Tag: Trump administration corruption
FBI investigating Postmaster General DeJoy over campaign fundraising activity
The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over campaign fundraising activity involving his former business, a spokesman for DeJoy confirmed to the Washington Post.
Why it matters: DeJoy, a major donor to former President Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, has seen his tenure plagued by controversy since his appointment in May 2020.
The state of play: Prosecutors have subpoenaed DeJoy for information regarding political contributions and his company’s activities, the Post reports. Continue reading.
Commerce Department security unit evolved into counterintelligence-like operation, Washington Post examination found
An obscure security unit tasked with protecting the Commerce Department’s officials and facilities has evolved into something more akin to a counterintelligence operation that collected information on hundreds of people inside and outside the department, a Washington Post examination found.
The Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS) covertly searched employees’ offices at night, ran broad keyword searches of their emails trying to surface signs of foreign influence and scoured Americans’ social media for critical comments about the census, according to documents and interviews with five former investigators.
In one instance, the unit opened a case on a 68-year-old retiree in Florida who tweeted that the census, which is run by the Commerce Department, would be manipulated “to benefit the Trump Party!” records show. Continue reading.
Betsy DeVos must testify in student loan forgiveness lawsuit, judge rules
The class action was brought by 160,000 student loan borrowers over the administration’s handling of their loan forgiveness claims.
WASHINGTON — Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos must testify in a class-action lawsuit about her handling of student loan forgiveness claims, which involved delays in the administration’s decision-making and ultimate denial of a significant number of the applications, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
In a 12-page ruling, Judge William Alsup denied a motion to quash a subpoena for the Cabinet secretary’s deposition, writing that “exceptional circumstances” warrant her to sit for one.
The ruling, first reported by Politico, says those circumstances “warrant the deposition of Secretary DeVos for three hours, excluding breaks,” though he acknowledged that it’s “rare” for courts to authorize depositions of Cabinet secretaries. Continue reading.
Documents show Trump officials skirted rules to reward politically connected firms with huge pandemic contracts
A top adviser to former President Donald Trump pressured agency officials to reward politically connected or otherwise untested companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts as part of a chaotic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the early findings of an inquiry led by House Democrats.
Peter Navarro, who served as Trump’s deputy assistant and trade adviser, essentially verbally awarded a $96 million deal for respirators to a company with White House connections. Later, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were pressured to sign the contract after the fact, according to correspondence obtained by congressional investigators.
Documents obtained by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis after a year of resistance from the Trump administration offer new details about Navarro’s role in a largely secretive buying spree of personal protective equipment and medical supplies. Continue reading.
Federal investigators search Giuliani apartment
Federal prosecutors executed a search warrant Wednesday at the apartment of Rudy Giuliani, advancing an investigation into former President Trump’s personal lawyer and his dealings with Ukraine.
Authorities seized Giuliani’s electronic devices during early morning searches at both his home and law office, a significant development in the long-running investigation into whether the former New York mayor illegally lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of Ukrainian oligarchs.
Those same officials were aiding Giuliani in his search for dirt on Trump’s political rivals, including then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Continue reading.
Trump administration sidelined experts in writing car pollution rules, EPA watchdog finds
Inspector general’s report may give Biden more reason to tighten fuel-economy standards in fight against global warming
The Trump administration sidelined career staffers at the Environmental Protection Agency when weakening pollution rules for new passenger vehicles, according to a federal watchdog report.
The EPA’s inspector general found top political leaders at the agency failed to properly document and consider the concerns of staff experts while unwinding standards for tailpipe emissions set under President Barack Obama.
The report, released Tuesday, may provide fresh fodder for the Biden administration to tighten mileage and greenhouse gas standards for new automobiles as part of a broader effort to phase out internal-combustion engines and drastically cut the nation’s climate-warming emissions. Continue reading.
REVEALED: Former Trump official hid cancer risk info from Illinois community
A report cited by The Intercept that was released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general shows that Trump administration officials withheld information about carcinogenic pollution from Illinois communities.
“Bill Wehrum, who served as assistant administrator of the office of Air and Radiation until 2019, kept information from residents of Willowbrook, Illinois, about results of air monitoring that showed they had an elevated risk of cancer due to ethylene oxide from a local sterilizing plant, according to the report, ‘EPA Delayed Risk Communication and Issued Instructions Hindering Region 5’s Ability to Address Ethylene Oxide Emissions,’ which was produced in response to a request from Congress,” The Intercept’s Sharon Lerner reports.
Measurements of ethylene oxide around the since-closed plant were conducted in 2018 and showed an elevated risk of cancer due to the gas. In June, the regional administrator responsible for the area was shown the elevated cancer risk and was preparing to release the information to the public. Continue reading.
Former Trump official fined and temporarily banned from holding office over Hatch Act violations
On Tuesday, Forbes’ Andrew Solender reported that Lynne Patton, a former official in ex-President Donald Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been sanctioned for violating the Hatch Act — the rule that prohibits most executive officials from campaign activity.
Her penalty includes a fine of $1,000 and a ban on holding federal employment for four years.
The punishment stems from her using her official office to create a video for the 2020 Republican National Convention, working to help the Trump campaign using federal resources. Continue reading.
How Elaine Chao used her Trump cabinet post to help her family make millions
In January 2017, upon her confirmation as secretary of the Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao committed to separating herself from her family’s shipping interests. Looking back on the last four years, it’s clear she didn’t.
In an administration awash with emoluments and ethics concerns, it has mostly flown under the radar just how much Chao, who is married to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, stood to gain financially from her position as secretary of transportation and how government watchdogs failed to challenge her repeated wrongdoings.
The Chao family business is deeply entangled with Beijing. The Chao family dry bulk ship company has borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from Chinese banks, all of which are partly or fully owned by the communist regime. Continue reading.