This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-finland-harvey-arpaio-russia.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Trump Promises ‘100 Percent’ Support to Storm-Battered South Trump Eyed ‘Far Higher’ Ratings in Pardoning Joe Arpaio as Hurricane Hit
(about 2 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday pledged the federal government’s full support to residents of Texas and Louisiana who are being battered by Tropical Storm Harvey, saying that “we are 100 percent with you” and promising quick delivery of a multibillion-dollar aid package. WASHINGTON — President Trump offered a fiery defense on Monday of his decision to pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff, as Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas last week — and claimed he timed it to attract maximum attention as television viewers were glued to storm coverage.
“There’s probably never been anything like this,” Mr. Trump said, reading from prepared remarks at the White House. Mr. Trump, who said his action was no worse than late-term pardons issued under the last two Democratic presidents, also suggested that the Justice Department had political motives during the Obama administration for charging the former Maricopa County sheriff in a case concerning his illegal profiling of Hispanics. Mr. Arpaio was convicted last month of criminal contempt for his tactics in hunting down and jailing immigrants in the country illegally, but he was pardoned before his sentencing.
“Recovery will be a long and difficult road, and the federal government stands ready, willing and able to support that effort,” he said. Mr. Trump spoke at a news conference with President Sauli Niinisto of Finland. “I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly,” Mr. Trump said during a joint news conference with President Sauli Niinisto of Finland in the East Room of the White House. The president and Mr. Arpaio share a hard line on illegal immigration and unapologetic support of the police, and the former sheriff was an ardent backer of Mr. Trump’s campaign last year.
Last week, Mr. Trump renewed his threat to shut down the United States government over his insistence that Congress fund a wall on the southern border with Mexico. But on Monday, he said that fight would not affect the storm money. “A lot of people think it was the right thing to do,” Mr. Trump said on Monday of the pardon. “Actually, in the middle of a hurricane, even though it was a Friday evening, I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they were normally.”
“It has nothing to do with it, really,” Mr. Trump said. “I think this is separate.” He rattled off a prepared list of people who were pardoned by previous presidents, homing in on Bill Clinton’s pardoning of the Democratic donor Marc Rich and Barack Obama’s commutation of Chelsea Manning’s sentence, which cut short a 35-year term she received for leaking secret government documents while serving as a low-level Army intelligence analyst. Ms. Manning ultimately served seven years of her sentence before she was released in May.
Still, he reiterated his shutdown threat, although he said, “I hope that’s not necessary.” He also insisted that Mexico would ultimately pay for the border wall, a prospect officials there have repeatedly rejected.
“One way or another, Mexico will pay for the wall,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “It may be through reimbursement.”
Mr. Trump also mounted a vigorous defense of his decision last week to pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff convicted of criminal contempt for his tactics in hunting down and jailing undocumented immigrants.
“A lot of people think it was the right thing to do,” Mr. Trump said, claiming that he had timed the announcement on a Friday night while Harvey was bearing down on Texas to maximize attention to the decision.
“I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally,” Mr. Trump said.
He rattled off a prepared list of people Democratic presidents had pardoned before him, including Bill Clinton’s pardoning of Marc Rich and Barack Obama’s commutation of Chelsea Manning’s sentence.
“I stand by my pardon of Sheriff Joe,” Mr. Trump said.“I stand by my pardon of Sheriff Joe,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump has been criticized for bypassing the typical Justice Department review process before granting the pardon to Mr. Arpaio. Months ago, the president asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, if Mr. Arpaio’s case could be dropped. He was told that it could not be, but that Mr. Trump was well within his presidential authority to pardon Mr. Arpaio.
Mr. Arpaio, 85, served for 24 years as sheriff of Maricopa County. He built a national reputation for harsh conditions in his county jail, and for cracking down against undocumented immigrants. He lost a re-election bid for a seventh term last year, promptly blaming the Obama administration for the criminal contempt charges that were filed against him on Oct. 26 for persisting with profiling Latinos.
“He would have won the election, but they just hammered him just before the election,” Mr. Trump said. “I thought this was a very, very unfair thing to do.”
During the news conference, Mr. Trump also pledged the federal government’s full support to residents of Texas and Louisiana who are being battered by Harvey, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm. Promising quick delivery of a multibillion-dollar aid package to the storm’s victims, the president said, “We are 100 percent with you.”
He spoke as rains from Harvey continued to pound the Houston area, stranding thousands of residents in waters that were expected to keep rising. Mr. Trump plans to travel on Tuesday to Corpus Christi, Tex., to survey the damage and storm response. He promised “rapid action” on securing emergency funding to address the damage, saying he planned to move quickly — and he expected Congress to do so, as well.He spoke as rains from Harvey continued to pound the Houston area, stranding thousands of residents in waters that were expected to keep rising. Mr. Trump plans to travel on Tuesday to Corpus Christi, Tex., to survey the damage and storm response. He promised “rapid action” on securing emergency funding to address the damage, saying he planned to move quickly — and he expected Congress to do so, as well.
“You’re going to have what you need, and it’s going to go fast,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the people of Texas, whom state and federal officials have said face a yearslong task of rebuilding after the storm. “You’ll be up and running very quickly, really very quickly.”
“You see such incredible work and love and teamwork,” said Mr. Trump, summoning a message of unity after a period in which his response to racial violence in Charlottesville, Va., had been called divisive. “We are one American family. We hurt together, we struggle together and, believe me, we endure together.”“You see such incredible work and love and teamwork,” said Mr. Trump, summoning a message of unity after a period in which his response to racial violence in Charlottesville, Va., had been called divisive. “We are one American family. We hurt together, we struggle together and, believe me, we endure together.”
Mr. Trump offered his condolences to Mr. Niinisto for an Aug. 18 attack by a knife-wielding man that killed two people in the town of Turku, in western Finland. The American leader sidestepped a question about whether he considers Russia — which last month held military exercises in the Baltic Sea — a threat. Mr. Trump offered his condolences to Mr. Niinisto for an Aug. 18 attack by a knife-wielding man that killed two people in the town of Turku, in western Finland. The American leader sidestepped a question about whether he considers Russia — which held military exercises last month in the Baltic Sea — a threat.
Mr. Trump said that many countries are a threat, and “I hope that we do have good relations with Russia.” Mr. Trump said that many countries are a threat, and that “I hope that we do have good relations with Russia.”
The New York Times reported on Monday that one of the president’s business associates promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal — which would help Mr. Trump win the election — with the aid of the President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.The New York Times reported on Monday that one of the president’s business associates promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal — which would help Mr. Trump win the election — with the aid of the President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
“I say it loud and clear, I’ve been saying it for years. I think it’s a good thing if we have great relationships or at least good relationships with Russia. That’s very important,” Mr. Trump said. “I say it loud and clear, I’ve been saying it for years: I think it’s a good thing if we have great relationships or at least good relationships with Russia,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s very important.”
Mr. Niinisto skirted a question about whether he had advised the American president on security threats Russia may pose. “We are not feeling ourselves as advisers, but we are feeling ourselves as doing all what is possible to maintain peace,” Mr. Niinisto said.Mr. Niinisto skirted a question about whether he had advised the American president on security threats Russia may pose. “We are not feeling ourselves as advisers, but we are feeling ourselves as doing all what is possible to maintain peace,” Mr. Niinisto said.