Tag: Wilbur Ross

Federal judge rules against Trump administration’s plan to add 2020 census citizenship question

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was unlawful.

In his ruling, Judge Jesse Furman, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add the question to the census was “arbitrary and capricious” and enjoined the administration from including it on the questionnaire.

Furman, an Obama appointee, said Ross violated a statute that requires him to collect data through the acquisition and use of “administrative records” instead of through “direct inquiries” on a survey such as the census.

View the complete January 15 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

Federal judge rules against Trump administration’s plan to add 2020 census citizenship question

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was unlawful.

In his ruling, Judge Jesse Furman, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add the question to the census was “arbitrary and capricious” and enjoined the administration from including it on the questionnaire.

Furman, an Obama appointee, said Ross violated a statute that requires him to collect data through the acquisition and use of “administrative records” instead of through “direct inquiries” on a survey such as the census.

View the complete January 15 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

Wilbur Ross Scheduled Meetings With Chevron, Boeing Despite Conflicts Of Interest

New evidence suggests that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross put himself at risk of violating a criminal conflict-of-interest law by discussing business matters with Chevron executives — while his wife apparently owned a stake in the company worth more than $250,000.

On March 22, 2017, Ross hosted Chevron’s then-CEO John Watson, along with two other executives, in his conference room, according to the commerce secretary’s calendar. Forbes first reported the existence of the meeting in July, but both the Department of Commerce and Chevron refused to say what was discussed during the sit-down. After a legal battle that lasted more than six months, however, the government watchdog group American Oversight released a detailed version of Ross’ calendar last week, which shows that the agenda centered on oil and gas developments, tax reform and trade issues.

“It’s profoundly concerning,” said Norman Eisen, who served as Barack Obama’s ethics czar. “I can tell you if someone with this Chevron holding had come to me and asked to have a meeting, as described in that email, I would have said ‘Absolutely not—are you crazy?’”

View the complete October 25 article by Dan Alexander on the Forbes.com website here.

Commerce secretary faces scrutiny for investments, not selling certain holdings

The following article by Steven Mufson was posed on the Washington Post website August 17, 2018:

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP)

As commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross has met with auto executives who are customers of the company he founded and still had a financial interest in.

He has met with the chief executive of a rail car manufacturer whose board he once sat on and whose shares he still owned.

And according to a Forbes magazine article, even though he owned a $10 million to $50 million stake in the financial firm Invesco, where he had worked, he met with a board member of the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund that had given Ross’s former firm money to manage.

View the complete article here.

Bombshell Complaint Says Top Trump Appointee May Have Committed Serious Crimes While Trying to Enrich Himself in Office

The following article by Matthew Chapman was posted on the AlterNet website August 13, 2018:

He’s far from the first administration official to be accused of wrongdoing.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Credit: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg News

On Monday, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Commerce Department’s Office of the Inspector General, alleging serious misconduct and potential criminal violations by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

The complaint, according to the overview, calls for “an investigation into whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the criminal laws on conflicts of interest and false statements.”

Specifically, CLC alleges that Ross, a billionaire investor, holds assets in multiple companies that are directly impacted by decisions of the Trump administration, in potential criminal violation of federal conflict of interest laws, including Air Lease, Sun Bancorp, and a “major” holding in Chinese steel. Altogether, the document cites 46 different assets Ross has not accounted for despite pledging to divest.

View the complete article here.

New Details About Wilbur Ross’ Business Point To Pattern Of Grifting

The following article by Dan Alexander was posted on the Forbes.com website August 7, 2018:

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Credit: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg News

A multimillion-dollar lawsuit has been quietly making its way through the New York State court system over the last three years, pitting a private equity manager named David Storper against his former boss: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The pair worked side by side for more than a decade, eventually at the firm, WL Ross & Co.—where, Storper later alleged, Ross stole his interests in a private equity fund, transferred them to himself, then tried to cover it up with bogus paperwork. Two weeks ago, just before the start of a trial with $4 million on the line, Ross and Storper agreed to a confidential settlement, whose existence has never been reported and whose terms remain secret.

It is difficult to imagine the possibility that a man like Ross, who Forbes estimates is worth some $700 million, might steal a few million from one of his business partners. Unless you have heard enough stories about Ross. Two former WL Ross colleagues remember the commerce secretary taking handfuls of Sweet’N Low packets from a nearby restaurant, so he didn’t have to go out and buy some for himself. One says workers at his house in the Hamptons used to call the office, claiming Ross had not paid them for their work. Another two people said Ross once pledged $1 million to a charity, then never paid. A commerce official called the tales “petty nonsense,” and added that Ross does not put sweetener in his coffee.   Continue reading “New Details About Wilbur Ross’ Business Point To Pattern Of Grifting”

Wilbur Ross’s false claim to Congress that the census citizenship question was DOJ’s idea

The following article by Salvador Rizzo was posted on the Washington Post website July 30, 2018:

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Congress a question on immigration status was added to the 2020 census at the request of the Department of Justice. (U.S. House Ways and Means Committee)

“I am mystified why nothing have [sic] been done in response to my months old request that we include the citizenship question. Why not?”
— Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, in an email about adding a citizenship question to the census, May 2, 2017

“Department of Justice, as you know, initiated the request for inclusion of the citizenship question. … Because it is from the Department of Justice, we are taking it very seriously, and we will issue a fulsome documentation of whatever conclusion we finally come to.”
— Ross, testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, March 22, 2018

Who came up with adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census?

View the complete article here.

Commerce secretary suggested citizenship question to Justice Dept., according to memo, contradicting his congressional testimony

The following article by Tara Bahrampour was posted on the Wasington Post website June 22, 2018:

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News

In a new twist in the battle over adding a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 Census, Secretary Wilbur Ross filed an unexpected memo Thursday revealing that he was already considering adding the question when he began his job in February 2017, after hearing from other senior administration officials on the subject.

The statement contradicts his earlier testimony to Congress saying he explored adding the question in response to a December 2017 request by the Department of Justice. Continue reading “Commerce secretary suggested citizenship question to Justice Dept., according to memo, contradicting his congressional testimony”

The Trump administration’s bad defense of a trade war: At least people won’t actually die!

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website April 4, 2018:

When it comes to selling your policies, it’s best to set expectations low and hope people give you credit for exceeding them. That seems to be Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s role in selling President Trump’s apparent trade war with China.

But his expectation-lowering isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring. Continue reading “The Trump administration’s bad defense of a trade war: At least people won’t actually die!”

Ross: 2020 Census Will Ask About Citizenship Status

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website March 26, 2018:

Commerce Department made announcement late Monday, despite outcry from Democrats

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has determined the 2020 Census should include a citizenship question. Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo

The Commerce Department has agreed to a request from the Justice Department to include a citizenship status question on the 2020 Census.

Commerce made the announcement late Monday, saying that the question would line up with the language used the American Community Survey.

“Citizenship questions have also been included on prior decennial censuses. Between 1820 and 1950, almost every decennial census asked a question on citizenship in some form,” the Commerce Department said in its announcement. Continue reading “Ross: 2020 Census Will Ask About Citizenship Status”