Tag: Republican corruption

Indicted For Securities Fraud, Attorney General Is Asking Texans To Reelect Him

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Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, is under indictment for insider trading and is being investigated for political corruption. Still, he said Tuesday, he is fully planning to run for reelection next year.

After Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced he is “seriously considering” a 2022 primary challenge to Paxton, the embattled incumbent confirmed on Tuesday that he is running for another term.

Paxton mocked Bush, the grandson of George H.W. Bush and son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, on a Dallas radio show for running because he “hates being land commissioner” and sees the attorney general job as a stepping stone to running for president. Continue reading.

In secret tapes, mine executives detail their sway over leaders from Juneau to the White House

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Video recordings by the Environmental Investigation Agency shed light on an effort to win a key federal permit for Pebble Mine

A direct line to the White House, but routed through a third party to hide it from public view. Easy access to Alaska’s governor, as well as the state’s two U.S. senators. A successful push to unseat nine Republican state lawmakers who opposed their plan to build a massive gold and copper mine — the biggest in North America — near Bristol Bay in Alaska.

Those were some of the boasts made by two top executives of a company trying to build the Pebble Mine in videotapes secretly recorded by an environmental group and made public Monday. It was a rare glimpse into the private discussions surrounding the company’s heated campaign to win federal permits for the project, which environmentalists say will destroy a pristine part of Alaska and decimate its world-famous sockeye salmon fishery.

The conversations were secretly recorded over the past month and a half by the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency. Posing as potential investors in the mine, EIA investigators conducted Zoom calls in which the mine’s sponsors detailed how they sought to curry favor with elected politicians from Juneau to Washington, D.C. Continue reading.

Republican National Committee obscured how much it pays its chief of staff

AlterNet logoRichard Walters began his career at the lowest rungs of the Republican National Committee when he was 23. Now, at 30, he’s the RNC chief of staff, earning far more than any other official there, including his boss, the chairwoman, and the top officials at the Democratic National Committee.

The rich compensation might have raised eyebrows — but for the fact that the RNC obscured it. Last year, Walters earned a salary of $207,558, but the party paid him an additional $135,000 through a shell company he established in December 2018 called Red Wave Strategies.

Federal Election Commission reports described the RNC’s payments to Red Wave as “political strategy services,” as if the money had flowed to an independent contractor and not Walters himself. Red Wave does not have other employees and has no clients other than the RNC.  Continue reading.

Chris Collins Suspends Campaign Just Days After Criminal Indictment

The following article by Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman was posted on the Roll Call website August 11, 2018:

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., has suspended his re-election campaign after his arrest and indictment earlier this week on charges related to securities fraud. Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call file photo)

New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who was arrested and indicted on charges related to securities fraud earlier this week, has suspended his re-election campaign.

“Democrats are laser focused on taking back the House, electing Nancy Pelosi Speaker and then launching impeachment proceedings against President Trump,” Collins said in a statement Saturday. “They would like nothing more than to elect an ‘Impeach Trump’ Democrat in this District, which is something that neither our country or my party can afford.”

“After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda for me to suspend my campaign for re-election to Congress,” the three-term congressman added.

View the complete article here.

Poll: Corruption message gaining traction against GOP

The following article by Natasha Korecki was posted on the Politico.com website July 17, 2018:

Last week, Vice President Pence pointed to a humming economy and the Republican tax plan as marquee selling points as he toured a series of competitive Midwestern House districts to boost candidates. Credit: Manuel Balce, Ceneta, AP Photo

The Trump administration’s scandals threaten to take a toll on Republicans in battleground districts this fall, according to new polling suggesting “culture of corruption” messaging is gaining traction.

Fifty-four percent of voters across 48 Republican-held congressional districts said Republicans are “more corrupt” than Democrats, compared with 46 percent who said Democrats are “more corrupt.”

According to the online survey of 1,200 registered voters, conducted for the progressive Center for American Progress Action Fund from July 2-5, an even higher number of independents hold Republicans responsible for corruption: 60 percent.

View the complete post on the Politico.com website here.