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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.
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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.
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