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Sabtu, 05 Oktober 2019

White House struggles to contain Ukraine fallout | TheHill - The Hill

The White House is struggling to contain the fallout from President TrumpDonald John Trump Gordon Sondland expected to appear for House deposition Ivanka Trump on impeachment: 'Everything's a question of priorities' Second intel official considering filing complaint over Trump: report MORE’s calls for foreign governments to look into matters related to the 2016 election and one of his chief political rivals.

Days after news reports of the initial story, Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi Biden: Trump has 'indicted himself by his own statements' House Democrats subpoena White House for Ukraine documents House conservatives press Schiff over knowledge of whistleblower complaint MORE (D-Calif.) had thrown her support behind an impeachment inquiry.

The release of a reconstructed transcript of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine’s president stoked momentum for impeachment further, as did the release a day later of a whistleblower’s report that was first instigated by the call.

Since then, the release of texts showing the discomfort of at least some administration officials toward the president’s actions, coupled with Trump’s public statements, have the entire drama feeling like it could spin out of control.

Trump, already under fire for urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “look into” former Vice President Joe BidenJoe Biden Gordon Sondland expected to appear for House deposition Ivanka Trump on impeachment: 'Everything's a question of priorities' Second intel official considering filing complaint over Trump: report MORE, deepened Democrats’ scrutiny by telling reporters Thursday that China should consider an investigation into the leading Democratic presidential candidate and his son.

The text messages released by three Democratic committee chairmen late Thursday showed multiple State Department officials indicating that a White House meeting between Zelensky and Trump was contingent on Ukraine investigating a Ukrainian energy company linked to Biden’s son and the 2016 election.

Meanwhile, Democrats are widening their scrutiny to include some of Trump’s top cabinet officials, including Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard Pompeo Gordon Sondland expected to appear for House deposition Democrats claim new momentum from intelligence watchdog testimony Overnight Defense: House Dems subpoena White House for Ukraine documents | Pence pulled into inquiry | GOP senator says he confronted Trump over Ukraine aid | Iran hackers target 2020 campaign MORE.

As the intelligence community inspector general testified before Congress behind closed doors Friday, Democrats readied an expansive document request for the vice president’s office.

The news cycle has moved at a breakneck pace, forcing White House officials previously on the fringes of the scandal to come to the president’s defense as he insists he did nothing wrong.

Republicans have privately expressed concerns about the White House strategy, arguing Trump is serving as a one-man messaging team.

“The President did nothing wrong and we have been transparent throughout this entire process. There is not a lot of messaging or coordination to be had around those simple facts,” White House press secretary Stephanie GrishamStephanie Grisham House Democrats subpoena White House for Ukraine documents Trump approves Poland's entry to visa waiver program Trump: Democrats wasting time on 'bulls---' with impeachment inquiry MORE told The Hill in an emailed statement, pushing back at such arguments.

Grisham said Democrats should be “flat out ashamed of themselves,” accusing the party of pursuing “impeachment with no crime.”

The White House has long been marked by factions and in-fighting, and those issues have further complicated efforts to keep up with Trump’s barrage of new statements and Democrats’ fast-moving impeachment inquiry.

The result has been individual Cabinet officials and aides offering their own defenses of Trump’s conduct and seeking to downplay their own connections to it.

Pence, who has largely skirted Trump controversies, made clear on Thursday that he stood by Trump.

“One of the main reasons we were elected to Washington, D.C. was to drain the swamp,” Pence said in Arizona. “And I think the American people have a right to know if the vice president of the United States or his family profited from this position as vice president during the last administration.”

National Economic Council Director Larry KudlowLawrence (Larry) Alan Kudlow MORE and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, two of Trump’s most prominent surrogates for discussing the state of China trade talks, were forced Friday morning to address the president’s calls for Beijing to investigate Biden and a subsequent report that Trump had raised Biden in a June call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kudlow downplayed the significance of the latest furor, asserting it would not have much of an effect on scheduled trade talks with Chinese officials next week.

“In some sense I can’t assure you of anything, but I would say my own expectation is that’s not going to be front and center when [U.S. Trade Representative] Lighthizer and [Treasury Secretary] Mnuchin speak with Vice Premiere Liu He,” he told Bloomberg TV.

Navarro was more combative, refusing to tell CNN whether he had raised Biden during his own conversations with Chinese officials and criticizing the network’s reporting.

Rudy GiulianiRudy Giuliani Trump holds call with House GOP amid impeachment inquiry Democrats claim new momentum from intelligence watchdog testimony Overnight Defense: House Dems subpoena White House for Ukraine documents | Pence pulled into inquiry | GOP senator says he confronted Trump over Ukraine aid | Iran hackers target 2020 campaign MORE, the president’s personal attorney who has been at the center of efforts to get dirt on the Bidens, told The Hill in an interview this week that he wouldn’t share his strategy with those inside the White House because they are “untrustworthy” and tend to leak to the press.

Consequently, much of the messaging has been left to Trump himself, who has on his Twitter feed and in public remarks angrily attacked Democrats over what he views as an effort to bruise him as the 2020 campaign gets underway.

“I question the need for an organized operation when he has the biggest megaphone on planet earth and will be more forceful than anyone else,” one former administration official said of the messaging strategy.

Trump has employed increasingly caustic rhetoric to lash out at Democrats, calling House Intelligence Chairman Adam SchiffAdam Bennett Schiff Second intel official considering filing complaint over Trump: report Trump mocks Schiff with Pinocchio-themed video Democrats claim new momentum from intelligence watchdog testimony MORE (D-Calif.) to be investigated for “treason,” decrying the impeachment inquiry as a “coup” and quoting a supporter who said his removal could trigger a second “civil war.”

Trump’s campaign, meanwhile, has also gone on offense, spending millions on television ads hammering the allegations against Biden and likening the Democratic impeachment inquiry to a “coup.” CNN said it would not run the ads, asserting they are misleading.

The administration has sent early signals it is prepared to fight Democrats’ requests and subpoenas. Pence’s office called Democrats’ documents request on Friday unserious, and Pompeo raised a myriad of issues with committees’ demands for testimony from current and former State officials earlier this week.

Ian Prior, a former Justice Department official under Trump, surmised the impeachment inquiry would have minimal effect on Trump, arguing his actions didn’t rise to the level of past conduct by presidents who have faced impeachment, including Richard Nixon and Bill ClintonWilliam (Bill) Jefferson Clinton CNN's Van Jones: Democrats in 'lose-lose' situation on impeachment New York prosecutors blast DOJ filing in lawsuit over tax return subpoena Ignore the hype — this is not an impeachment inquiry MORE, and that the public would lose interest in Democrats’ narrative.

“He’s a little more forthcoming in what he says, certainly sometimes to his detriment, but is it an impeachable offense that is going to get him removed from office? Absolutely not,” Prior said.

While Trump acknowledged Friday that Democrats appear to have the votes to impeach him, the effort is unlikely to gain traction in the GOP-controlled Senate, where most Republicans have offered varying degrees of defense of Trump’s actions.

Trump continued to insist on Friday that there was “no quid pro quo” involved in his contacts with Ukraine, even as the text messages released late Thursday showed that some in his own administration doubted that.

“When I speak to a foreign leader, I speak in an appropriate manner,” Trump told reporters, saying he was only interested in “corruption” and didn’t care about “politics.”

More than a dozen text message exchanges provided by Kurt VolkerKurt Volker Trump declares 'case closed' after text messages reveal officials pressed Ukraine on inquiries The Hill's Morning Report — Trump broadens call for Biden probes Top US diplomat threatened to quit over Ukraine dealings MORE, the administration’s former special envoy to Ukraine, highlighted the extent to which multiple diplomatic officials in the Trump administration pushed for Ukraine to take up investigations related to the 2016 election and Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company that Biden’s son Hunter worked for.

In his opening remarks at a closed session with congressional lawmakers on Thursday, Volker distanced himself from any efforts by Trump to press for investigations into Biden. Instead, Volker appeared to shift blame to Giuliani, accusing him of helping impart on Trump a “deeply rooted negative view on Ukraine.”

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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/464458-white-house-struggles-to-contain-ukraine-fallout

2019-10-05 09:59:55Z
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Hong Kong protests: Embattled leader decries 'very dark day' as subway, train services get suspended - USA TODAY

John Leicester Associated Press

Published 4:02 AM EDT Oct 5, 2019

HONG KONG – All subway and train services were suspended, lines formed at the cash machines of shuttered banks, and shops were closed as Hong Kong dusted itself off and then started marching again Saturday after another night of rampaging violence decried as "a very dark day" by the territory’s embattled leader.

In a televised address broadcast as marchers in masks again took to the streets in defiance of her newly instituted ban on face coverings at rallies, a solemn Carrie Lam described Hong Kong as "semi-paralyzed" and in the grips of "unprecedented violence."

More: Hong Kong leader bans masks in hardening stance on protests

The chief executive did not announce additional measures to quell increasing violence, beyond the ban criminalizing the wearing of masks at rallies that took effect at midnight.

She defended the legality of the measure denounced by government critics and demonstrators, and said that "to protect citizens' daily lives and freedoms, I cannot allow the small minority of rioters to destroy that."

"Everyone is worried and scared," she said.

Many were fired up, too.

Shielded under umbrellas, many wearing masks, a cortege of hundreds of demonstrators clogged a thoroughfare in the central business district, carrying a yellow banner marked "Glory to Hong Kong" and shouting: "Hong Kong, resist!"

The closure of the entire MTR network that handles more than 4 million trips a day, including the express line to the Hong Kong international airport, caused major and quite exceptional disruption to the usually never-resting but now edgy and restive territory of 7.5 million people.

"From MTR to EmptyR," tweeted activist Joshua Wong, a key player in 2014 protests that foreshadowed the past four months of demonstrations. Snowballing into a sustained outburst of anti-government and anti-China fury, the youth-led protests have plunged the international hub for trade and finance into its deepest crisis since the territory reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

"Can’t go anywhere," said Kevin Cui, a tourist from mainland China who’d planned to visit Disneyland only to discover at a shuttered subway station in central Hong Kong that the network was suspended. "This is very troublesome."

A message on the MTR website cited staff safety and the need for repairs among reasons for the closure.

After widespread arson attacks, looting, fighting with police and beatings, the government appealed for a public shift in attitude against rioting.

John Lee, the government’s security secretary, said by not condemning violence, people are stoking it.

"What is adding oil to violence is people’s support for these acts," he said. "What is important is that everybody comes out to say, 'No, society will not accept violence.'"

But even many peaceful protesters say violence has become a means to an end, the only way for young masked protesters to force the government to bend.

As a group of black-clad youths in protective gear rushed past him, many carrying bamboo sticks, a property industry worker who came out with his wife Friday night to show his opposition to the mask ban expressed his admiration for those confronting police.

"I know they have done terrible things" he said. "Can you believe how brave they are?"

He gave only his first name, Alex. He and his wife, Pauline, both donned masks that covered their mouths to hit streets in central Hong Kong where clouds of police tear gas to disperse protesters also caused spluttering tourists and Friday night revelers to flee, eyes stinging.

Lam insisted when announcing the ban Friday that the measure and her use of rarely deployed emergency powers to introduce it without legislative approval were not steps toward authoritarian rule or at the behest of the Chinese government. Two activists filed legal challenges late Friday on grounds it would instill fear and curtail freedom of assembly, but a court denied their request for an injunction.

International observers worried that Lam’s resort to the Emergency Ordinance that had lain dormant since last used to quell riots in 1967 could be a harbinger of harsher measures in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory deeply attached to its special freedoms and fearful of becoming a tightly controlled city like all the others in China.

More: Trump lauds China; police chief laments one of Hong Kong's 'most violent and chaotic days'

First indications were that rather than soothe tensions, the measure inflamed them.

Under the cover of darkness, masked protesters rampaged, setting fires, setting up makeshift road blocks that backed up traffic and vandalizing subway stations, China-linked business and other property.

More: Hong Kong leader withdraws extradition bill that sparked initial protests

An officer fired a single shot from his gun in self-defense after he was attacked by protesters in the northern Yuen Long district, said police spokeswoman Yolanda Yu. She said a man was wounded, but police didn’t know exactly how he got shot. A police official, who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the news media, said the victim is 14. A Hospital Authority spokesman said the teen was in serious but not critical condition.

The teen became the second victim of gunfire in the protests that began in June. An 18-year-old protester was also shot at close range by a riot police officer on Tuesday.

Associated Press journalists Eileen Ng and Katie Tam contributed to this report.

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2019-10-05 07:36:00Z
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Jumat, 04 Oktober 2019

Iraq protests: All the latest updates - Aljazeera.com

Nationwide protests broke out across Iraq on Tuesday, as thousands of mostly young men demonstrated against corruption and calling for an end to endemic corruption in the oil-rich country.

Protesters have also called for improved public services such as electricity and water.

Security forces have responded using water cannon, tear gas, live rounds and rubber bullets. Dozens of protesters have been killed and hundreds more wounded.

Tensions have been exacerbated by a near-total internet blackout as the authorities seek to prevent protesters communicating with each other or posting footage of the chaotic demonstrations.

The mostly leaderless demonstrations are the biggest challenge yet to the one-year government of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who has imposed curfews in Baghdad and other cities to try to stop the protests gathering steam.

Here are the latest updates from Iraq:

Friday, October 4

UN urges Iraq to probe protest deaths 'transparently'

The United Nations called on Iraq to rapidly and transparently investigate force used by anti-riot police in clashes with protesters that have left dozens dead.

"We call on the Iraqi government to allow people to freely exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN rights office, told journalists in Geneva.

"We are worried by reports that security forces have used live ammunition and rubber bullets in some areas, and have also fired tear gas cannisters directly at protestors," Hurtado said, insisting that in dealing with demonstrations, "the use of force should be exceptional".

"Any use of force must comply with applicable international human rights norms and standards," she said, stressing that firearms should never be used "except as a last resort to protect against an imminent threat of death or serious injury."

"All incidents in which the actions of security forces have resulted in death and injury should be promptly, independently and transparently investigated," she said.

Iraq's Grand Ayatollah backs protests

Iraq's top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged security forces and protesters not to use violence, and criticised Iraqi leaders for failing to eradicate corruption

He has called on the Iraqi government to heed the protesters' demands "before it is too late".

In a letter read out by his representative Ahmed al-Safi during a sermon in the holy city of Kerbala, Sistani described the deaths from the protests as "sorrowful", and maintained that the government has not "achieved anything on the ground".

"Lawmakers hold the biggest responsibility for what is happening," Sistani said.

He also said the government "must do what it can to improve public services, find work for the unemployed, end clientelism, deal with the corruption issue and send those implicated in it to prison".

In Friday Prayer sermon, Ayatollah Sistani condemns attacks on peaceful protesters and security forces. He hopes everyone understands the dangerous consequences of violence and criticises the government, parliament and judiciary for failing to deliver real reform. #IraqProtests
— Hayder al-Khoei (@7ayder87) October 4, 2019

Red Cross calls for restraint as protests continue

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was concerned by "increasingly violent clashes" between protesters and security forces.

"The use of force by security forces must be proportionate to the situation and is an exceptional measure," said the ICRC's head of delegation in Iraq, Katharina Ritz.

"In particular, firearms and live ammunition must only be used as a last resort, and to protect against an imminent threat to life."

Death toll rises to 44: police, security sources

The death toll from three days of anti-government protests in Iraq climbed to 44, police and medical sources told Reuters.

Iraqi security forces fire on protesters in Baghdad

The largest number of casualties occurred in the southern city of Nasiriya, where 18 people were killed, followed by the capital Baghdad where the death toll stood at 16, they said.

The protests, in which hundreds of people have also been injured, began over unemployment and poor services but have escalated into calls for a change of government and pose one of the country's biggest security challenges in years.

Qatar urges citizens not to travel to Iraq

Qatar's foreign ministry advised its citizens on Friday not to travel to Iraq and urged those already there to leave immediately in view of ongoing unrest.

Iraqi security forces open fire on protesters in Baghdad

Iraqi security forces opened fired on dozens of protesters gathering in Baghdad on Friday for a fourth day of demonstrations against corruption, unemployment and poor public services.

"These protesters have now been dispersed to neighbouring streets and there are running battles taking place," said Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said there was "no magic solution" to Iraq's problems but pledged to work on laws granting poor families a basic income, provide alternative housing, and fight corruption.

Hong Kong introduces emergency powers to ban face masks at protests - NBC News

Hong Kong will ban face masks at public demonstrations as part of emergency powers announced Friday, as sometimes violent pro-democracy protests continue in the semiautonomous territory.

Carrie Lam, the city's Beijing-backed leader, told a press conference that the the ban on face masks, which are worn by many protesters to hide their identities, would come into effect at midnight local time.

"We've seen that almost all protesters who carried out vandalism and violence covered their face," Lam told reporters.

"We believe the prohibition on face covering regulation will be an effective deterrent to radical behavior and it will also help the police in enforcing the law,” she added.

If convicted, demonstrators could face a maximum fine of some 25,000 Hong Kong dollars ($3,187) and a year imprisonment, the Hong Kong information services department said in a statement.

If they refuse to comply with police to remove the face covering, a demonstrator could face a fine of up to 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,275) and imprisonment for six months, the statement said.

Reasonable excuses for a person to cover their face include pre-existing medical or health reasons, religious or professional reasons, it added.

Before the new rule was confirmed, protests against it began across the Asian financial hub, with hundreds of office workers wearing masks gathering to march.

A protester wears a gas mask and holds up his hand to represent the five demands in Hong Kong on Friday.Vincent Thian / AP

Protesters in Hong Kong’s Central district pulled down a banner celebrating the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China from a bridge and set it on fire to the sound of cheers from onlookers.

Some demonstrators, chanted “rebel Hong Kong people” and “masking is not guilty, unreasonable legislation.”

Secondary school students wearing school uniforms could be seen among the throngs of people.

Lam said she was concerned by the number of students involved in recent demonstrations. From June to August, students accounted for around 25 percent of those arrested, she said, but since the start of school in September the proportion has now risen to 38 percent.

She said she hoped the ban would discourage young people from taking to the streets.

But young Hong Kongers who spoke to NBC News said they would continue to protest and cover their faces.

Aki Chi, a 29-year-old sound actor who was headed to a demonstration in the city's Central district, said he “absolutely” would not comply with the new ban.

“I have no intention to respect it,” he told NBC News.

IN #HONGKONG: Carrie Lam says the new face mask ban does not suggest a state of emergency, but is a move to gain control over ‘riots’. In August, she rejected the idea, fearing it would backfire and further damage the city’s reputation. @NBCNews @MSNBC (video source: me/Sept30) pic.twitter.com/LVWcaZEJgN
— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisfrayer) October 4, 2019

Jane Chiu, 23, said the ban allowed the police more power on the streets and proved the government was attempting to suppress the voices of its citizens.

“This is authoritarianism, welcome to just another Chinese city,” she said.

The H.R. worker added that she also would not stop wearing masks to protests.

“If we allow this to happen, we are just opening our doors to any other possible regulations in the future."

Many people in Hong Kong wear masks on a daily basis to protect themselves from colds and flu. Lam said she had taken this into account.

"The regulation will target those who use violence, we understand there may be other people who need to wear a mask or cover their face because of a legitimate need," she said.

However, it remained unclear how the government planned to enforce the ban or how straightforward it would be to evaluate "legitimate" use.

Lam stressed that the new regulation did not mean that Hong Kong was in a state of emergency but said it was experiencing a moment of "rather extensive and serious public danger."

"I hope the public will support and understand what we're doing," she said.

Many do not. Prominent activist Joshua Wong tweeted that Friday's announcement could lead to further powers, such as arbitrary arrest.

1/ It is no less harmful than the extradition bill as virtually the law gives CE mighty power to impose whatever she & Beijing like to — more arbitrary arrest and search, extending dention to 96 hours or more, banning internet access, de facto martial laws are highly expected.
— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 (@joshuawongcf) October 4, 2019

"I strongly urge the international community to be aware of the de-facto martial law may be applied in Hong Kong soon, in the next few hours or in the next few days," Wong later told reporters.

Anti-government protests have gripped the former British colony for months, plunging it into its biggest political crisis in decades and posing a popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The protesters are angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city's affairs despite a promise of autonomy in the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong returned to China in 1997.

China dismisses accusations it is meddling and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up anti-China sentiment.

Lam said Friday that so far some 1,100 people had been injured and of them around 300 were police officers in the violence.

What began as opposition to a proposed extradition law, which could have seen people sent for trial in mainland courts but has now been shelved, has grown into a call for five demands, including universal suffrage and an inquiry into alleged police brutality.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam attends a news conference to discuss sweeping emergency laws at government office in Hong Kong on Friday.ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA / Reuters

Protesters, some wearing gas masks and helmets, marched past some of the city's most expensive real estate including British bank HSBC's head office, on Friday, calling out for "five demands, not one less".

Riot police moved in to districts across Hong Kong overnight, firing tear gas at a chanting crowd in a residential area, while rail operator MTR Corp shut several stations as violence escalated.

The protests have been inflamed by the police shooting of a teenage secondary school student on Tuesday during a clash, and more rallies are expected later in the evening and over the weekend.

Police said the officer involved in the shooting acted in self-defense because his life was under threat. The teenager, the first protester hit by live fire during months of unrest, remains in hospital in a stable condition.

Lam said Friday that escalating violence, use of lethal weapons and snatching of police pistols meant police have "no choice but to use guns to try to save their own lives."

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-introduces-emergency-powers-ban-face-masks-protests-n1062301

2019-10-04 10:43:00Z
52780399799160

Hong Kong introduces emergency powers to ban face masks at protests - NBC News