia Maquin, 27, shows a photo of her daughter, Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin in Raxruha, Guatemala, on Saturday, Dec. 15. The 7-year-old girl died in a Texas hospital, two days after being taken into custody by border patrol agents in a remote stretch of New Mexico desert. BY JULIE WATSON Associated Press Shortly before a 7-year- old Guatemalan girl died in U.S. custody, her father signed a form stating that his daughter was in good health. But it’s unclear how much the man understood on the form, which was writ ten in English and read to him in Spanish by Border Patrol agents. The death of Jakelin Caal highlights the commu nication challenges along the U.S.-Mexico border as agents come in contact with an increasing number of migrants who speak neither English nor Spanish. Her father’s native lan guage is the Mayan tongue known as Q’eqchi’. His sec ond language is Spanish. It’s unclear whether some thing was lost in translation or whether it would have made a difference in saving Jakelin after the two were detained and underwent a health screening along a remote stretch of U.S.- Mexico border. But the case raises questions about the Border Patrol’s use of Eng lish-only forms. All agents are required to speak Spanish, and they receive formal Spanish training. Reading forms in Spanish is often enough to pose basic questions. But some other Spanish speaking migrants reported signing paperwork that they later said they did not understand. Scores of immigrant parents who were sepa rated from their chil dren after crossing the border in the spring said they signed forms agree ing to be deported with the understanding that their kids would be return ing with them, only to find themselves deported with out them. Many had to wait months before being reunited with them in their homelands. Jakelin and her father, Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz, were part of a group of 163 migrants arrested Dec. 6 near a border crossing in New Mexico. Hours later, they were placed on a bus to the nearest Border Patrol station, but Jakelin began vomiting and eventually stopped breathing. She later died at a Texas hospital. Border Patrol officials on Friday said agents did everything they could to save the girl but that she had not had food or water for days. An initial screen ing showed no evidence of health problems, they said, and her father spoke to them in Spanish and signed a form indicating she was in good health. Attorneys in Texas repre senting Caal criticized U.S. officials for asking him to sign Form 1-779, which asks a series of questions with check boxes of “yes” or “no.” In the additional com ments section on the form was written “claims good health.” “It is unacceptable for any government agency to have persons in custody sign documents in a language that they clearly do not understand,” the attorneys said in a statement. The family also disputed the accounts offered by U.S. officials that the girl walked for days in the desert with out food or water before crossing. The father’s law yers said Caal took care of his daughter, giving her suf ficient water and food, and she appeared to be in good health. •Gift baskets •Embroidery •Unique gifts •Screen printing •Balloons for all occasions •Full Service Pharmacy •Free Local Delivery •Compounding Unit Dose Packaging Hiveriide 'Pharmacy 935 Green St., Gainesville, GA 770.532.6253 • callriversidepharmacy.com Auto Insurance Specialist • Easy Payments • Any Driver • Any Age NEW LOCATION! 2415 OLD CORNELIA HWY., GAINESVILLE Next to Rabbittown Cafe 770-450-4500 Save Your Selfie... Some Money) 42 people injured in Japan explosion BY MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO — More than 40 people were injured in an explosion Sunday night at a Japanese restaurant in northern Japan, police said. The explosion occurred in Sapporo, the capital city of Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, and caused nearby apartment buildings and houses to shake. Police said 42 people were injured, most of them mildly, though one was in serious condition. They were rushed to nearby hos pitals for treatment. The cause of the explo sion, which occurred at a two-story restaurant in Sapporo’s Toyohira district, is under inves tigation, police said, adding that they had no further details. TV footage from Japa nese public broadcaster NHK showed the restau rant in flames, with debris scattered on the ground. The footage later showed gray smoke bil lowing from the restaurant as dozens of firefighters poured water onto the building, which was charred and nearly col lapsing. Windows on an apartment building next door were broken, and cars parked outside were partially covered with debris that had fallen on them. A witness told NHK that he smelled gas after the sound of an explosion. The broadcaster said the dis trict office was to set up a shelter for neighbors of the restaurant to stay over night so they could escape the smoke. EARLY DEADLINES FOR CHRISTMAS DAY Because of the upcoming Christmas Day holiday The Times will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows: Retail Display Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Friday, 12/21 Thursday 12/27 Friday, 12/21 Classified Line Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Friday, 12/21 @3pm Legal Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Wednesday, 12/19 @ 5pm Thursday 12/27 Wednesday, 12/19 @ 5pm She Sfmes gainesvilletimes •com will be CLOSED Tuesday, December 25th, in observance of Christmas.