Tag Archives: corruption

Law Newz reports: Earlier today, Donald Trump held a press conference, where his attorney, Sheri Dillon, spoke regarding Trump’s business interests. As LawNewz.com noted, Dillon is a partner at the law firm Morgan Lewis & Bokius. Using the services of the firm makes sense for Trump, as Morgan Lewis is a world-renowned organization. In fact, just last year, Chambers and …

Raw Story reports: An Arkansas Republican lawmaker has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that he personally profited from an elaborate bribery and kickback scheme involving a northwest Arkansas evangelical Christian college. Hemant Mehta at The Friendly Atheist pointed to the rapidly mushrooming scandal which the Arkansas Times said could land state Rep. Michah Neal behind bars for up …

Politico reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday rebuffed Democratic calls to slow down rapid confirmation of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, even after a nonpartisan federal watchdog raised “great” concerns about moving ahead with hearings for nominees without their ethics reviews completed. Walter Shaub, the director of the independent Office of Government Ethics, laid out his warning in a …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Arnon “Noni” Mozes, publisher of Israel’s Yedioth Ahronot newspaper, is reportedly at the center of the corruption investigation against Prime Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a Channel 2 report on Sunday, Mozes sought to receive financial benefits for Yedioth Ahronoth and possibly the closure of Israel Hayom‘s weekend edition newspaper in exchange for favorable coverage. Israel Hayom …

It looks like Pam Bondi is getting her reward for refusing to investigate Trump University three days after Hair Furor gifted her campaign with $25,000. The Tampa Bay Times reports: Immediately after Donald Trump was elected president, one Florida name was floated above the rest for a job in his administration: Attorney General Pam Bondi. About two weeks out from …

The New York Daily News reports: President-elect Donald Trump rang in the new year together with Joseph “Joey No Socks” Cinque — a convicted felon with ties to notorious Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, a recently released video has revealed. Cinque can be seen in a video obtained by the Palm Beach Daily News, cheering loudly as a tuxedo-clad …

So much for Kellyanne Conway’s “mandate.” CNN reports: House Republican leaders have pulled a proposal that would gut its independent ethics panel, amid widespread criticism of the plan, multiple lawmakers tell CNN. The decision comes less than two hours after President-elect Donald Trump criticized the timing of the vote, which was scheduled for the first day of the new congressional …

Politico reports: The move by Republicans in Congress to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics will cut down on “overzealousness,” incoming counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday morning, while leaving in place a “mechanism” with which to address ethical complaints. Although Conway stopped short of saying the GOP move came with the blessing of the president-elect, she …

But only the timing of the vote. CNN reports: Donald Trump called out House Republicans Tuesday for proposing a measure that would gut an independent ethics panel, although the President-elect suggested the ethics panel was “unfair.” “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as …

The Hill reports: Amid blowback from Democrats, Rep. Marsha Blackburn on Tuesday defended a GOP-backed amendment that would weaken the House’s outside ethics watchdog. Blackburn said the amendment would provide more transparency in investigations. “What it will do is provide more transparency. Anytime you can provide more accountability and more transparency to any process that is in place, then you’re …

The Associated Press reports: House Republicans have voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full …

The Times Of Israel reports: Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit reportedly approved a full criminal investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into allegations of bribery and fraud. Netanyahu will be investigated by police for two separate cases and will be called in for police questioning in the coming days, Channel 10 reported on Wednesday. The Justice Ministry — under whose auspices …

The Times Of Israel reports: A months-long inquiry into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s affairs took a new twist on Monday, with police reportedly convinced that they will be able to open a full-blown criminal investigation against him in the next few days. Police recently received new documents as part of a secret inquiry that began almost nine months ago, Channel …

The Hill reports: Top Donald Trump aide Kellyanne Conway on Thursday morning had a heated exchange with CNN’s Chris Cuomo over the president-elect’s sons’ ties to charity organizations. In a contentious interview on CNN’s “New Day,” Cuomo accused Conway of making the same defense that Hillary Clinton made about her ties to the Clinton Foundation, which Conway emphatically denied. Conway …

Politico reports: Kuwait’s ambassador to the United States is denying a report that he was pressured by associates of Donald Trump to host a major celebration at the president-elect’s hotel in Washington instead of its usual venue, the Four Seasons. Salem Al-Sabah said he decided to schedule Kuwait’s National Day event on Feb. 25 at the Trump hotel because he’d …

Think Progress reports: The Embassy of Kuwait allegedly cancelled a contract with a Washington, D.C. hotel days after the presidential election, citing political pressure to hold its National Day celebration at the Trump International Hotel instead. A source tells ThinkProgress that the Kuwaiti embassy, which has regularly held the event at the Four Seasons in Georgetown, abruptly canceled its reservation …

Former GOP House Majority Leader and reality show contestant Tom DeLay was interviewed by loony tunes fake news outlet World Net Daily and had some typically reasonable things to say. Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: “Now that Trump is elected, I’m very excited about it because I see now what God is doing,” DeLay said. “First of all, …

The Associated Press reports: Former Illinois U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, once a rising star in the Republican Party, is being arraigned Monday on federal corruption charges alleging he used his position to spend lavishly on travel, World Series tickets and other luxuries. The 35-year-old Republican is accused of using government and campaign money to subsidize an extravagant lifestyle, as well …

Raw Story reports: Donald Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” of Washington corruption are becoming more of a punchline for his detractors as more information about his conflicts of interest piles up. Appearing on CNN Tuesday, Democratic strategist and former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin ripped Trump for his multiple shady dealings in the two weeks since he’s been …

Bloomberg reports: Three of President-elect Donald Trump’s children will run his Trump Organization during his time in office, the company said Friday. “We are in the process of vetting various structures with the goal of the immediate transfer of management of The Trump Organization and its portfolio of businesses to Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump along with a team …