Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Trump seeks $18 billion to extend border wall
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump
administration has proposed spending
$18 billion over 10 years to signifi-
cantly extend the border wall with
Mexico, providing one of its most
detailed blueprints of how the pres-
ident hopes to carry out a signature
campaign pledge.
The proposal by Customs and
Border Protection calls for 316 miles of
additional barrier by September 2027,
bringing total coverage to 970 miles, or
nearly half the border, according to a
U.S. official with direct knowledge of
the matter.
It also calls for 407 miles of replace-
ment or secondary fencing, said the
official, who spoke to The Associated
Press on the condition of anonymity
because the plan has not been made
public.
Trump has promised “a big, beau-
tiful wall” with Mexico as a center-
piece of his presidency but offered few
details of where it would be built, when
and at what cost. His administration
asked for $1.6 billion this year to build
or replace 74 miles of fencing in Texas
and California, and officials have said
they also will seek $1.6 billion next
year.
The 10-year plan, first reported by
The Wall Street Journal, resulted from
discussions with senators who asked
the agency what it would take to secure
the border, the official said.
It comes as the administration
intensifies negotiations in Congress on
a package that may include granting
legal status to about 800,000 people
who were temporarily shielded from
deportation under an Obama-era
program, Deferred Action for Child-
hood Arrivals.
Trump said last year that he was
ending DACA but gave Congress until
March to deliver a legislative fix.
AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File
In this June 2016 file photo a Border Patrol agent walks along a border
structure in San Diego, Calif.
The plan on border security came
in response to a request by U.S. Sen.
Jeff Flake, said Jason Samuels, a
spokesman for the Arizona Republican.
An
administration
official
confirmed the document was prepared
at the request of congressional negoti-
ators and said funding for the wall and
other security measures must be part of
any legislative package on immigra-
tion. The official spoke on condition
of anonymity because the plan has not
been made public.
Homeland Security Secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen told The Associated
Press on Tuesday that the wall would
be “first and foremost” in any package
that includes new protections for
DACA recipients. She also said the
administration wanted to close “loop-
holes” on issues that include handling
asylum claims and local police working
with immigration authorities.
Nielsen called the $3.2 billion
requests for fencing during the
administration’s first two years a down
payment.
“This is not going to get us the
whole wall we need, but it’s a start,”
she said.
Mexico has steadfastly rejected
Trump’s demand that it pay for the wall
and few doubt that U.S. taxpayers will
foot the bill if the wall is built.
The Customs and Border Protection
document calls for a total of $33 billion
in new border spending, including $18
billion for the wall, $5.7 billion for
technology gear, $1 billion for road
construction and maintenance and $8.5
billion for 5,000 new Border Patrol
agents, 2,500 border inspectors and
other personnel, the U.S. official said.
The document doesn’t specify
where the extended wall should be
built.
FBI probing Clinton Foundation corruption claims
WASHINGTON (AP)
— The FBI is investigating
whether the Clinton Foun-
dation accepted donations
in exchange for political
favors while Hillary Clinton
was secretary of state, two
people familiar with the
probe confirmed Friday.
The revelation comes as
President Donald Trump
and congressional Repub-
licans have been urging the
Justice Department to look
into corruption allegations
involving the foundation.
It is unclear when or why
the probe began, but the
sources told The Associated
Press it has been ongoing for
several months, with prose-
cutors and FBI agents taking
the lead from their offices
in Little Rock, Arkansas,
where the foundation has
offices. The people were
not authorized to discuss
the investigation publicly
and spoke on condition of
anonymity.
The Hill newspaper first
reported the probe.
Critics have accused
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
In this 2016 file photo, then-Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton, and her husband former
President Bill Clinton, greet supporters after voting in
Chappaqua, N.Y.
the Clinton family of using
the foundation to enrich
themselves and give donors
special access to the State
Department when Hillary
Clinton was secretary of
state. But public corruption
prosecutors in Washington
expressed disinterest in
working with the FBI on a
Clinton Foundation-related
investigation in 2016, saying
they had concerns about
the strength of the FBI’s
evidence.
A spokesman for the
foundation, Craig Minassian,
said it had been “subjected
to politically motivated
allegations, and time after
time these allegations have
proven false.”
Trump has repeatedly
called for an investigation
into Clinton, her aides and
the foundation, harping
on Attorney General Jeff
Sessions for not taking
action. Democrats say
Trump is trying to steer
attention away from inves-
tigations examining whether
his campaign was involved
with Russian attempts to
influence the 2016 election.
Sessions in November
directed senior federal pros-
ecutors to evaluate a number
of Republican grievances
and determine whether
a special counsel should
be appointed to look into
allegations that the Clinton
Foundation benefited from
an Obama-era uranium
transaction involving a
Russian state company.
In a letter to the House
Judiciary
Committee,
Sessions said the prosecutors
would also make recom-
mendations into “whether
any matters currently under
investigation need additional
resources.”
Trump’s directive on recusal adds to obstruction questions
WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Donald Trump’s
effort to keep Attorney
General Jeff Sessions, a
vocal and loyal supporter of
his election bid, in charge
of an investigation into his
campaign offers special
counsel Robert Mueller yet
another avenue to explore
as his prosecutors work to
untangle potential evidence
of obstruction.
The federal investigation
into possible coordina-
tion between the Trump
campaign and Russia already
includes a close look at
whether Trump’s actions as
president constitute an effort
to impede that same probe.
Those include the firing of
FBI Director James Comey,
an allegation by Comey that
Trump encouraged him to
end an investigation into
former national security
adviser Michael Flynn
and the president’s role in
drafting an incomplete and
potentially misleading state-
ment about a 2016 meeting
with Russians.
The latest revelation
— that Trump directed his
White House counsel, Don
McGahn, to tell Sessions not
to recuse himself from the
Russia investigation — is
known to Mueller’s investi-
gators, who have interviewed
many current and former
executive branch officials.
It adds to the portrait of a
president left furious by an
investigation that he has
called a hoax and suggests
that he worked through an
intermediary to keep the
inquiry under the watch of an
attorney general he expected
JANUARY
DISNEY DAYS
would be loyal.
Three people familiar
with the matter confirmed
to The Associated Press that
McGahn spoke with Sessions
just before he announced his
recusal to urge him not to do
so. One of the people said
McGahn contacted Sessions
at the president’s behest.
BRIEFLY
Medical marijuana
at risk following
move by Sessions
SALEM (AP) — When
U.S. Attorney General Jeff
Sessions green-lighted
federal prosecutions of
marijuana lawbreakers,
the vast majority of U.S.
states that allow some
form of medical marijuana
were unexpectedly placed
at risk of a crackdown
and are warily watching
developments.
Forty-six states —
including Sessions’ home
state of Alabama — have
legalized some form of
medical marijuana in recent
years, according to the
National Conference of State
Legislatures. Eight of those
states also allow recreational
marijuana.
Among the guidance
that Sessions rescinded
was the so-called Ogden
Memorandum of 2009
that instructed federal
prosecutors not to pursue
cases against medical
marijuana patients and
distributors who complied
with state laws.
Trump to huddle
with Hill’s
top Republicans
at Camp David
WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Donald Trump will
huddle with congressional
Republicans, Cabinet
secretaries and aides at
Camp David this weekend to
discuss their 2018 legislative
priorities.
A long list of high-stakes
topics are on the agenda,
including the budget,
infrastructure, immigration,
welfare reform and the 2018
midterm elections.
“We’re going to Camp
David with a lot of the
great Republican senators,
and we’re making America
great again,” Trump said
Friday afternoon as he
left the White House for
the presidential retreat
in Maryland’s Catoctin
Mountains. He will be
joined by Vice President
Mike Pence, Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell
and House Speaker Paul
Ryan, among others.
Republicans are
beginning the new year with
newfound optimism after
finally scoring a win by
passing the tax bill at the end
of last year.
They face a pile of
unfinished business that
was punted into this year
during the push on taxes.
Just two weeks remain
until a Jan. 19 government
funding deadline, and there
is little visible progress on
several contentious issues,
including a budget deal to
boost spending on both the
Pentagon and nondefense
agencies and to extend
protections for immigrants
brought to the country
illegally as children.
Talks are also expected
to touch on a range of
other issues, including the
opioid epidemic and health
care. And lawmakers are
expected to hash out the
order in which they plan to
tackle two top White House
priorities: a long-delayed
infrastructure drive and
welfare reform.
Trump’s White
House setting
records for early
departures
WASHINGTON (AP)
— Already setting turnover
records, President Donald
Trump’s White House is
bracing for even more staff
departures and an increasing
struggle to fill vacancies,
shadowed by the unrelenting
Russia probe, political
squabbling and Trump’s own
low poll numbers.
Entering a grueling year
that is sure to bring fresh
challenges at home and
abroad, Trump faces a brain
drain across a wide swath
of government functions,
threatening to hamstring
efforts to enact legislation
or conduct even basic
operations. Some departures
are expected to come
from senior ranks — the
staff churn that makes
headlines — but more are
likely among the lesser-
known officials who help to
keep the White House and
Cabinet agencies running.
In Trump’s first year, his
administration’s upper-level
officials have had a turnover
rate of 34 percent, much
higher than any other in the
past 40 years, according
to an analysis by Kathryn
Dunn-Tenpas, a non-resident
senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution. The
study found that 22 of the 64
senior officials she tracked
have resigned, been fired or
reassigned.
Anecdotal evidence
among more junior
officials suggests similar
departure rates, and White
House aides acknowledge
difficulty filling roles in the
administration.
Modest U.S. hiring
and slow wage
gains keep Wall
Street happy
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Hiring by U.S.
employers slowed a bit as
2017 ended and pay growth
was sluggish. Yet that’s
actually how investors, at
least, like it.
The modest but steady
pace of hiring is a reassuring
sign for investors who
have been buoyed by the
just-passed Republican tax
plan and have been sending
stock market indexes roaring
to uncharted heights.
U.S. employers added
148,000 jobs in December,
the Labor Department
reported Friday. Though
down from November’s
252,000, last month’s job
gain was still enough to
suggest that the economy
entered the new year
with solid momentum.
The unemployment rate
remained 4.1 percent for
a third straight month, the
lowest level since 2000.
Receive Care
Whenever
and Wherever
You Need it!
When you need medical care,
no matter what time of day or night it is, an expert
provider is always available – whenever and wherever
you need them!
Save with AAA Travel
January 8-26, 2018
Enjoy valuable AAA booking
incentives on Disney vacations,
compliments of AAA Travel!
Visit or call your local AAA
and let us customize a Disney
vacation during our
Disney Days celebration.
AAA Travel
1729 SW Court Avenue
541.276.2243
PENDLETON@AAAOREGON.COM
Now you can be seen by an expert provider virtually, on your smart device
– phone, tablet, or computer – in the comfort of your own home, at work,
or in the offi ce – whenever and wherever you need medical care an expert
provider is always at your fi ngertips!
WE TAKE CARE
• COUGH
• COLD
• FLU
OF CHILDREN THROUGH ADULTS FOR:
• SORE THROAT
• RASH
• EAR ACHE
• URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS
• PINK EYE
• AND SO MUCH MORE!
ONLY $35 PER VISIT!
*St. Anthony Virtual Care Clinic is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week, 365
days per year. If you are experiencing an emergency please call 9-1-1. St. Anthony Clinic
does not replace the need for a primary care provider.
As to Disney artwork, logos, and properties
©Disney. Special booking incentive,
compliments of AAA Travel, applies Jan. 8-26,
2018 at all AAA Travel locations in Oregon
and the Southern 34 counties of Idaho.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG
Virtual Care
844.724.8632