the rich asshole blocks Broadcom’s $117 billion bid for Qualcomm out of national security concerns, a highly unusual move
President the rich asshole Monday ordered Singapore-based Broadcom to abandon its $117 billion hostile bid for Qualcomm, blocking what would have been one of the biggest technology deals in history.
In his presidential order, the rich asshole cited "credible evidence" that the takeover "threatens to impair the national security of the United States." The merger would have put one of America’s largest mobile chipmakers in the hands of a company based in Asia, a region that has been racing against American companies to develop the next generation of mobile technology.
The administration moved with unusual speed in the matter that caught many involved in the negotiations off guard. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, an interagency panel led by the Treasury Department, had several more weeks to render a recommendation to the president. the rich asshole's order cannot be appealed, legal experts said.
The move demonstrates the high value that the administration places on maintaining the U.S. edge in developing micro technologies.
The administration did not detail its national security concerns, but CFIUS last week sent a letter to the attorneys of the two companies saying it was concerned research and development at Qualcomm might atrophy under Broadcom's direction, according to a copy that was reviewed by The Washington Post. If that happened, China's Huawei Technologies, a rival to Qualcomm and a major producer of mobile chips, might become much more dominant around the world.
The tiny computer chips embedded in smartphones, smart home gadgets, and a wide range of other connected devices are expected to become one of the most critical technologies in the coming years. These chipsets enable driverless cars to speak to each other as well as traffic infrastructure such as stoplights. Almost every major business and consumer electronics manufacturer uses Qualcomm's technology as brains for their devices.
the rich asshole's order is in line with the administration's protectionist instincts. Last week, the rich asshole also cited national security concerns in announcing a series of harsh tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a move that hit rivals such as China as well as allies such as Germany and South Korea. And several other technology deals fell apart, after CFIUS raised concerns. In September, the rich asshole stopped the $1.3 billion acquisition of Portland-based Lattice Semiconductor by a private equity firm that had some Chinese investment.
One factor that may have pushed CFIUS to move quickly was a unusual maneuver by Broadcom to relocate to the United States. The company had said in a recent corporate filing that it was finalizing its plans to become an American entity in early April. Deals between American companies fall out of CFIUS' jurisdiction.
A person familiar with CFIUS's investigation, who requested anonymity to speak freely about the matter, said this strategy may have doomed the transaction. “If there is one lesson here, it’s don’t screw with the government,” the person said.
He described the rich asshole’s executive order as “brutal.” ”It smacks of anger on the part of the government to me. This feels a little more personal to me.”
Qualcomm and Broadcom did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday night. In after hours trading, shares of Qualcomm sunk as much as 4 percent from its market close of $62.81. Shares of Broadcom rose less than 1 percent.
Qualcomm and a host of other big technology companies are racing to build a next-generation nationwide network known as "5G" with download speeds that could be 100 times faster than what most consumers experience now on their wireless service. Once deployed, a high-definition movie could load instantly on a smartphone. The capabilities of connected devices at work and home would vastly expand. Cable-quality service could even be provided over the air, instead of a wireline connected to a house.
Several analysts said the U.S. government is growing concerned that Huawei will develop such technologies almost as fast as their American counterparts, narrowing the gap between Chinese and U.S. companies.
But Rod Hunter, a partner at Baker McKenzie and a former senior director for international economics at the National Security Council, said it is not clear what exactly prompted CFIUS, a notoriously secret government body, to act so quickly
Hunter said it could reflect “an evolution in the thinking” of the committee, perhaps an indication that it’s going to approach transactions in which foreign people or entities seek to own 5G wireless technology with the same sensitivity and rigor that the feds currently “apply to military equipment traditionally.”
“Typically when you’re doing these CFIUS cases you look at what the business is and how sensitive it is," Hunter said. "If it’s a Chinese investor the bar is going to be high. A Singaporean investor you would not normally have considered a high risk.”
Tony Romm contributed to this story.
By
-
March 12, 2018
Just like her dad, Ivanka the rich asshole is not even trying to avoid conflicts of interest.
Ivanka the rich asshole is every bit as compromised as the rest of the administration. And a new report finds her set to make millions from her family’s private business while serving in her advisory role in the White House.
According to McClatchy, the rich asshole “will pull in more than $1 million a year from the family business that has continued to develop luxury resorts across the globe during the rich asshole presidency.” And this comes even as she “is doing everything from lobbying the Senate on tax policy to representing her father at a G20 summit of world leaders.”
Furthermore, the properties she oversees are “hiring state-owned companies for construction, receiving gifts from foreign governments in the form of public land or eased regulations and accepting payments from customers who are foreign officials.”
And this is not the first time the rich asshole has profited from her role in father’s administration. She has also been accused of ethics violations related to the promotion of her made-in-China line of clothing.
Already, the rich asshole’s White House position is a legal minefield. And she brought a checkered business past, having narrowly escaped indictment in New York for allegedly falsifying sales records.
And of course, she appears to have no real expertise in policy. She didn’t understand basic aspects of the GOP tax bill even as she promoted it on TV. She thinks universal childcare can be achieved by giving herself a tax cut. And she said low-income parents should consider food for their kids an “investment” like “Mommy and Me” classes.
Moreover, despite the belief held by some that the rich asshole supports women’s rights, she largely agrees with her father on rolling back those protections. And around the world, few people take her seriously as an advocate for women.
the rich asshole has said it is “not my job” to change her father’s mind on policy. Though that begs the question of what she thinks a White House adviser’s job description actually is.
Instead, the rich asshole appears to view her government job as a new way to enrich herself — just like her father.
POLITICS
the rich asshole’s Retreat On Guns Is The World’s Least-Shocking Surprise
So much for not being afraid of the NRA.
WASHINGTON ― Democrats cheered. Republicans looked on disapprovingly. Yet in the end, President some rich asshole backed down from his public embrace of comprehensive gun control.
If you didn’t see it coming, you weren’t paying attention.
Following last month’s Parkland school massacre in Florida, the rich asshole held a remarkable meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House, where he talked up proposals aimed at curbing gun violence. The president expressed support for ideas backed by Democrats, like universal background checks and raising the minimum age to purchase an assault-style weapon.
At one point, the rich asshole even taunted members of his party for being too afraid of National Rifle Association, the nation’s largest gun lobby. He assured Republicans he would take any heat and expected backlash from pushing forward with gun control proposals in the days to follow.
It was a remarkable moment, one that seemed to come straight out of television or the movies. A bipartisan-minded president who has the courage to take on his party for the greater good. It was pure the rich asshole, a wheeling-and-dealing boardroom executive who gives everyone a lesson in negotiating tactics featured in his popular book, “The Art of the Deal.”
Yet just two weeks later, the only solutions the White House has put forward are ones the NRA supports ― arming teachers and taking modest steps to improve background checks conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. the rich asshole has also said he plans to ban bump stocks, the gun accessory used to simulate automatic fire in the Las Vegas shooting, by taking administrative action rather than pushing a new law. Doing so via a regulation will likely a draw legal challenge.
the rich asshole acknowledged his changed position on increasing the age at which one can purchase a semi-automatic rifle in a pair of tweets on Monday. The president, who wields the power of the bully pulpit, conceded raising the age limit did not have “much” political support.
While the proposal may not have sufficient backing among Republicans in Congress, it is supported by a large majority of the electorate. Seventy-eight percent of Americans favor banning the sale of AR-15 style weapons to people under the age of 21, according to a recent SurveyMonkey poll.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed a bill last week ― the first gun control legislation the state enacted since the Feb. 14 Parkland school shooting ― raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 from 18. The 19-year-old accused Parkland shooter used an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle in the massacre.
the rich asshole’s retreat on gun control mirrors that of another Florida politician, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
In the wake of the shooting, Rubio appeared with Parkland survivors at a televised town hall, where he surprised observers by expressing support for several gun control measures. He broke with the rich asshole over arming teachers and said he would favor raising the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21. He said he would consider restricting the size of ammunition magazines as well.
Since then, however, Rubio has focused on more modest steps aiming to boost “school safety,” including a proposal to give schools grants to add more security and train teachers to identify threats. He also reiterated his support for gun-violence restraining orders, which would give law enforcement and family members the ability to get a court order to keep someone who could pose a threat from buying a gun.
“These are ideas I outlined not just because they work, but because I believe we can get the votes to pass them,” Rubio said, arguing the Senate ought to focus on the achievable first.
It’s unclear whether any of these proposals will receive a vote or pass in the Senate, much less the House. Republicans set the agenda, and this week senators are considering a bill deregulating banks, not gun control. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is unlikely to devote another week to a contentious issue after last month’s fruitless immigration debate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested last week he will not push for attaching gun control legislation to a must-pass government funding bill later this month ― a move that could risk another government shutdown ― leaving Democrats with few options but calling for a “debate” on gun control measures.
“The White House has taken tiny baby steps designed not to upset the NRA, when the gun violence epidemic in this country demands that giant steps be taken,” Schumer said in a statement on Sunday. “Democrats in the Senate will push to go further including passing universal background checks, actual federal legislation on protection orders, and a debate on banning assault weapons.”
the rich asshole lawyer Michael Cohen silent after Stormy Daniels offers to give back $130K in exchange for lifting gag
Michael Cohen (CNN)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
Michael Cohen, an attorney for President some rich asshole, has reportedly not responded to an offer from an adult film star that would allow her to speak about an affair with the president if she repaid the $130,000 used to silence her.
The New York Times reported on Monday that a lawyer of Stephanie Clifford — who uses the screen name Stormy Daniels — said that the adult film star would return the $130,000 in hush money if Cohen and the rich asshole agree to let her tell her story, in which she is expected to reveal an affair with the rich asshole.
But as of Monday afternoon, Cohen had not responded to the request, according to Daily Beast reporter Asawin Suebsaeng.
If Cohen agrees to the deal, Clifford’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has pledged to wire the money by Friday. Under the deal, a hush agreement signed by Clifford would be declared “null and void” and she would be allowed to tell her story on the air.
Recent reports have suggested that the rich asshole team is preparing legal action to prevent Clifford from conducting an interview with 60 Minutes.
The president has insisted that there is no truth to allegations he cheated on his wife.
Revealed: White House officials ‘watched in dismay’ as Betsy DeVos went down in flames on ’60 Minutes’
U.S. President some rich asshole (R) and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (L) meet with parents and teachers at Saint Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, Florida, U.S. March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
According to a Monday CNN report, the White House wasn’t pleased with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during her interview with “60 Minutes”reporter Lesley Stahl.
“She gave a performance that has not received stellar reviews. I’ll try to be polite here,” host John Berman said to Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). “We’re just getting some information from our White House team that the White House — White House officials watched in dismay as Betsy DeVos struggled to answer basic questions about the nation’s schools.”
DeVos has been blasted most of the morning by political pundits for everything from not knowing anything about her panel for school safety to not visiting at-risk schools.DeVos has been visiting with religious and nontraditional private and charter schools since being confirmed.
Watch the commentary between Berman and Lieu below:
‘Fortunately not a drinking game’: Stephanie Ruhle mocks Betsy DeVos for repeatedly insisting ‘everything on the table’ with gun safety
Stephanie Ruhle (MSNBC)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle ridiculed education secretary Betsy DeVos for vapidly declaring that all options would be considered for ensuring school safety against gun violence.
The rich asshole administration official appeared Monday morning on NBC’s “Today,” where she repeatedly insisted that “everything is on the table” but offered no specifics.
“‘Everything is on the table’ is fortunately not a drinking game because if it was, people would be passed out before 9 a.m.,” Ruhle said. “Betsy said that all morning long.”
Ruhle said the administration’s proposal doesn’t include a ban on gun sales to buyers under 21, and one of her guests said the rich asshole plan was meaningless.
“It’s worth pointing out the table actually belongs to Congress and not the president,” said Matt Welch, editor-at-large for Reason. “When it comes to gun policy, the rich asshole has really flirted as an idea is signing an executive order to ban bump stocks, which I think would be questionable legally, but that’s the only thing in his purview.”
Ruhle said DeVos’ insipid comments revealed how meaningless the White House’s leadership was on gun safety.
“One of the issues with everything being on the table is everything is next door neighbors to nothing,” she said. “So Betsy DeVos went on to say that arming teachers is something they want to explore, but you already have eight states that have it. So this is what the commission is leading with — what’s the point? If states have the power to do it, this is a nothing.”
The MSNBC host then questioned whether DeVos had the qualifications to lead on this issue, given how poorly she fielded basic questions about the department she heads.
“Whether we’re talking guns in schools or basic understanding of how the public school system works, even if her own state of Michigan, where that’s where she gets a pat on the back for all that she’s done — Betsy DeVos struggled, to put it nicely,” Ruhle said. “So is she the right person to lead something this life or death important?”
By
-
March 12, 2018
Democrat Conor Lamb is about to take over the rich asshole country.
the rich asshole has put his weakened political clout on the line in the Pennsylvania special election, but the most recent poll shows Democratic candidate Conor Lamb is set to crush his the rich asshole-backed opponent.
After weeks of closing the gap with Pennsylvania Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone, Lamb has taken a commanding lead just a day before the special election on Tuesday. According to the Monmouth University poll, Lamb leads Saccone by a margin as large as 51 to 44 percent, depending on the turnout model.
If voter turnout is similar to those in other special elections this past year, Lamb’s lead is 51-45, two points higher than in last month’s Monmouth poll.
What’s even more amazing about this poll is that half of it was taken over the course of a weekend during which the rich asshole held a desperate last-minute campaign event for Saccone, while former the rich asshole supporters packed a Conor Lamb rally.
Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District represents a stunning reversal of fortune for the rich asshole, who won the district by 20 points in 2016. And it’s a story that’s being repeated over and over again, as Democrats flip districts that were won by the rich asshole or post huge gains in narrow defeats.
Whatever the result Tuesday, the rich asshole and the Republicans know that the blue wave is coming. And this poll is a strong indication that it’s coming early for Rick Saccone.
‘Look who’s afraid of the NRA’: Internet blasts ‘coward’ the rich asshole for backpedaling on assault weapons
some rich asshole during CNN debate (Photo: Screen capture via video)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
President some rich asshole began Monday touting his latest plan to stop school shootings. While he threw a bone to some gun regulations advocates, he caved when it came to his determination to ban the sale of assault weapons to those under 21-years-old. The move came after he had the National Rifle Association over to the White House for dinner. The NRA opposes the move to ban such military-style weapons for teens.
The comment came just under two years after the rich asshole attacked his former opponent for claiming he wanted guns in classrooms. He said at the time that she was “Wrong!”
Now, it seems, Hillary Clinton was right.
The internet completely lambasted the rich asshole for the new announcement:
Very strong improvement and strengthening of background checks will be fully backed by White House. Legislation moving forward. Bump Stocks will soon be out. Highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to State Law. Armed guards OK, deterrent!.......
Arming teachers will cause more harm than good. What happens when one of these teachers goes crazy or a student manhandles a teacher and takes their gun?
You are a sell-out and an idiot! Look who is afraid of the NRA!
You can't even manage background checks on your own family working in the White House. twitter.com/realDonaldTrum…
Don’t boast, you’ve done NOTHING about gun control!
Trump is in the pocket of the NRA! He met twice with them at the WH since the #ParklandShooting yet didn’t attend ONE od SEVENTEEN funerals!!!
Trump talks a big game but when it comes right down to it, he’s a coward in the face of the NRA!!! He needs their money and support!!!!
Teachers don’t want this. Please stop trying to sell more guns for the NRA
Is that why there are so many school shootings in the UK?
Not a deterrent! More guns isn't the answer to gun violence just like more alcohol isn't the solution to alcoholism
Other countries don't have "highly trained expert teachers" with concealed carry. Yet they have far fewer school shootings than we do. Why? Because they have far fewer guns.
Bought and paid for #NRA
He’ll watch?? I thought this was the man of action....no more commissions or advisory boards....so much for that. NRA wins again....#VetsForGunReform
I suppose the ushers in theaters will be next on the list to pack "heat".
The weak President of the US claimed that he was considering an age-limit increase for the purchase of long rifles/assault rifles, while mocking fellow Republicans for caving to the NRA.
It literally took him 30 min. w/ the NRA head before he caved as well
No age limit increase
Trump is a coward and afraid of the NRA just like he said congress was. Turns out Trump even lied to those kids when he said he would do something. All he did was take a dump and move on. They will return.
Coward Trump caved to the NRA. your administration wants to fund everything but EDUCATION. We need assault weapons controlled not armed teachers
Trump is a coward? I’m shocked
Trump coward to the terrorist group that calls themselves the NRA. Not surprising since he was a coward and dodged the draft.
@realDonaldTrump trumps afraid of the NRA! What would you expect from a COWARD! twitter.com/krassenstein/s…
Well, no surprise here. Bought and paid for by the NRA & Putin.#Resist #StandUpAmerica #NeverAgainMSD
Trump Doesn't Set Age for Guns, Defers on Arming Teachers | Washington, D.C. News | US News usnews.com/news/politics/…
Trump has not an ounce of integrity or a backbone. He is also a habitual liar. As a matter of fact he is completely without a redeeming quality.
Putin and the NRA own Trump. He will side with them at the expense of the safety of the American people at every chance.
Sounds like when it comes to the #NRA, #Trump is scared shitless, just like the rest of them. theguardian.com/us-news/2018/m…
He’s also being attacked from the right, which seems to be furious that he’s not protecting the Second Amendment with no regulations whatsoever.
Fox & Friends pundit supporting death penalty for drug dealers says they should be executed ‘at a young age’
Randy Zelin appears on Fox News (screen grab)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
A Fox News pundit on Monday said that President some rich asshole was right to consider the death penalty for drug offenses because it is the “only answer” for stopping drug dealers.
On the Fox & Friends First program, host Heather Childers asked trial attorney Randy Zelin about the rich asshole’s recent suggestion that drug dealers should be put to death.
Zelin argued that offenders in drug cases should be put to death even if they understood what they did was wrong and promised to never do it again.
“What about the next Randy Zelin who did this?” Zelin asked. “How do we stop it? And it seems to me that perhaps the ultimate penalty, the ultimate deterrence is the only answer to getting our arms around what is happening in this country with drugs.”
Childers speculated that the rich asshole’s death penalty idea would only apply to dealers who spiked their product with deadly substances. But Zelin disagreed, saying that it should apply to all drug dealers.
“It’s the slippery slope argument,” he opined. “And it becomes where is the dividing line. It’s all about deterrence. It’s all about letting someone know — perhaps even at a young age — that if you do this, it’s not going to get you the Mercedes and the Rolex and the house and all of the fun stuff. It’s going to get a needle in your arm.”
“It’s that message that needs to be sent, that perhaps may be the only way not to make it so cool to be a drug dealer,” he concluded. “Go ask someone in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, in Vietnam, where you’re automatically getting it.”
Watch the video below from Fox News.
White House reporter defies the rich asshole: ‘We do not need his permission’
By
-
"That's not how the White House works..."
the rich asshole threw a temper tantrum over an impeachment-related story this weekend, but the reporter he attacked isn’t afraid of him.
“The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out,” the rich asshole tweeted, referencing a New York Times report that the rich asshole is in talks with attorney Emmet T. Flood, who represented President Bill Clinton during his impeachment process.
“Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and have shown conclusively that there was no Collusion with Russia..just excuse for losing,” the rich asshole added. “The writer of the story, Maggie Haberman, a Hillary flunky, knows nothing about me and is not given access.”
On Monday morning, Haberman responded. “I think the basic concept is problematic, that he believes people need quote/unquote, access to report on the president of the United States,” she told CNN hosts Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo. “We report on him regardless, but he has no idea who our sources are, or how many people around him are talking to us.”
“He says you have no access, you interviewed him 12 times at least,” Camerota pointed out.
“We saw during the campaign that he has this habit of pointing to a table like this and saying ‘This is a sofa,’ and this is no exception,” Haberman continued. “We, again, do not need his permission to cover him.”
“That’s not how the White House works, that’s not how government works,” she added.
the rich asshole’s despotic attitude toward the press has been evident since day one of his presidency, but Haberman nails the more likely cause of the rich asshole’s attack: his sense of panic over the prospect of being impeached when the Democrats take back the House in November.
Far from being a “Hillary flunky,” Haberman’s obsessive coverage of Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 election probably did as much to enable the rich asshole’s victory as anything else. Now she’s being forced to explain the basic functions of democracy to the rich asshole on cable news.
the rich asshole touts his gun policy — but says he’ll ‘watch court cases’ before deciding on raising age for assault weapons
some rich asshole pointing his finger like a gun (CNN/Screencapture)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
In a Monday morning tweet, President some rich asshole touted his new plan to stop school shootings.
“Very strong improvement and strengthening of background checks will be fully backed by White House,” the rich asshole wrote. “Legislation moving forward. Bump Stocks will soon be out. Highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to State Law. Armed guards OK, deterrent!…….”
“….On 18 to 21 Age Limits, watching court cases and rulings before acting,” he continued. “States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly).”
“If schools are mandated to be gun free zones, violence and danger are given an open invitation to enter,” he later proclaimed. “Almost all school shootings are in gun free zones. Cowards will only go where there is no deterrent!
If schools are mandated to be gun free zones, violence and danger are given an open invitation to enter. Almost all school shootings are in gun free zones. Cowards will only go where there is no deterrent!
What he left out, however, is that he once declared that they would raise the age a person can purchase an assault weapon to 21-years-old. The National Rifle Association doesn’t support that policy, and after a dinner at the White House, the rich asshole stopped saying that he would push the policy.
Mueller nearly finished with the rich asshole obstruction probe — but here’s why he may wait to bring charges
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller said cyber security will be the number one future threat in the country, but for the time being, "counterterrorism and stopping terrorist attacks" is more important. (Photo: Kit Fox/Medill Flickr)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
Special counsel Robert Mueller is close to wrapping up his investigation into whether President some rich asshole obstructed justice — but don’t expect charges right away.
Current and former U.S. officials say Mueller may set aside the obstruction case while he finishes investigating possible Russian collusion and hacking of Democrats,reported Bloomberg Politics.
The obstruction probe could be completed after Mueller and his team interview the rich asshole and his son, some rich asshole Jr., the officials said.
But the special counsel may wait to bring charges, if any, because witnesses in other cases in the sprawling probe might become less cooperative — or the president could trigger a constitutional crisis by moving to shut down the investigation.
“Any clear outcome of the obstruction inquiry could be used against Mueller: Filing charges against the rich asshole or his family could prompt the president to take action to fire him.” Bloomberg reported. “Publicly clearing the rich asshole of obstruction charges — as the president’s lawyers have requested — could be used by his allies to build pressure for the broader investigation to be shut down.”
The president’s lawyers are negotiating with Mueller’s team about an interview with the rich asshole, who could testify in the coming weeks.
Mueller’s team has already interviewed witnesses who could provide evidence that the rich asshole intended to obstruct justice in the probe — including former FBI director James Comey, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers.
The special counsel is focusing on three particular episodes, according to sources.
Mueller is interested in the rainy weekend that the rich asshole and his top aides spent at the rich asshole National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, shortly before Comey was fired in May.
The president was joined that weekend by then-deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland, senior adviser Stephen Miller, then-White House communications director Hope Hicks, social media director Dan Scavino and his daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka the rich asshole and Jared Kushner.
Mueller is also looking into the creation of a misleading statement about the rich asshole Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with a Russian attorney who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
That statement was crafted on board Air Force One by the rich asshole, Hicks and Kushner spokesman Josh Raffel on the way back to Washington from Germany, where the president met multiple times in private — and in secret — with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Finally, Mueller is keenly interested in the rich asshole’s reported efforts to remove him as special counsel.
the rich asshole has been furious at Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing the Russia probe, and his deputy Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel after the president fired Comey.
The president wanted to fire Mueller in June, according to three people familiar with the matter, but White House counsel Don McGahn refused to carry out the order and threatened to resign over the issue.
Mueller has secured the cooperation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents, and briefly interviewed Kushner early in the investigation.
His team has not yet interviewed the president’s eldest son and daughter, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
There’s no indication that Mueller has interviewed the president’s former bodyguard Keith Schiller, who traveled with the rich asshole to Moscow and was at his side throughout the campaign and during the early months of his presidency.
By
-
March 12, 2018
The porn actor is now offering to return her $130,000 hush-money payment in exchange for freedom to discuss her relationship with the rich asshole.
The Stormy Daniels hush money scandal isn’t going away. And now, it appears that the porn actor and her attorney have outmaneuvered the White House by giving the rich asshole a new deadline to take action.
This, while a potentially explosive Daniels interview with CNN’s Cooper Anderson for “60 Minutes” is looming on the horizon.
Daniels reportedly received a $130,000 hush money settlement just weeks before the 2016 election. The binding agreement blocked her from discussing her affair with the rich asshole, which allegedly took place soon after he got married.
Last week, Daniels filed a lawsuit claiming that the agreement is invalid because the rich asshole never signed it. the rich asshole’s private attorney, Michael Cohen, insists that he alone knew about the hush-money payment and that he arranged it all without the rich asshole’s knowledge, just days before the election.
Daniels’ attorney has suggested they have evidence to prove that the rich asshole knew about the payment.
Now, in a bold move that places more pressure on the White House, Daniels is offering to give back the $130,000.
The New York Times reports that Daniels’ lawyer sent a letter to the rich asshole’s personal attorney early Monday indicating that Daniels would “wire the money into an account of some rich asshole’s choosing by Friday.” According to the report, the rich asshole’s lawyer has until noon tomorrow to respond.
Daniels and her attorney want to return the hush money to make the agreement to stay quiet null and void. They argue that Daniels would then be free to speak openly about her relationship with the rich asshole and well as to share any text messages, phone and/or videos relating to the rich asshole.
For the White House, the story continues to descend into chaos.
For weeks, the rich asshole’s team has been unwilling or unable to address the most basic elements of the hush-money story. Instead, desperate for it to go away, they have ducked questions, while absurdly clinging to the idea that they’ve already thoroughly addressed the issue.
But they have not.
They’ve only made it worse. And now they’re backed into a corner by a woman the rich asshole tried to silence
‘He whips it up like a Mussolini rally’: Joe Scarborough crushes the rich asshole’s Pennsylvania campaign stop
Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough (MSNBC/screen grab)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
During Monday’s “Morning Joe,” MSNBC co-host Joe Scarborough was disgusted by President some rich asshole’s Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, so much so, he said it reminded him of a dictator.
“The booing is getting stronger by the day whenever he goes out there and whips up like it’s a Mussolini rally,” the rich asshole said. “Yes, that’s what I said.”
The president went on to bash journalists Chuck Todd and Maggie Haberman.
“There is certainly nothing American about what some rich asshole did in Pennsylvania when he tries to turn an entire audience, whether it’s against Katy Tur or Chuck Todd and this weekend he went after Maggie Haberman,” Scarborough said. “When you’re in rallies like that and you whip your supporters into a frenzy, there are real life consequences to that. Threats follow, often death threats.”
Frequent “Morning Joe” guest Mike Barnicle responded to say that the president’s constant attacks on the media have worked and seeped into the general populous to discredit any and all information.
“(the rich asshole) said there’s lots of evil in Washington, D.C. Lots of bad people. And the president of the United States has injected, successfully, a slow poison into the culture of this country,” he explained.
Opinion writer Noah Rothman disagreed, saying that the public is smarter than that. His evidence is that the Pennsylvania race is competitive.
“The reason this is a competitive race and we’re likely to see some democratic victories in November is because of some rich asshole,” he said. “This is a values election. This is a referendum on some rich asshole and his behavior. Behavior like that is precisely why voters will go to the polls to register their dissatisfaction with this president.”
Watch the full discussion below:
Mueller has the rich asshole and his allies pinned down
Robert Mueller in 2012 (U.S. Embassy Tallinn)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
The rich specificity of the emerging the rich asshole-Russia narrative, found in the indictments of special prosecutor Robert Mueller, is now smothering the president’s defenses, overwhelming his counterattacks and depriving him of options and friends. No wonder the rich asshole is in a terrible mood.
The details of the furtive machinations of the rich asshole entourage and the coterie of Vladimir Putin, from the rich asshole Tower to the Seychelle Islands, brings to life the story of how these two power cliques came together to do business during and after the 2016 presidential election.
Some say that reporting and dwelling on such facts constitutes the “demonization” of Russia and the Russians. It is true that the actions we know of—thanks to skillful leaking of Mueller’s team and solid reporting by the New York Times and the Washington Post—do not necessarily reveal criminality. But the emerging story is the very definition of collusion, and in multiple dimensions.
the rich asshole & Co., we now know, wanted a back channel to Putin, a means of communicating secretly beyond the view of the public or the U.S. government for reasons that have yet to be clarified.
Was it money? Jared Kushner, stuck with a terrible New York real estate investment, needs an infusion of capital. He launched the effort to establish such a channel via a Russia banker shortly after his father-in-law was elected. In January, Erik Prince, the mercenary security entrepreneur and the rich asshole confidante, met with another Russian banker in the Seychelles. Prince told the House Intelligence Committee, under oath, that the meeting was accidental. Mueller now has witnesses who say it was an effort to establish confidential communications.
Was this the outgrowth of Russia’s help during the campaign? The indictment in December of 13 Russians and three companies documented another aspect of collusion: the Russian campaign to help the rich asshole with covert digital operations.
“Mueller wants to end the debate over whether there was Russian interference in the election,” Robert S. Litt, the former general counsel to the director of national intelligence, told the Times. He has. Even CIA director Mike Pompeo, a rich asshole loyalist, now feels obliged to admit the obvious: Russia sought to swing the 2016 election to the rich asshole.
Mueller’s indictment of the rich asshole’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort illuminated the financial face of collusion. “This is all about money laundering,” former adviser Steve Bannon told Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff. “[Robert] Mueller chose [senior prosecutor Andrew] Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to f**king the rich asshole goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr. and Jared Kushner.”
Except Mueller’s case is, by many reports, primarily about obstruction of justice, which is perhaps the most obvious and provable offense. It also has the fringe benefit of strengthening any underlying criminal charges. Why obstruct justice if you’re innocent? Whether the rich asshole doesn’t understand the law or he doesn’t care, he keeps engaging in behavior that lawyers discourage in order to avoid obstruction-of-justice charges.
Thwarted
All of which is why the president wants to get rid of Mueller, and why he can’t. The strength of the case and scope of the charges against him has empowered even his allies to defy him or abandon him. the rich asshole is now thwarted at every turn.
In order to get rid of Mueller, the rich asshole needs to get rid of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the only man with the authority to fire the special counsel. Rosenstein says Mueller is doing a swell job. When Mueller indicted the Russians, Rosenstein made the announcement.
Last June, the rich asshole ordered Don McGahn, White House general counsel, to fire Mueller. McGahn told associates he would quit rather than carry out the order, and the rich asshole backed down. Then the rich asshole said he had done nothing of a sort, raising the question, “Did the rich asshole ask McGahn to lie or did he forget he tried to fire Mueller?”
the rich asshole wants to but cannot get rid of Jeff Sessions, the only man who could fire Rosenstein, because Sessions needs to protect himself from legal liability. That’s why he recused himself from the Russia investigation early on. Besides, Sessions relishes his neo-Confederate reign as the nation’s top law enforcement officer too much to surrender to the rich asshole’s whims. With allies in the Senate refusing to confirm a successor, Sessions is untouchable.
the rich asshole can’t get rid of Mueller by shaking up his administration. He wants to but cannot fire Chief of Staff John Kelly because no one wants the job. He can’t fire Defense Secretary James Mattis because the Pentagon has seven wars to fight and a record budget to spend.
the rich asshole can’t even count on dyed-red conservatives to risk their careers for him. If McGahn had followed through on the rich asshole’s order to get rid of Mueller, the task would have fallen to the department’s third-ranking official, the Assistant Attorney General Rachel Brand. Some speculated Brand, a longtime conservative judicial activist and the rich asshole appointee, might carry out such an order. No such luck. Brand announced last month she is leaving the department for a job with Walmart.
the rich asshole’s Capitol Hill allies are a dwindling asset. The distraction tactics of the House Intelligence Committee have provided content for right-wing media platforms and talking points for Republicans on Capitol Hill. But invoking the Uranium One “scandal”—recently debunked by the rich asshole Justice Department itself—doesn’t protect insider witnesses called to testify before Mueller’s grand juries. This week, Roger Stone’s sidekick, the addled Sam Nunberg, learned swiftly that media theatrics are not a viable legal defense strategy.
Crying “Uranium One” or “Benghazi” will not protect a witness from a subpoena or a perjury charge or a jail term. Political posturing was not a realistic option for George Papadopoulos, Rick Gates and now George Nader, three of many former the rich asshole campaign associates who are now cooperating with Mueller’s investigators.
Of course, key questions remain unresolved: Will Mueller indict the rich asshole if he finds clear and convincing evidence of criminal misconduct? Or will he, as special prosecutor Ken Starr did in the investigation of President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, simply refer his findings to Congress for possible impeachment proceedings?
A larger question remains open too: Whether the U.S. legal and political system is capable of reining in a president like the rich asshole who respects no law or fact that conflicts with his desires. For now, Mueller has the rich asshole tied down with ropes of evidence. For how long, is a different question.
Ivanka still getting at least $1.5 million from the rich asshole Organization while serving in White House
Ivanka the rich asshole (Photo: Twitter)
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
Ivanka the rich asshole will get at least $1.5 million a year from the family business even as she serves in the White House under her father’s administration.
President some rich asshole’s eldest daughter is entangled in countless potential conflicts of interest that violate federal law and ethics standards while serving as a special assistant to the president, reported McClatchy.
Both she and her father have been accused of violating the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause by accepting gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress.
Ivanka the rich asshole is believed to still have only an interim security clearance due to the complex finances of her husband, Jared Kushner, who also serves in the White House.
She was expected to receive $1.5 million each year from three companies affiliated with the rich asshole Organization, and she will get even more from other the rich asshole Organization businesses.
Those companies are involved in at least five projects that have drawn scrutiny, including a residential development in Dubai, a road project in Bali, a tourist destination in Indonesia, luxury housing projects in India and the rich asshole International Hotel Washington D.C.
Those developments involve a Chinese construction company, the Saudi Arabian and South Korean governments, local governments and individual foreign officials.
Ivanka the rich asshole resigned from various vice president positions within the rich asshole Organization after her father’s inauguration, but her financial disclosure forms show she planned to receive money from its businesses.
“When Ms. the rich asshole became a federal employee, she transitioned from being an active investor and manager to being merely a passive investor,” said Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for the Kushner and Ivanka the rich asshole’s attorney. “She did this as a result of ethics advice she received, and has followed that advice.”
Federal employees applying for a security clearance are not required to sell overseas investments, but they can be forced to divest larger stakes and resign from corporate positions.
Security clearances can be denied for officials who have “substantial” overseas business interests to avoid “a heightened risk of foreign influence or exploitation.”
Howard Dean: the rich asshole's Cabinet full of 'incompetent doofuses'
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 03/12/18 12:52 PM EDT
Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on Monday said President the rich asshole’s cabinet is filled mostly with “incompetent doofuses” after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggled to answer questions about school performance during an interview that aired Sunday.
After a Washington Post reporter observed that reporter Lesley Stahl “seemed to know more about the nation’s public schools” than DeVos, Dean responded, “That’s news?”
“The rich asshole cabinet is mostly a collection of incompetent doofuses,” he added.
That's news? The Trump cabinet is mostly a collection of incompetent doofuses. twitter.com/philiprucker/s…
DeVos appeared to struggle at times during her interview to answer basic questions about public schools' performance, particularly in her home state of Michigan. Public schools there have gotten worse, interviewer Lesley Stahl pointed out, despite the school-choice policies DeVos has championed.
DeVos, who was previously a major donor for Republican candidates and causes, was a controversial pick to lead the Department of Education due to her support for charter schools and tuition vouchers that use public funds. She was barely approved to lead the department, with Vice President Pence casting the tie-breaking vote in her favor.
She told Stahl on Sunday that she is "not so sure exactly" how she became the "most hated" member of the president's Cabinet, as Stahl described her. She said she believes she is "more misunderstood than anything."
Multiple Democrats took to Twitter following the interview to note DeVos' performance and question her fitness for her role.
the rich asshole hasn’t appointed a single black or Latino judge
Remember when the rich asshole said a Mexican American judge couldn't be impartial?
As you may recall, back when some rich asshole was just a candidate for president, he claimed that Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a U.S. citizen born in Indiana, was unable to be impartial towards the rich asshole because of Curiel’s “Mexican heritage.” As president, the rich asshole appears determined to make the judiciary white again.
Since taking office more than a year ago, the rich asshole has appointed 29 individuals to lifetime appointments on the federal bench. According to the Federal Judicial Center, a government agency that tracks judicial data, exactly zero of the rich asshole’s judges are black or Latino.
Three of the rich asshole’s judicial appointments, Judges Amul Thapar, James Ho, and Karen Scholer, are South or East Asian, according to the FJC — meaning that nearly 90 percent of the rich asshole’s judges are white. By contrast, the census bureau estimates that only 61.3 percent of the U.S. population are white non-Hispanics.
Meanwhile, a total of 55 the rich asshole judicial nominees are currently pending either before the Senate Judiciary Committee or on the Senate floor. According to the liberal Alliance for Justice, exactly one of these nominees is African American and one is Latino.
The number of people who hate the rich asshole’s offshore drilling plans keeps growing
Months after the plan was first proposed, the opposition has not quieted down.
Public meetings for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s five-year offshore drilling plan wrapped up last week, but opposition to the plan — which would open nearly all federal waters to oil and gas extraction — doesn’t appear to be quieting down.
The proposal, first made public in January, would open up 90 percent of the nation’s offshore areas to oil and gas leasing. At the time, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke touted the proposal as offering “the largest number of lease sales ever proposed.”
But as the Department of the Interior concludes its 60-day public comment period for the proposal, a number of local and state representatives, religious leaders, and environmental groups are pushing to make sure that their opposition to the offshore drilling plan is made clear.
On March 9, attorneys general from 12 states filed comments in opposition to the plan, arguing that increased offshore drilling would contribute to climate change and associated consequences, such as sea level rise and more frequent and severe extreme weather events. The attorneys general also argued that offshore drilling could compromise sensitive coastal ecosystems and marine economies in the affected states.
The attorneys general join a number of politicians — both in office currently and retired — who have voiced opposition to the plan.
Last Friday, Florida Senator Bill Nelson (D) sent a letter to Zinke requesting clarification on what the secretary intends to do with Florida, which had originally been included in the proposal but was temporarily removed less than a week into the public comment period.
At the time, Zinke said that he had chosen to remove Florida because the state “is unique and its coasts are highly reliant on tourism as an economic driver” — reasoning that legal experts warned could open the department up to legal action. Since then, an Interior Department official has said that Florida is still being considered for potential offshore leases.
Nelson’s letter sought clarification as to whether Florida would indeed be exempt from the proposal, and reiterated the senator’s opposition to offshore drilling along the state’s coasts.
“I absolutely oppose opening up the Atlantic to drilling, as well as any part of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico currently under moratorium,” Nelson wrote.
The proposal previously generated fierce opposition from nearly every governor of a state that would see its waters opened to oil and gas extraction under the five-year plan. The only governor that has not opposed the plan is Paul LePage of Maine.
Even Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) — who has previously supported opening Florida to more offshore drilling — has voiced opposition to the rich asshole’s plan, though some have suggested that the moderation could be part of a pivot aimed at boosting support ahead of his expected Senate campaign later this year.
The administration’s proposed plan has also garnered opposition from religious groups. Last week, 34 religious leaders in North Carolina signed a letter in opposition to the proposal. “God entrusts us to be good stewards of God’s oceans and coasts,” the letter read. “We should honor this sacred duty and position our country as a global leader in energy stewardship.”
The coalition represents part of a broader movement of more than 300 religious leaders taking a stand against the proposal to open federal waters to offshore drilling, and is part of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.
The administration’s proposed offshore leasing plan has also raised objections from opponents concerned that the expansion of drilling in federal waters could come at the same time that the administration is proposing rolling back regulations that govern drilling safety.
The administration has proposed repealing several offshore drilling regulations put in place after the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010, that killed 11 people and resulted in some 4 million barrels of oil being released into the Gulf of Mexico — the largest oil spill in history.
The agency has said that rolling back the regulations — which include things like having third-party auditors certify the safety equipment on offshore rigs — would save industry some $228 million over 10 years.
“The rich asshole administration is putting Florida’s Panhandle at increased risk for the next BP-style blowout by expanding the reach of oil and gas drilling while rolling back common-sense safeguards drawn from the lessons of the Deepwater Horizon disaster,” former Florida Senator and Governor Bob Graham (D) and Frances Beinecke wrote in an op-ed in the Pensacola News Journal. Beinecke served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling,
“If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it is that we must do more to protect our workers, waters, wildlife and the economy from the hazards of offshore drilling.”
Now that the public comment period has closed, the Department of Interior will review the proposal and, potentially, make changes to the areas offered for oil and gas leases. A final plan describing where proposed auctions would be held will likely be released sometime in early 2019. Congress will then have 60 days to review the plan. The plan will govern leases from 2019 to 2024.
Stormy Daniels offers to pay back $130,000 for freedom to speak about the rich asshole
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is offering to give back the $130,000 she was paid for her silence so she can speak freely about President some rich asshole and release any text messages, photos and videos she might have.
The actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, made the offer Monday in a letter to the rich asshole's private attorney Michael Cohen, who brokered a nondisclosure agreement with her shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
The letter is also being sent to Lawrence Rosen, an attorney who has identified himself as representing Cohen, and to EC LLC, a company Cohen formed in connection to the agreement and the payment made to Clifford in October 2016.
Stormy Daniels payment raises question of campaign finance violation 7:39
The letter says the money would be wired to an account designated by the rich asshole by Friday. In return, Clifford would be allowed to "speak openly and freely about her prior relationship with the president and the attempts to silence her and use and publish and text messages, photos and videos relating to the president that she may have in her possession, all without fear of retribution or legal liability," the letter says.
"This has never been about the money," Clifford's lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told NBC News on Monday. "It has always been about Ms. Clifford being allowed to tell the truth. The American people should be permitted to judge for themselves who is shooting straight with them and who is misleading them. Our offer seeks to allow this to happen."
On Twitter, Clifford joked that she was toying with "delivering it gangsta style via private jet and cash in a gold suitcase. Alas I don't have a jet or gold suitcase."
In a lawsuit filed last week, Clifford said she had an "intimate" relationship with the rich asshole in 2006 and 2007 and struck a deal a decade later to keep quiet about it. However, she contends, the pact is void because the rich asshole never signed the agreement.
The White House denies the rich asshole had an affair with Clifford. Cohen and Rosen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Clifford's letter. The White House declined to comment.
Although Cohen says he paid the money to Clifford and was not reimbursed by the rich asshole's company or campaign, Avenatti said she is offering to pay the rich asshole "because we do not believe there is any doubt as to where the money came from originally, in reality."
Cohen, meanwhile, has obtained a temporary restraining order from a private arbitrator barring Clifford from disclosing "confidential information" related to the agreement.
"I believe Mr. Avenatti's actions and behavior has been both reckless and imprudent as it opens Ms. Clifford to substantial monetary liability, which I intend to pursue," Cohen told The Washington Post last week.
He is also mulling legal action to stop the CBS program "60 Minutes" from broadcasting an interview with Clifford taped last week, BuzzFeed reported over the weekend, quoting unnamed sources. Asked whether he had been contacted by the rich asshole's team over the weekend, Avenatti said, "Not directly."
Clifford's letter says the offer will remain open until noon Tuesday. Avenatti said the offer is genuine and not a publicity stunt.
Administration asks court to dismiss lawsuit from EPA scientists
BY TIMOTHY CAMA - 03/12/18 10:13 AM EDT
Attorneys for the rich asshole administration are asking a court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s new policy on science advisers.
Justice Department attorneys argued that Pruitt’s policy preventing EPA grant recipients from serving on external advisory committees is well within government ethics rules and Pruitt’s authority to pick his own advisers.
“Plaintiffs make the extraordinary claim that the EPA’s effort to ensure a diversity of viewpoints on advisory committees that provide advice and recommendations to the administrator somehow violates government-wide ethics rules. But the directive that plaintiffs challenge does no such thing,” the government wrote in a motion filed late Friday.
Lawyers further argued that the directive is not intended to change ethics rules, but is instead merely “a general statement of policy that describes the appointment philosophy EPA will apply regarding the federal advisory committees it administers.”
“Ultimately, the power to appoint committee members is the administrator’s alone and is non-reviewable by the courts under the circumstances presented here,” the attorneys said in asking for dismissal. “Plaintiffs’ challenge to these highly discretionary policy judgments and the EPA’s power to make them is unprecedented and should be rejected by the court.”
The case is being heard in the federal District Court for the District of Columbia by Judge Trevor McFadden, who was nominated last year by President the rich asshole.
Pruitt rolled out the policy in October, arguing that EPA grantees — generally academics with expertise in areas such as public health and pollution — have significant conflicts of interests. He said the new policy for advisers would eliminate such conflicts.
“We want to ensure that there’s integrity in the process, and that the scientists who are advising us are doing so with not any type of appearance of conflict,” Pruitt said at the time. “And when you receive that much money … there’s a question that arises about independence.”
Pruitt estimated that in the past three years, grantees sitting on the main three EPA advisory committees had received $77 million from the agency. The policy banning grant recipients from the boards is agencywide, applying to all 22 advisory committees.
A handful of committee members were pushed out, and many were replaced by industry- or Republican-friendly advisers.
Some groups and researchers sued the EPA in December, saying the policy violated laws governing ethics, advisory committees in general and specific laws that authorized certain committees.
“EPA’s effort to purge independent scientists from its advisory committees has harmful implications for the nation’s health,” Barbara Gottlieb, director of Physicians for Social Responsibility, said at the time. Her group is the leading plaintiff in the case, Physicians for Social Responsibility et al. v. Scott Pruitt.
“Losing top-flight academic researchers, and replacing them with industry-dependent voices, will undermine actions to protect us from toxic pollutants and life-threatening climate change. If EPA won’t abandon this harmful approach, we’re happy to take them to court,” she said.
REVEALED: Don Jr’s hunting buddy given direct access to top government officials to lobby for his businesses
In 2011, some rich asshole's sons Eric and Donald Jr. went to Africa to kill wild animals.
DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY!
Gentry Beach, a Texas-based hedge fund manager who is a longtime hunting buddy of some rich asshole Jr., has been given direct access to top government officials, where he has lobbied them on issues that would be beneficial to his businesses.
The Associated Press reports that Beach and the rich asshole Jr. have done business deals together for years, and that the two men even recently formed a company together called Future Ventures LLC.
This is significant, writes that AP, because under the rich asshole administration, Beach has been granted access to top foreign policy officials to lobby for a plan to ease off sanctions leveled against Venezuela in exchange for opening the country up more to American businesses.
“Career foreign policy experts were instructed to take the meetings, first reported last April by the website Mic.com, at the direction of the West Wing because Beach and the businessman were friends of the rich asshole Jr.,” the AP writes, citing an unnamed government official.
Even though the government didn’t act on Beach’s pitch, the AP writes that ethics experts have nonetheless raised red flags about access being given to the rich asshole Jr.’s longtime friend and business partner.
“This feeds into the same concerns that we’ve had all along: The really fuzzy line between the presidency and the Trumps’ companies,” Noah Bookbinder, who leads Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, tells the AP. “some rich asshole Jr. sort of straddles that line all the time.”
US appeals court refuses to scuttle $25 million the rich asshole University settlement
Maura Dolan
Los Angeles Times
Posted with permission from Tribune Content Agency
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court refused Tuesday to derail a $25 million Trump University settlement to allow a former student to take the president to trial.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided unanimously that a district judge acted appropriately when he approved the settlement, reached days after Donald Trump was elected president.
The settlement stemmed from lawsuits charging the now-defunct real estate school with fraud. The 9th Circuit called the settlement "highly favorable" to former students.
The suits accused Trump University of falsely advertising that it would teach students Trump's "secrets of success."
Instead, the attendees said, they received three-day seminars in which they were aggressively urged to invest tens of thousands of dollars more for a mentorship program.
Sherri B. Simpson, a Florida lawyer and former Trump University attendee, wanted to drop out of the class action and pursue the president in another lawsuit.
But the 9th Circuit said she had missed a deadline for exiting the class.
The court said former students would have faced "significant hurdles had they proceeded to trial," including the difficulty of prevailing before a jury in a case against the president.
"Weighed against this was the fairness of the settlement as a whole, which the (district) court estimated would provide class members with almost a full recovery," wrote Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen, a Barack Obama appointee.
Amber Eck, one of the lead lawyers in the lawsuits, said it was time to distribute the settlement money to the thousands of former students who sued.
"This has been an incredibly long, hard fight — and today's ruling brings thousands of Americans one step closer to finally putting Trump University behind them," Eck said.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided unanimously that a district judge acted appropriately when he approved the settlement, reached days after Donald Trump was elected president.
The settlement stemmed from lawsuits charging the now-defunct real estate school with fraud. The 9th Circuit called the settlement "highly favorable" to former students.
The suits accused Trump University of falsely advertising that it would teach students Trump's "secrets of success."
Instead, the attendees said, they received three-day seminars in which they were aggressively urged to invest tens of thousands of dollars more for a mentorship program.
Sherri B. Simpson, a Florida lawyer and former Trump University attendee, wanted to drop out of the class action and pursue the president in another lawsuit.
But the 9th Circuit said she had missed a deadline for exiting the class.
The court said former students would have faced "significant hurdles had they proceeded to trial," including the difficulty of prevailing before a jury in a case against the president.
"Weighed against this was the fairness of the settlement as a whole, which the (district) court estimated would provide class members with almost a full recovery," wrote Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen, a Barack Obama appointee.
Amber Eck, one of the lead lawyers in the lawsuits, said it was time to distribute the settlement money to the thousands of former students who sued.
"This has been an incredibly long, hard fight — and today's ruling brings thousands of Americans one step closer to finally putting Trump University behind them," Eck said.
No comments:
Post a Comment