THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 2018 N A13

In Kansas, a Deadly Hoax Provokes The goal of ‘swatting’

A Thorny Question: Who Is to Blame?
By MITCH SMITH
When the police surrounded a
house in Wichita, Kan., late Thurs-
day, they expected to find a gun-
man who told a 911 dispatcher that
he was holding his mother and
brother at gunpoint after shooting
his father in the head.
But no crime had been commit-
ted at that house, and the man
who would be fatally shot by an of-
ficer moments later was not the
person who had called. The sus-
pected caller, who was arrested on
Friday and has a history of mak-
ing false police reports, was actu-
ally about 1,300 miles away, in Los
Angeles.
Both the Wichita police and the
man in the house were pawns in a
hoax called “swatting,” in which
people report made-up crimes in
hopes of creating a spectacle and
getting a SWAT team deployed.
And Thursday’s iteration of the
ruse, which is thought to have
been the first to end in a fatality,
raised the thorny question of who,
ultimately, bears responsibility
for an innocent man’s death in a
prank gone horribly wrong.
“This is a national trend,” said
Deputy Chief Troy Livingston of
the Wichita Police Department at
a news conference last week.
“We’re not the only community
dealing with this type of incident.”
Swattings can cause serious
disruption and property damage,
but usually no bloodshed. There
are tragic exceptions: a police
chief who was shot and wounded
by a homeowner in Oklahoma, a
man seriously injured by rubber
bullets in Maryland. But the lethal
end to the shooting in Kansas,
which claimed the life of Andrew
Finch, a 28-year-old father of two,
creates a new legal quandary
without easy answers.
The man arrested in connection
with the Wichita case, Tyler R.
Barriss, 25, was a known swatter.
He was sentenced to two years in
a California jail for phoning in
false bomb threats in 2015 to the
REUTERS
Tyler R. Barriss was jailed after
making a bomb threat in 2015.
ABC Studios in Glendale, prompt-
ing an evacuation and a search
with police dogs. He was released
from jail in August, after serving
another sentence for violating a
protection order.
Mr. Finch’s mother, Lisa Finch,
said in an interview on Sunday
that both the officer who fired the
shot and the swatter who lied to
police should be charged with
murder for her son’s death.
“I think the whole city govern-
ment should be held accountable,”
Ms. Finch said. “Don’t they do
training for swat incidences?”
Ms. Finch said her son, who
worked at a fast-food restaurant,
had been using his phone in the
living room on Thursday evening
when he heard noises outside and
went to investigate.
“He was looking to protect this
place,” Ms. Finch said. “He took
such good care of family.”
But unbeknown to Mr. Finch,
Wichita police officers were stak-
ing out the home thinking there
was a hostage situation underway.
Body-camera footage released by
the department shows Mr. Finch
appearing in the doorway, officers
yelling commands from a distance
and, moments later, the pop of a
single gunshot fired by a seven-
year veteran of the Wichita police
force.
“My son would have not opened
the door had he known there were
cops out there,” Ms. Finch said.
“Not one time did they announce
themselves. Not one time.”
Chief Livingston said Mr. Finch,
who was unarmed and apparently
not the intended target of the on-
line prank, did not immediately
comply with officers’ commands
and moved his hands to his waist-
line, leading one officer to fear he
had drawn a weapon.
State and local authorities are
investigating the shooting, but po-
lice officers are seldom charged
for on-duty shootings.
The law allows the police to use
deadly force when an officer rea-
sonably believes, given the infor-
mation at the time he pulls the
trigger, that his life or someone
else’s life is in imminent danger.
The Wichita officers had been
told, wrongly, that they were en-
countering an armed hostage-
taker who had already killed one
person and was threatening to
burn the house down.
“Nine-one-one is based on the
premise of believing the caller:
When you call for help, you’re go-
ing to get help,” Chief Livingston
said. The prank call, he added,
“only heightened the awareness
of the officers and, we think, led to
this deadly encounter.”
It remained unclear on Sunday
what charges Mr. Barriss, who
was being held without bail in Cal-
ifornia, might face for his alleged
role in the incident. The Los Ange-
les County Sheriff’s Department
listed his charge level as a felony,
but spokesmen for the Wichita
and Los Angeles police depart-
ments declined to detail the
charges against him.
Swattings can be difficult to in-
vestigate. The perpetrators often
operate in dark corners of the
web, hiding their identities and
sowing mayhem across state lines
TRAVIS HEYING/THE WICHITA EAGLE, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Family members of Andrew Finch, who was killed by the police
after a caller said hostages were being held at the man’s home.
and even national borders. In past
nonfatal swattings, suspects have
been charged and convicted in
federal court with crimes such as
conspiracy to provide false infor-
mation, which can lead to up to
five years in federal prison, and
false information and hoaxes,
which has a maximum sentence of
life in prison if a death results.
A bill introduced in Congress in
2017 by Representative Katherine
Clark, Democrat of Massachu-
setts, would specifically outlaw in-
terstate swatting and impose a
maximum sentence of life in pris-
on for fatal instances.
Swatting is rare in Kansas —
Chief Livingston said he was not
aware of another instance in
Wichita, the state’s largest city —
and it was not clear what state
laws might also apply.
Jean Phillips, a clinical profes-
sor of law at the University of Kan-
sas, said she was “sort of per-
plexed, at least under Kansas law,
as to what would happen.” If pros-
ecutors pursue a second-degree
murder case against a swatter in
state court, she said, the charge
could be undermined if the offi-
cer’s decision to shoot is deemed
lawful.
“I assume that the state is going
to try to go after something that’s
more than a year or two in prison
or probation, because they do
is to cause a SWAT
team to be deployed.
have a death,” said Ms. Phillips, a
criminal defense lawyer in Kan-
sas for more than 25 years. “I’m
not sure how they’re going to get
there.”
As Mr. Barriss spent the week-
end awaiting extradition proceed-
ings in California, a process that
could take days or weeks, a digital
trail of what led to the deadly en-
counter on Thursday began to
crystallize.
Several video game players and
online news outlets posted screen-
shots and tweets that they said
showed an argument about a
petty wager over an online round
of the game “Call of Duty.” The
screenshots suggested that one
person threatened to orchestrate
the swatting of an opposing play-
er, and that the opposing gamer
egged him on and sent a random
address in Wichita that he falsely
claimed was his own.
Soon thereafter, a distraught-
sounding man called the security
desk at Wichita City Hall and gave
that address — the Finch family
home — to report the fake hostage
situation, according to an audio
recording of the 911 call released
by the police department.
Hours after the shooting, a man
claiming to be the swatter called
into a popular YouTube program
on gaming and online culture, and
was interviewed by the host, Dan-
iel Keem, known as Keemstar.
The man claiming responsibil-
ity did not give his name, but his
voice sounded similar to the one in
the 911 recording. After the arrest
was announced, Mr. Keem said
that he believed the person he
spoke with was Mr. Barriss.
Mr. Keem’s interviewee
sounded ambivalent about his
complicity in Mr. Finch’s death.
“Yeah, the call was made by
me,” the man said. “But as far as
the whole incident, you could
point the finger at numerous peo-
ple. You could point the finger at
the cop who killed someone.”

Democrats in High-Tax States Are Trying to Cushion the Jolt of a New Law
From Page A1
vote for Democrats.
Companies, of course, have long
sought to exploit loopholes in the
tax code. Governments, as a rule,
have not. State leaders, however,
said Congress, in singling out cer-
tain states, had broken an implicit
compact with the states.
“The game has changed,” said
Stephen M. Sweeney, the Demo-
cratic president of New Jersey’s
Senate. “They’ve completely
turned the tables against us.”
In particular, officials in the
high-tax states object to the law’s
$10,000 cap on state and local tax
deductions, which were previ-
ously unlimited. That provision
will be particularly painful for res-
idents of states like New York,
New Jersey, California and Con-
necticut, which have high housing
costs and high tax rates.
Even in those states, most resi-
dents will get a temporary tax cut
because of other provisions of the
law, including lower tax rates and
an increase in the standard de-
duction. But the cap on the state
and local tax deduction could pose
a serious threat to state budgets,
because it makes state taxes more
expensive for residents. That
could make it harder for states to
raise taxes, particularly on
wealthy residents, and could in-
crease pressure to cut spending.
The law could also have broader
economic consequences. Busi-
ness leaders, for example, have
said they worry about attracting
workers if New York and other cit-
ies become even more expensive
than lower-tax areas.
State leaders are still figuring
out their response to the new law,
and few have yet endorsed spe-
cific proposals. But they are mov-
ing quickly. Gov. Andrew M.
Cuomo of New York, a Democrat,
recently said he expected to pro-
vide a more detailed plan when he
presented his state budget in mid-
January.
“They want to target us for cer-
tain provisions?” Mr. Cuomo
asked at a recent news confer-
ence. “Well, let’s see if we can re-
design our tax code to get out of
the federal trap that they set.”
Mr. Cuomo fired one of the first
shots when he signed an execu-
tive order that let New Yorkers
prepay their 2018 property taxes
in 2017, before the new deduction
cap takes effect. Several other
state and local governments fol-
lowed suit.
But in an indication of the hard
road ahead for Democrats, the In-
ternal Revenue Service issued
guidance on Wednesday limiting
the prepayment option. And the
option was only a temporary re-
prieve — at best, homeowners
could delay the impact by a single
year.
State leaders are looking for
longer-term solutions. Some have
raised the possibility of shifting
Alan Rappeport contributed re-
porting.
Kevin de León, above left, of the California Senate, and Stephen M. Sweeney, above right, of the New Jersey Senate, are in states hit hard by the new law.
away from taxes on individuals to-
ward taxes on corporations,
which are still fully deductible un-
der federal law. But that could
cause its own problems: Raising
taxes on businesses could make it
harder for those states to compete
for companies and jobs.
Other lawmakers have floated
the idea of seeking out new
sources of revenue, perhaps by le-
galizing — and taxing — marijua-
na.
Some proposals are more com-
plex. Kirk Stark, a law professor at
the University of California, Los
Angeles, has suggested that
states encourage residents to do-
nate money to their state govern-
ments, then let the governments
credit those donations against
their state income taxes. Such do-
nations would qualify as charita-
ble donations, which are still fully
deductible on federal taxes.
Mr. Stark noted that such pro-
grams already existed, albeit in a
much more limited form. Several
states let residents count dona-
tions to private schools as state
tax payments under certain cir-
cumstances, an initiative that con-
servatives have promoted as a
step toward school vouchers.
Another idea would be for
states to partly or completely re-
place their income taxes with pay-
roll taxes paid by employers, simi-
lar to existing taxes for Social Se-
curity and unemployment insur-
ance.
In theory, such a move wouldn’t
change after-tax income for either
companies or individuals. It
would just change where the tax
checks were coming from. Compa-
nies would reduce workers’ pay
by the amount of the payroll tax,
and would be able to deduct the
payments on their federal taxes.
Because they would never receive
the money, workers wouldn’t be
taxed on it.
“In effect, it preserves the state
income tax deduction,” said Dean
Baker, a liberal economist who
has been pushing for the plan.
Both ideas — and others like
RICH PEDRONCELLI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
them — would face logistical hur-
dles, legal challenges and, most
likely, opposition from Congress
and the federal government. But
they are nonetheless rapidly mov-
ing from the realm of academic
theory into actual policymaking.
Kevin de León, a Democrat who
is president pro tem of the Califor-
nia Senate, has announced plans
to introduce legislation aimed at
reducing the impact of the tax law.
He is consulting with Mr. Stark,
among others, to develop the leg-
islation.
Mr. de León and other legisla-
tors concede that they are trying
to game the system. But they ar-
gue that Congress left them little
choice.
“This is highly unusual tax poli-
cymaking,” said Mr. de León, who
has announced plans to run for the
United States Senate next year.
“However, this is a highly unusual
time in the history of this country.”
Republicans argue there is a
much simpler solution for high-
tax states: lower their taxes.
Joseph Pennacchio, a Republi-
can state senator in New Jersey,
said that he opposed limiting the
state and local tax deduction but
that New Jersey should focus less
on gaming the system and more
on lowering its tax burden. There
are signs that may be happening.
Mr. Sweeney, the Senate presi-
dent, said that because of the new
tax law, he had “pressed the pause
button” on a plan to impose a new
tax on millionaires.
“Maybe people are starting to
realize,” Mr. Pennacchio said,
“you’ve got to tiptoe when it
comes to raising taxes, because it
can do more harm than good.”
Still, lawmakers from both par-
ties said it would be hard to cut
taxes enough to offset the impact
of the new tax law. For one thing,
states like New Jersey and New
York have high costs of living and
high housing costs, not just high
tax rates. Even if their tax rates
were the same, far more home-
owners in New Jersey than in Ala-
bama would hit the $10,000 cap.
MEL EVANS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
But perhaps more significant,
How One State Tax Option Might Work cutting taxes would also mean
cutting funding for schools, sub-
The new tax law caps state and local tax deductions at $10,000;
way systems, anti-poverty pro-
they were previously unlimited. But lawmakers in several states,
grams and other services that res-
including California, are considering tweaking their tax codes to
idents in those states have come
essentially restore the full tax break. Here's how one plan might
to expect.
apply to a hypothetical family who owes $30,000 in state taxes.
“I suppose the rational re-
sponse for us is to lower our
Prior to the new tax code taxes,” said Benjamin Barnes,
who heads the Connecticut Office
The family pays $30,000 in state taxes, all of it deductible from of Policy and Management, “but
federal income taxes. we have a public that has shown
again and again that they expect
high levels of service.”
Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat
who will be sworn in as governor
of New Jersey in January, has said
$30,000 deductible state tax his administration might chal-
lenge the law on constitutional
grounds. Democrats in other
states have made similar sugges-
As of Jan. 1 tions.
Legal scholars said states could
The family still pays $30,000 in state taxes, but now only $10,000 is try to argue that the law treated
deductible. certain states unfairly. They
might also argue that the 16th
Amendment, which authorized
the federal income tax, meant to
$10,000 $20,000 define “income” as income after
state taxes had been paid, essen-
deductible not deductible tially enshrining the state and lo-
cal tax deduction in the Constitu-
tion.
Few scholars, however, think
If states adopt the proposed plan such arguments have much
chance of success. And Daniel
The family still pays the state $30,000: $10,000 in taxes, and $20,000 Hemel, a law professor at the Uni-
to the state as a charitable contribution, which gets credited against versity of Chicago, said Demo-
the family's state taxes. crats should think twice before
making them.
“The Democratic Party’s long-
term agenda requires the federal
government being able to raise
$20,000 charitable revenue,” Mr. Hemel said. “This
contribution to state would be short-termism at its
worst, potentially setting back the
progressive agenda for decades to
come in response to a bad tax bill.”
Then, there are some state lead-
ers who say the best way to fight
$10,000 $20,000 deductible the new law is neither through le-
gal challenges nor through com-
deductible contribution to state plex changes to tax codes.
“Our first line of defense,” Mr.
Then, the full $30,000 is deductible, as it was under the old law. Barnes, the Connecticut official,
said, “is to take back Congress for
THE NEW YORK TIMES Democrats.”
A14 N THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 2018

Courts Must Better Police Themselves on Harassment, Chief Justice Says

By ADAM LIPTAK ing so, I may not have been mind- and women who comprise our ju- quences,” Chief Justice Roberts
WASHINGTON — Responding ful enough of the special chal- diciary. I am sure that the over- wrote. “The federal judiciary has
to the retirement of a prominent lenges and pressures that women whelming number have no toler- an ongoing responsibility to pre-
appeals court judge accused of face in the workplace.” ance for harassment and share pare for catastrophes and ensure
sexual harassment, Chief Justice Chief Justice Roberts said he the view that victims must have that the third branch of govern-
John G. Roberts Jr. said the fed- had assembled a task force to ex- clear and immediate recourse to ment remains open and functional
eral court system must do more to amine whether the court system’s effective remedies.” during times of national emer-
protect law clerks and other em- procedures for addressing in- The remarks on sexual har- gency.”
appropriate conduct were ade- assment were a brief coda, proba- Noting that a federal law re-
ployees from abusive conduct.
quate. The young lawyers who bly added late in the drafting quires federal courts to be “al-
“Events in recent months have
serve as law clerks to judges, typi- process, to a report mostly de- ways open,” the chief justice wrote
illuminated the depth of the prob- that “the judiciary must antici-
cally for a year soon after graduat-
lem of sexual harassment in the ing from law school, may require pate the broad range of calamities
workplace,” the chief justice wrote special attention, he suggested, as that might strike, ranging from se-
in his year-end report on the state
of the federal judiciary, released
they are meant to keep confiden-
tial what happens in their judge’s
A need to consider vere weather to earthquakes,
from cyberterrorism to on-the-
Sunday, “and events in the past
few weeks have made clear that
chambers.
“I expect the working group to
changes to judicial ground terrorist attacks.”
The past year’s weather posed
the judicial branch is not im-
mune.”
consider whether changes are codes of conduct. special challenges, he wrote.
J. EMILIO FLORES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES needed in our codes of conduct, “The hurricanes brought flood-
That was an unmistakable ref- Alex Kozinski, a prominent appeals court judge, retired two our guidance to employees — in- ing, power outages, infrastructure
erence to the sudden retirement of cluding law clerks — on issues of damage and individual hardship
weeks ago after 15 women accused him of sexual harassment.
Judge Alex Kozinski two weeks confidentiality and reporting of in- voted to the court system’s efforts to Texas and Florida,” Chief Jus-
ago after The Washington Post re- stances of misconduct, our educa- to prepare for natural disasters. tice Roberts wrote. “But the judi-
ported that some 15 women had vivid writer. In announcing his retirement, tional programs, and our rules for “We cannot forget our fellow cit- cial districts of the Virgin Islands
accused him of sexual har- The women, many of whom had Judge Kozinski suggested that he investigating and processing mis- izens in Texas, Florida, Puerto and Puerto Rico were especially
assment. Judge Kozinski had served as his law clerks, said had been misunderstood and conduct complaints,” Chief Jus- Rico and the Virgin Islands who hard hit. Judges and court em-
served on the United States Court Judge Kozinski had touched them apologized. tice Roberts wrote. are continuing to recover from ployees responded in dedicated
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for inappropriately, made unwanted “I’ve always had a broad sense “These concerns warrant seri- Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Ma- and even heroic fashion.”
more than three decades, estab- sexual comments and forced them of humor and a candid way of ous attention from all quarters of ria, and those in California who
lishing a reputation as a powerful to view sexual materials on his speaking to both male and female the judicial branch,” he added. “I continue to confront historic wild-
and unpredictable intellect and a computer. law clerks alike,” he wrote. “In do- have great confidence in the men fires and their smoldering conse- Do not forget the Neediest!

Weather Report Meteorology by AccuWeather

Va
ancouver Metropolitan Forecast
Regina <0 TODAY ................................Sunny and frigid
Se
eattle Winnipeg
eg Quebecc Record
0ss
Spokane
e <0
High 19. An arctic high-pressure system highs
<0 H
Halifax
Portlan
and 20s
0s Montreal over the Plains will bring a frigid day to 60°
H
Helena
Bismarck Por
Portland
the region. It will be dry, with plenty of
Eugen
ne Fargo Ottawa
a
Billings 0s Burlington
n n sunshine. TODAY
30s M
Ma
Manchester
Boise
se
St. Paul
S Toronto
To o Bos
Boston TONIGHT .........................Mainly clear, frigid
50° W T F S S M T W T F
Minneapolis
n Albany
L
Pierre Milwauke
ee Buffalo 1
10s Har
Hartford
a Low 13. Another dry and frigid night will
Detroit
C
Casper
Sioux
ou Falls <0 New York
N prevail across the area, with a clear to
Reno 4
40s Des Moiness Cleve
eve
eveland Pittsburgh
gh
h partly cloudy sky. Temperatures will be
Cheyenne
y
ye Chicago Phi
Philadelphia
10s Omaha
Salt Lake about 15 degrees below normal. 40°
City Indiana
a
ana
anapolis Washi
Washington
ashi
Sa
an Francisco
co
50s
Denve
ver
ve
Topeka
H Kansas Springfield
e 20s
Richm
chmond TOMORROW .............Mostly sunny and cold Normal
Coloraad
ad
do City Charleston
harles
e highs
Fresno Las
as Sprin
in
ng
n g
gs St. Louis
St L Louisvill
ville
N
Norfolk High 25. The very cold air mass will re-
Vegas 10s
60s
W
Wichita Raleigh
gh main in place across the region during the
S a Fe
Santa Nashville day. It will continue to be dry, with a 30°
Los
os Angeles Charlotte
Okklahoma City Memphis mostly sunny sky and lighter wind. Normal
Little Rock
San Diego Phoeni
Phoenix Albuqu
querrqu
ue 20s Columb
bia lows
Lubbock
Birmingh
Birmingha
rmingham
m
Atlanta
a WEDNESDAY .............Partly sunny and cold
7
70s Tucson 30s
Dallas
Dal It will turn a bit milder as high pressure 20°
El P
Passso
o 40s
Ft. Worth Jackson builds to the south, ushering a light
J
Jacksonville
70s southwest breeze across the area. Expect
Mobile
Mo
Honolulu
nolu
olu
ul San Antonio
Baton
o Rouge 50s a partly sunny sky.
New
Ne
ew Or
Orlando
o
80s
0ss Hilo 80s Ho
Hou
ouston Orleans Tampa
a
60s 10°
40s
4 0 THURSDAY
FRIDAY .............Possible snow on Thursday
Corpus Christi
C 70s Miami Thursday will be mostly cloudy, breezy
90s
0s 80s Nassau
0s 80s 70s
Monter
Mo terrey
ter
e and cold, with a chance of snow. The high
10s Weather patterns shown as expected at noon today, Eastern time. will be 26. Friday will be brisk and very
20s
20 cold, with plenty of sunshine. The high
Fairb
bankss
banks <0
0 TODAY’S HIGHS Record
will be 13. Forecast lows
<0 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100+
Actual range
Anchorage
An
H L High High
30
30s Juneau
au
u
40
40s COLD WARM STATIONARY COMPLEX HIGH LOW MOSTLY SHOWERS T-STORMS RAIN FLURRIES SNOW ICE
FRONTS COLD PRESSURE CLOUDY PRECIPITATION Low Low

Highlight: Bitterly Cold First Day of the Year National Forecast Metropolitan Almanac
The coldest weather so far A bitter cold wave will stretch from the In Central Park for the 16 hours ended at 4 p.m. yesterday.
this winter will persist today Rockies to the East Coast today as arctic
BITTERLY
throughout the East. COLD AIR high pressure lingers over the middle of Temperature Precipitation (in inches)
Daytime highs will range the United States. Temperatures are not Yesterday ............... 0.00 Snow ......................... 0.0
Record Record .................... 1.40 Since Oct. 1 .............. 7.7
from near zero in northern expected to rise above zero in far north- 60° high 63°
New York State and ern New England or much of the northern (1965) For the last 30 days
northern New England to Actual ..................... 2.21
Plains. Highs will be in the 20s from the 50° SAT. YESTERDAY
Normal .................... 3.86
about 25 in northern Boston Middle Atlantic to West Texas.
Snow 13° For the last 365 days
Virginia. Factoring in a Although much of the country will be Normal Actual ................... 45.04
showers 40° high 39°
biting breeze, tempera- dry, snow showers will develop east of the Normal .................. 49.94
tures will feel like minus 10 New York Great Lakes. Patchy freezing drizzle will LAST 30 DAYS
30° Normal
to 10. Snow showers will 19° 20° Air pressure Humidity
result in slippery roads in south-central 2 a.m.
low 28°
be confined to the leeward Philadelphia and southwestern Texas, as cold rain High ......... 30.30 10 a.m. High ............. 67% 1 a.m.
side of the Great Lakes and 20° Low ............ 30.07 1 a.m. Low ............ 42% 11 a.m.
22° dampens South Texas. A cold front will
Cape Cod. BITTERLY Washington produce showers as it moves south over Heating Degree Days
COLD AIR 26° Central Florida, allowing warm weather to 10°
13° An index of fuel consumption that tracks how
linger in the South. 10 a.m. far the day’s mean temperature fell below 65
Dry weather will extend from the Rock- 0° Record Yesterday................................................................... 48
ies to the Pacific Coast. California and the low -7° So far this month...................................................... 918
(1917) So far this season (since July 1) ............................ 1580
Southwest will remain mild. -10° Normal to date for the season ............................... 1679

4 12 6 12 4
p.m. a.m. a.m. p.m. p.m. Trends Temperature Precipitation
Little Rock 31/ 12 0 25/ 10 PC 27/ 15 S New Delhi 73/ 47 0 70/ 44 PC 70/ 43 PC
Cities Los Angeles 69/ 51 0 74/ 53 PC 76/ 55 C Riyadh 77/ 45 0 81/ 52 S 68/ 42 S Average Average
High/low temperatures for the 16 hours ended at 4 Louisville 21/ 6 0 18/ 3 S 21/ 10 S Seoul 37/ 25 Tr 36/ 21 S 33/ 19 S Avg. daily departure Avg. daily departure Below Above Below Above
p.m. yesterday, Eastern time, and precipitation (in inches) Memphis 27/ 10 0 22/ 9 PC 26/ 14 S Shanghai 50/ 35 0 53/ 43 PC 56/ 48 PC from normal from normal Last 10 days
for the 16 hours ended at 4 p.m. yesterday. Miami 74/ 61 0 78/ 62 PC 71/ 63 R Singapore 80/ 75 1.78 82/ 76 T 85/ 76 C this month.............. –2.4° this year ................ +1.4°
Milwaukee 14/ -6 0.01 7/ -2 S 16/ 6 PC Sydney 77/ 69 0.15 85/ 70 S 81/ 69 PC 30 days
Expected conditions for today and tomorrow.
Mpls.-St. Paul -4/ -12 0 2/ -6 S 14/ 2 PC Taipei 64/ 59 0.10 68/ 62 C 76/ 64 S 90 days
C ........................ Clouds S .............................Sun Nashville 26/ 10 0 24/ 5 S 26/ 11 S Tehran 61/ 44 0 61/ 45 PC 54/ 38 PC Reservoir levels (New York City water supply) 365 days
F............................. Fog Sn ....................... Snow New Orleans 55/ 28 0.09 39/ 25 PC 41/ 30 S Tokyo 42/ 38 0 53/ 39 S 51/ 39 S
H .......................... Haze SS .......... Snow showers Norfolk 31/ 18 0 28/ 16 S 29/ 18 S Yesterday ............... 76% Chart shows how recent temperature and precipitation
Oklahoma City 21/ 5 0 18/ 8 PC 25/ 14 S Europe Yesterday Today Tomorrow
I............................... Ice T............ Thunderstorms Est. normal ............. 87% trends compare with those of the last 30 years.
Omaha -1/ -20 0.01 4/ -19 S 16/ 9 S Amsterdam 55/ 46 0.88 46/ 41 Sh 46/ 43 R
PC ............. Partly cloudy Tr ......................... Trace Athens 58/ 42 0 60/ 48 S 62/ 46 PC
Orlando 69/ 51 0 60/ 44 Sh 56/ 49 C
R ........................... Rain W ........................ Windy Berlin 53/ 40 0.59 47/ 38 C 43/ 36 Sh
Philadelphia 20/ 9 0 20/ 13 S 26/ 13 S
Sh ................... Showers –............... Not available Brussels 58/ 48 0.50 45/ 40 R 46/ 43 R
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
71/ 45
19/ 4
0
Tr
74/ 47
15/ 3
PC
C
75/
16/
51
8
PC
PC Budapest 44/ 34 0.09 46/ 34 Sh 42/ 30 C
Recreational Forecast
N.Y.C. region Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Portland, Me. 9/ -10 Tr 9/ -7 S 11/ 7 PC Copenhagen 45/ 34 0.25 43/ 38 R 42/ 37 C
New York City 20/ 13 0 18/ 14 S 23/ 16 S Portland, Ore. 46/ 33 0 47/ 34 C 43/ 35 C Dublin 48/ 40 0.01 45/ 37 PC 49/ 38 R Sun, Moon and Planets Mountain and Ocean Temperatures
Bridgeport 22/ 13 0 18/ 10 S 24/ 15 PC Providence 16/ 1 Tr 15/ 6 S 19/ 11 S Edinburgh 46/ 35 0.43 43/ 34 Sh 43/ 37 R
Caldwell 20/ 11 0 18/ 10 S 23/ 10 S Raleigh 32/ 15 0 31/ 13 S 33/ 15 S Frankfurt 55/ 51 0.23 47/ 40 R 45/ 41 R Full Last Quarter New First Quarter
Danbury 16/ 7 0 15/ 5 S 21/ 5 PC Reno 57/ 32 0 58/ 32 PC 55/ 34 C Geneva 50/ 41 0.09 46/ 38 R 43/ 39 R Today’s forecast
Islip 22/ 14 0.01 19/ 11 PC 23/ 14 PC Richmond 31/ 14 0 29/ 11 S 30/ 14 S Helsinki 35/ 30 0 38/ 36 Sn 40/ 33 SS
Newark 22/ 13 0 21/ 12 S 26/ 14 S Rochester 8/ 2 0.10 16/ 7 SS 21/ 11 C Istanbul 47/ 41 0.07 52/ 46 S 58/ 47 C White
Trenton 21/ 13 0 20/ 10 S 24/ 11 S Sacramento 62/ 37 0 64/ 40 PC 64/ 42 PC Kiev 36/ 27 0 41/ 37 PC 39/ 36 C Jan. 1 Jan. 8 Jan. 16 Jan. 24 -8/-19 Partly sunny and windy
White Plains 19/ 11 0 16/ 9 S 22/ 11 PC Salt Lake City 40/ 24 0 40/ 25 S 41/ 26 PC Lisbon 61/ 50 0.15 60/ 48 PC 62/ 53 PC 9:24 p.m. 9:17 p.m.
London 55/ 45 0.23 46/ 37 Sh 51/ 44 R Green
United States Yesterday Today Tomorrow San Antonio 48/ 25 0.01 35/ 22 I 37/ 18 C
San Diego 67/ 49 0 69/ 51 F 70/ 53 C Madrid 55/ 43 0 53/ 39 PC 57/ 43 PC -11/-22 Increasing amounts of sun
Albany 10/ -8 Tr 11/ 0 S 18/ 4 PC Sun RISE 7:20 a.m. Moon S 6:32 a.m.
San Francisco 58/ 46 0 59/ 48 PC 62/ 48 C Moscow 36/ 33 0.24 33/ 30 C 36/ 34 C 4:39 p.m. 4:34 p.m.
Albuquerque 58/ 24 0 52/ 28 S 55/ 26 PC SET R Adirondacks
San Jose 64/ 43 0 65/ 46 PC 67/ 47 C Nice 56/ 45 0.04 61/ 46 PC 58/ 46 PC
Anchorage 28/ 19 0.04 32/ 29 Sn 39/ 28 Sn NEXT R 7:20 a.m. S 7:36 a.m. -2/-17 Snow shower west
San Juan 82/ 74 0.01 84/ 73 PC 84/ 74 PC Oslo 30/ 21 0.33 37/ 21 Sn 27/ 15 C
Atlanta 37/ 22 0 34/ 18 PC 36/ 25 S Paris 60/ 48 0.16 47/ 40 R 49/ 46 R Jupiter R 3:05 a.m. Mars R 2:52 a.m.
Seattle 43/ 32 0 45/ 33 C 45/ 35 PC Berkshires
Atlantic City 25/ 11 0 23/ 15 S 27/ 14 S Prague 52/ 42 0.12 43/ 35 PC 42/ 34 PC S 1:17 p.m. S 1:09 p.m.
Sioux Falls -9/ -22 0 -4/ -22 S 12/ 2 S 5/-3 Mostly sunny, very cold
Austin 45/ 23 0.02 33/ 19 PC 36/ 15 PC Rome 59/ 42 0 60/ 47 Sh 57/ 36 Sh
Spokane 25/ 14 0 25/ 15 PC 26/ 19 PC Saturn R 6:38 a.m. Venus R 7:17 a.m.
Baltimore 24/ 8 0 24/ 10 S 26/ 8 S St. Petersburg 35/ 30 0.01 37/ 35 Sn 40/ 34 Sn
St. Louis 12/ -6 0.01 11/ -3 S 17/ 10 S S 3:57 p.m. S 4:27 p.m. Catskills
Baton Rouge 47/ 22 0.05 36/ 19 PC 39/ 22 S Stockholm 36/ 34 0.15 37/ 35 Sh 39/ 28 C
St. Thomas 85/ 75 0.07 83/ 74 W 84/ 75 W 7/-1 Snow showers west
Birmingham 33/ 15 0 31/ 13 PC 35/ 18 S Vienna 57/ 37 0.02 49/ 32 R 46/ 33 PC
Syracuse 6/ -6 0.05 14/ 3 Sn 20/ 6 Sn Boating 40s
Boise 33/ 18 0 31/ 17 S 33/ 21 C Tampa 71/ 57 0 61/ 41 Sh 56/ 47 C Warsaw 42/ 33 0.13 48/ 30 PC 41/ 33 C
Boston 15/ 0 Tr 13/ 5 S 17/ 13 S Poconos
Toledo 14/ -2 0 13/ 0 SS 8/ -1 PC From Montauk Point to Sandy Hook, N.J., out to 20 8/3 Periods of sun, frigid
Buffalo 8/ -1 0.04 14/ 7 SS 20/ 12 C North America Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Tucson 77/ 46 0 77/ 46 PC 76/ 48 PC nautical miles, including Long Island Sound and New York
Burlington 3/ -9 Tr 3/ -12 PC 13/ 9 C Tulsa 22/ 3 0 19/ 9 PC 24/ 16 S Acapulco 89/ 72 0 86/ 72 S 87/ 72 PC
Casper 12/ 1 0.01 25/ 1 PC 25/ 10 S Harbor. Southwest Pa.
Virginia Beach 31/ 21 0 28/ 18 PC 30/ 15 S Bermuda 73/ 65 0.02 70/ 60 PC 63/ 58 R
Charlotte 34/ 18 0 34/ 14 S 37/ 20 S Edmonton -8/ -21 0 16/ 14 S 28/ 15 PC Small craft advisory is in effect. Wind will be from the 10/1 Turning cloudy and frigid 50s
Washington 26/ 15 0 26/ 14 S 28/ 15 S
Chattanooga 36/ 18 0 30/ 13 PC 33/ 17 S Wichita 14/ -2 0 15/ 4 PC 25/ 13 S Guadalajara 75/ 48 0 75/ 42 S 76/ 43 PC northeast at 12-25 knots. Waves will be 3-5 feet on the
Chicago 13/ -8 Tr 4/ -6 S 10/ 3 S Wilmington, Del. 23/ 7 0 23/ 11 S 27/ 10 S Havana 79/ 57 0 80/ 56 PC 75/ 57 Sh ocean, 2-4 feet on most bays and sounds and 1-3 feet on
Cincinnati 17/ 2 0.01 13/ -5 S 16/ 5 S Kingston 86/ 74 0.01 88/ 74 PC 86/ 71 C
West Virginia
New York Harbor. Visibility clear.
Cleveland 16/ 0 0.03 13/ 1 C 12/ 3 C Africa Yesterday Today Tomorrow Martinique 85/ 74 0.10 86/ 75 C 86/ 73 Sh 13/-1 Mostly sunny and frigid 60s
Colorado Springs 23/ -1 0 31/ 15 S 39/ 20 S Algiers 75/ 43 0 64/ 47 S 66/ 47 S Mexico City 70/ 46 0 65/ 45 S 68/ 45 C High Tides
Columbus 16/ 0 0.02 12/ -5 S 13/ 0 S Cairo 67/ 52 0 65/ 52 PC 66/ 52 PC Monterrey 66/ 51 0 43/ 30 R 47/ 30 C Color bands
Concord, N.H. 7/ -9 0 7/ -9 S 11/ 2 S Cape Town 75/ 63 0.03 70/ 58 PC 73/ 61 S Montreal -2/ -9 0.03 -4/ -17 S 6/ 3 Sn Atlantic City .................... 6:17 p.m. .............. 6:46 a.m. Blue Ridge indicate water
Dallas-Ft. Worth 32/ 17 0.01 29/ 20 PC 34/ 21 S Dakar 76/ 66 0 78/ 66 S 77/ 66 PC Nassau 79/ 65 0 80/ 65 S 80/ 67 C Barnegat Inlet ................. 6:32 p.m. .............. 7:04 a.m. 20/5 Mostly sunny and frigid temperature.
Denver 21/ 1 0.03 33/ 11 PC 41/ 19 S Johannesburg 86/ 58 0 89/ 57 S 87/ 54 S Panama City 84/ 70 0 85/ 72 Sh 85/ 72 T The Battery ..................... 7:01 p.m. .............. 7:36 a.m.
Des Moines -2/ -20 Tr -1/ -19 S 12/ 6 S Nairobi 82/ 55 0 83/ 58 PC 82/ 61 PC Quebec City -3/ -12 0 -4/ -19 PC -7/ -12 PC Beach Haven .................. 7:56 p.m. .............. 8:29 a.m.
Detroit 16/ 1 0 15/ 4 C 15/ 3 PC Tunis 68/ 52 0 64/ 51 PC 62/ 54 PC Santo Domingo 86/ 68 0.01 86/ 70 PC 87/ 70 PC Bridgeport .................... 10:05 p.m. ............ 10:41 a.m.
El Paso 69/ 32 0 53/ 31 S 60/ 29 PC Toronto 7/ -10 0 17/ 2 C 19/ 3 C City Island ....................... 9:57 p.m. ............ 10:42 a.m.
Snow showers and some heavier squalls
Fargo -10/ -20 0 -2/ -11 S 15/ -7 PC Asia/Pacific Yesterday Today Tomorrow Vancouver 37/ 28 0 40/ 30 C 41/ 32 PC
Hartford 14/ -4 0 13/ 0 S 18/ 2 PC Baghdad 77/ 50 0 65/ 44 C 64/ 42 PC Fire Island Lt. .................. 7:24 p.m. .............. 7:57 a.m. are expected over the western Adiron-
Winnipeg -10/ -27 0 -2/ -9 S 10/ -15 C
Honolulu 80/ 69 0 82/ 69 S 82/ 69 PC Bangkok 88/ 71 0 86/ 71 C 88/ 74 S Montauk Point ................ 7:42 p.m. .............. 8:08 a.m. dacks and the western Catskills as well as
Houston 51/ 28 0.05 39/ 23 PC 40/ 22 PC Beijing 43/ 18 0 39/ 17 S 39/ 16 C South America Yesterday Today Tomorrow Northport ..................... 10:13 p.m. ............ 10:49 a.m.
Indianapolis 14/ -7 0.06 3/ -11 S 11/ 3 S Damascus 58/ 35 0 52/ 37 PC 60/ 37 PC Buenos Aires 73/ 63 0.10 78/ 58 PC 87/ 59 S Port Washington ........... 10:13 p.m. ............ 10:57 a.m. northern Pennsylvania. The rest of the
Jackson 33/ 18 0.03 33/ 16 PC 36/ 18 PC Hong Kong 70/ 54 0 69/ 63 S 71/ 65 PC Caracas 85/ 75 0.39 87/ 76 Sh 88/ 75 Sh Sandy Hook .................... 6:38 p.m. .............. 7:11 a.m. region will be very cold, with a partly to
Jacksonville 56/ 41 0 42/ 29 C 45/ 34 PC Jakarta 90/ 75 0 90/ 78 PC 91/ 77 T Lima 78/ 67 0 77/ 67 PC 77/ 67 PC Shinnecock Inlet ............. 6:25 p.m. .............. 6:53 a.m.
Kansas City 6/ -13 0 8/ -9 S 20/ 9 S Jerusalem 56/ 39 0 48/ 45 C 52/ 44 C Quito 68/ 53 0.34 64/ 52 R 65/ 53 Sh Stamford ...................... 10:09 p.m. ............ 10:46 a.m.
mostly sunny sky. Highs will range from
Key West 72/ 66 0 77/ 64 PC 71/ 62 C Karachi 81/ 51 0 80/ 50 PC 81/ 52 PC Recife 86/ 79 0 86/ 79 PC 87/ 78 S Tarrytown ....................... 8:50 p.m. .............. 9:25 a.m. below zero in the Far North to the lower
Las Vegas 64/ 42 0 65/ 46 PC 68/ 47 PC Manila 86/ 73 0 85/ 74 C 85/ 76 R Rio de Janeiro 93/ 79 0.06 89/ 76 PC 93/ 78 T
Lexington 20/ 4 0 18/ -1 S 21/ 7 S Mumbai 86/ 67 0 86/ 68 PC 86/ 70 PC Santiago 79/ 59 0.08 82/ 55 S 87/ 56 S
Willets Point .................... 9:59 p.m. ............ 10:46 a.m. 20s in the south.
 THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 2018 N + A15

THE 45TH PRESIDENT The Agenda

Political Partisans, Wielding Cash, Exploit Effort to Expose Misconduct

From Page A1
sional sexual harassment settle-
ments, and said on Twitter that he
would cover the expenses of “any
VICTIM of a Congressman who
wants to come forward to tell her
story.” Shortly before posting that
offer, a source provided Mr. Cer-
novich with a copy of a sexual har-
assment settlement that led in De-
cember to the resignation of Rep-
resentative John Conyers Jr.,
Democrat of Michigan, until then
the longest-serving member of
the House.
And Mr. Burkman, who has
suggested that Russian hit men
killed a young Democratic Na-
tional Committee aide during the
2016 election, emerged in October
to offer his services to women ac-
cusing Mr. Weinstein of sexual
misconduct. He had never han-
dled a sexual harassment matter
before.
Those pushing the sexual har-
assment claims say they are just
trying to level a playing field that
has long favored powerful men,
discouraging their victims from
coming forward, and silencing
many who do using confidential
settlements.
“You got to sweeten the pot a lit-
tle bit,” Mr. Cernovich said. A law-
yer by training, he said he was
shocked that the person who gave
him the Conyers documents de-
clined his offer to pay for them.
But, he said, “if somebody had a
settlement like Conyers, I would
gladly, gladly pay for that.”
Money could have costs.
“If you’re getting money from
someone who has an ax to grind
against the person you’re accus-
ing of unlawful activity, that most
certainly opens the door to a line
of questioning that very well
could undermine the veracity of
your client’s story,” said Douglas
H. Wigdor, a leading New York
employment lawyer who has
brought a barrage of lawsuits
against powerful men and institu-
tions in recent years.
The partisan efforts have al-
ready sparked some backlash. Mr.
Cernovich and the far-right activ-
ist Charles C. Johnson, had to
back away from claims that they
possessed a sexual harassment
settlement that would bring down
a leading Democratic senator
when it became apparent that the
document — which targeted the
Senate Democratic leader, Chuck
Schumer of New York — was a
forgery, lifting passages verbatim
from the Conyers complaint un-
earthed by Mr. Cernovich. Mr.
Schumer referred the matter to
the Capitol Hill police for a crimi-
nal investigation.
“I like to hype things in ad-
vance, and this looked pretty
good,” Mr. Cernovich said. “I defi-
nitely learned a lesson there.”
Mr. Cernovich is an unlikely
champion for sexual harassment
victims, given his previous career
as an anti-feminist blogger who
cast doubt on date-rape allega-
tions and wrote posts with head-
lines like “Misogyny Gets You
Laid.”
Summer Zervos, who has said President Trump sexually assaulted her, after a hearing this month in New York City Civil Court.
SAM HODGSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Mike Cernovich, left, a conservative, and David Brock, a liberal,
have been linked to efforts to identify misconduct by politicians.
Money’s Role
It is difficult to determine how
much money has been raised to
fund claims related to sexual har-
assment, since there are no public
disclosure requirements for most
such donations. But the solicita-
tions seem likely to fuel skepti-
cism.
Supporters of Republican poli-
ticians who have been accused of
sexual misconduct — including
Mr. Trump and the failed Republi-
can Senate candidate Roy S.
Moore of Alabama — have fought
back by suggesting, mostly with-
out evidence, that their accusers
are being paid by Democratic par-
tisans.
Some Democrats have ascribed
political motivation to sexual har-
assment claims against their poli-
ticians as well, including those
TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES
that led to the resignation of Sena-
tor Al Franken of Minnesota. His
defenders point out that Mr.
Franken’s initial accuser, Leeann
Tweeden, had appeared as a
semiregular guest on the Fox
News Channel show hosted by
Sean Hannity, a = confidant of Mr.
Trump.
Fueling Democratic suspicions
was a Twitter message linked to a
Trump political adviser, Roger
Stone, that surfaced hours before
Ms. Tweeden’s initial charges:
“Roger Stone says it’s Al Frank-
en’s ‘time in the barrel’. Franken
next in long list of Democrats to be
accused of ‘grabby’ behavior.”
Mr. Stone has said he “had no
hand in it at all,” but was tipped off
by a source “within the Fox net-
work” that the allegation was
coming.
Ms. Allred said she was not con-
cerned about the motivations of
partisans who might fund Ms.
Zervos’s case against Mr. Trump.
“I have neither the time nor the
interest to interview each donor
and ask them why they would
want to support our client,” she
said, “so I have no way to know
whether they have a political
agenda, or they just think truth
matters.”
Ms. Allred maintains an active
online appeal for Ms. Zervos’s
case, and has personally solicited
donations from influential Demo-
crats. She has discussed fund-
raising assistance with Mr. Brock,
once a self-described “right-wing
hit man” who switched sides and
eventually became one of Hillary
Clinton’s fiercest loyalists during
her campaign against Mr. Trump.
Ms. Allred said her fund-raising
for the Zervos case has so far
yielded “just under $30,000,”
mostly in of small donations. The
money is being used for expenses
like depositions and has not gone
to pay legal fees, which already
have reached $150,000, said Ms.
Allred, who added that neither she
nor Ms. Zervos would personally
accept any of the money raised.
“We certainly do not see any
prospect of being paid by the fund
based on the amounts donated to
date,” she wrote in an email. “Nev-
ertheless, we will continue to de-
vote ourselves to Ms. Zervos’s
case because we believe, as does
Ms. Zervos, that truth matters and
that President Trump should be
held accountable for his words
and his actions.”
During the presidential cam-
paign, Ms. Zervos said Mr. Trump
JEENAH MOON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
sexually assaulted her in 2007, af-
ter she appeared as a contestant
on his reality TV show, “The Ap-
prentice.” He dismissed her accu-
sations and those of other accus-
ers as “made-up nonsense” and
suggested they were motivated
by fame, or were being put up to it
by Mrs. Clinton’s campaign —
comments that formed the basis
for the defamation suit Ms. Zervos
filed after the election. A judge is
deciding whether to allow the law-
suit to proceed.
A Long History
Questions about the financing
and motivations behind sexual
harassment charges targeting po-
liticians are not new.
In 1993, Mr. Brock first revealed
sexual harassment accusations
against President Bill Clinton by a
former Arkansas state employee,
Paula Jones, in the American
Spectator magazine, which re-
ceived $1.8 million for its scrutiny
of the Clintons from the conserva-
tive banking heir Richard Mellon
Scaife.
Ms. Jones’s harassment lawsuit
came to be funded by a conserva-
tive legal nonprofit called the
Rutherford Institute, which had
never before handled a sexual
harassment case.
Mr. Clinton eventually paid Ms.
Jones $850,000 to drop her lawsuit
in 1999. But by then, a deposition
given by Mr. Clinton in the lawsuit
— in which he denied a sexual re-
lationship with the former White
House intern Monica S. Lewinsky
— had set in motion a process that
ended with Mr. Clinton’s impeach-
ment.
Ms. Allred’s daughter, the law-
yer Lisa Bloom, seized on the poli-
tical potency of sexual har-
assment charges against Mr.
Trump not long after he clinched
the Republican presidential nomi-
nation. She said she reached out to
a pro-Clinton “super PAC” —
though she declined to identify
which one — for money to help her
vet a sexual misconduct claim
against Mr. Trump.
That case collapsed one week
before Election Day, but as a re-
sult of the attention it generated,
several donors reached out to Ms.
Bloom “asking how they could
help,” she said. She told them that
she was working with “a few other
women” who might “find the
courage to speak out” against Mr.
Trump if the donors would pro-
vide funds for security, relocation
and possibly a “safe house.”
Ms. Bloom would not identify
the donors. But two Democrats fa-
miliar with the arrangements said
a nonprofit group founded by Mr.
Brock, American Bridge 21st Cen-
tury Foundation, gave $200,000,
while the fashion entrepreneur
Susie Tompkins Buell, a major do-
nor to Mr. Brock’s suite of groups,
gave $500,000 to Ms. Bloom’s firm
for the last-ditch effort.
It was not productive. One
woman requested $2 million, Ms.
Bloom said, then decided not to
come forward. Nor did any other
women.
Ms. Bloom said she refunded
most of the cash, keeping only
“some funds to pay for our out-of-
pocket expenses” accrued while
working to vet and prepare cases.
She said that she did not receive
any legal fees for the work, and
that she did not communicate with
Mrs. Clinton or her campaign “on
any of this.” She said she repre-
sented only clients whose stories
she had corroborated, and dis-
puted the premise that she offered
money to coax clients to come for-
ward.
“It doesn’t cost anything to pub-
licly air allegations,” she said. “Se-
curity and relocation are expen-
sive and were sorely needed in a
case of this magnitude, in a coun-
try filled with so much anger, hate
and violence.”
The Democrats familiar with
the financial arrangements said
Ms. Bloom’s firm kept the money
from American Bridge, but re-
funded the money from Ms. Buell.
Mr. Brock declined to comment,
and representatives from Mrs.
Clinton’s campaign said they were
unaware of his work with Ms.
Bloom.
Ms. Buell, a longtime friend and
financial supporter of Mrs. Clin-
ton who helped found the clothing
brand Esprit, would not comment
on the financial arrangement. But
she expressed frustration that Mr.
Trump has escaped the repercus-
sions that have befallen other
powerful men accused of similar
misconduct.
The allegations against Mr.
Trump might “resonate more”
with voters amid the current na-
tional conversation about sexual
misconduct, she suggested.

Trump Ends Winter Break A vacation routine:

With Familiar Festivities
By EMILY COCHRANE
and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
As he walked down the red carpet
to begin his New Year’s Eve cele-
brations Sunday night, President
Trump stopped to predict “a
tremendous year” ahead.
It certainly appeared to be get-
ting off to a lavish start at his Mar-
a-Lago club. Before the president
arrived — flanked by his 11-year-
old son, Barron, and his wife,
Melania — a string of guests
decked out in jewels, fur and se-
quins had already streamed in,
having paid hundreds of dollars
each to celebrate with the presi-
dent and his family.
But for all the opulence of the
annual gala, it was also something
else for Mr. Trump: familiar. He
has been ringing in the new year
at Mar-a-Lago for more than a
decade, surrounded by his private
club members in the glittering
halls of the renovated home of the
cereal heiress Marjorie Merri-
weather Post.
It was perhaps the fitting culmi-
nation of 10 days of vacation firmly
rooted in old routines: days at his
golf course, nights at Mar-a-Lago,
and a smattering of Twitter posts
and meetings punctuating the mo-
ments in between.
“Donald Trump knows that he
will not be measured on how much
time he spent here,” said Christo-
pher Ruddy, the chief executive of
Newsmax Media and a longtime
confidant. “He will be measured
on the results, and be judged on
how the economy has done and
how he’s protected the security of
the country.”
He is certainly not the first pres-
ident to indulge in multiple days of
golf or evade the press pool that
trails him in white vans. And he
and Melania Trump, the first lady,
did have breaks from the routine.
They made phone calls to military
members stationed overseas,
spoke on the phone with children
tracking Santa Claus, attended
evening Mass on Christmas Eve
and visited a local fire station.
But Mr. Trump’s pattern of pri-
vate phone calls and meetings,
golf course mornings and private
club evenings appeared far more
relaxed than the vacation habits
of his immediate predecessor,
Barack Obama, who in 2015 spent
a day crisscrossing a Hawaiian is-
land to socialize with family and
friends, go to the beach with his
daughters and visit his grandfa-
ther’s grave.
And compared with the explo-
sive news announcements that of-
ten drove coverage during his
predecessor’s Christmas vaca-
tions — implementing sanctions
against North Korea in late 2014,
and last year, retaliating against
Russia for its meddling in the
presidential election — the news
this time has been fueled primari-
ly by Mr. Trump’s words instead of
his actions. When asked Sunday
night about the North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un’s assertion
that he has a nuclear button on his
desk, the president said: “We’ll
see. We’ll see.”
Before the celebration on Sun-
day, the president jabbed at some
of his favorite targets even amid
his holiday Twitter greetings as he
wished “friends, supporters, ene-
mies, haters, and even the very
dishonest Fake News Media, a
Happy and Healthy New Year.”
Here at Mar-a-Lago, the prop-
erty the president refers to as the
President Trump, Melania Trump and Barron, 11, arriving at a New Year’s Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago.
“winter White House,” Mr. Trump
is often without aides and at home
among his people, mingling and
tweeting. This trip, he also had
previously unannounced meet-
ings and phone calls with a variety
of professional golfers and poli-
ticians, including Gov. Rick Scott
of Florida.
He also opened up to people out-
side his usual circle. On Thursday,
Mr. Trump sat down for 30 min-
utes with a New York Times re-
porter who approached him in the
middle of lunch at the Trump In-
ternational Golf Club.
And on Saturday, Mr. Trump
reached out to a group he affec-
tionately refers to as his “bridge
people” — the clump of support-
ers who religiously gather on the
bridge corner near Mar-a-Lago
every day they know the presi-
dent is there. After the motorcade
passed by, with Mr. Trump flash-
ing a wide grin and two thumbs up
through the window, two cars with
Secret Service members circled
back. They passed out flag pins
and swept about 16 people back to
the club.
“He’s a classic extrovert,” Mr.
Ruddy said, adding that the peo-
ple Mr. Trump sees at Mar-a-Lago
are the ones he feels most con-
nected to. “He’ll ask everyone
their opinion, from the guys park-
ing the car to the sommelier.”
On Saturday, Mr. Trump, in a
gray sweater and white U.S.A.
hat, chatted with the so-called
bridge people by the pool, posing
for pictures and complimenting
the beauty of the people who came
and their Trump paraphernalia.
They were also given a tour of
Mar-a-Lago, including the Trump-
branded helicopter parked on a
AL DRAGO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
helipad intended for presidential
business, and a buffet spread with
meatballs, fresh fruit and choco-
late chip cookies.
“It was an honor to be chosen by
the most powerful man in the
world, to be chosen to go to his
home,” said Nicolas Giacalone, 14,
a Palm Beach resident who
started coming to the street cor-
ner last month to show his support
for Mr. Trump. “He’s a really nice
guy.”
On Sunday night, though,
guests needed tickets for a four-
course meal featuring the Trump
iceberg wedge salad (with his
trademark Roquefort dressing),
Maine lobster ravioli, pan-seared
sea bass and sliced tenderloin,
and baked alaska.
Guests crossed a lengthy red
carpet with champagne flutes and
martini glasses in their hands to
days on the golf
course, nights at
Mar-a-Lago.
get to the ballroom doors. In a nod
to the brisk 60-degree Florida
weather and the time of year,
many women wrapped them-
selves in fluffy white and black fur
stoles, some trailing down to the
floor. Among them: Louise Linton,
who arrived with her husband,
Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin, in a white fur capelet.
“Great year,” Mr. Mnuchin said of
the coming 12 months. “Big year!”
Mr. Trump’s elder daughter,
Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared
Kushner, arrived with two of their
children. They were soon followed
by Mr. Trump’s sons Eric, who ar-
rived with his wife, Lara, and Don-
ald Trump Jr., who brought one of
his sons. The Fox Business host
Lou Dobbs and the former New
York Mets first baseman Keith
Hernandez also joined the cele-
bration.
“It’s a very exciting evening,”
said Steve Levine, co-owner of
Jose Graterol Designs, a South
Florida design studio that fash-
ioned the gala for the fourth time.
He described this year’s theme as
an “elegant, modern fantasy gar-
den,” brought to life through doz-
ens of five-foot-long white, cream
and silver roses suspended from
the ceiling, a metallic color
scheme, and sequined and velvet
table linens and chairs.
Inside the ballroom, the presi-
dent found himself happily sur-
rounded: A crowd of guests,
breaking into applause and
cheers, raised their cellphones to
capture him shaking hands.
Remember the Neediest!