Tag Archives: Treasury Department

Law & Crime reports: The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) published an opinion on Friday in support of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin‘s refusal to hand President Donald Trump‘s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee led by Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.). The opinion, penned by OLC’s Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, said that …

The Washington Post reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday told House Democrats he would not furnish President Trump’s tax returns despite their legal request, the latest move by Trump administration officials to shield the president from congressional investigations. Mnuchin, in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), said he had consulted with the Justice …

The Hill reports: New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department and IRS, arguing that the agencies have failed to respond to information requests about its guidance reducing donor disclosure requirements for certain tax-exempt groups. “My office depends on these critical donor disclosure forms to be able to adequately oversee non-proofit organizations in …

Splinter News reports: The Trump administration-Fox News ouroboros rolls on unimpeded this week, with a report that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin plans to hire former Fox personality Monica Crowley as his new spokeswoman. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Mnuchin is preparing to hire Crowley as a replacement for outgoing spokesman Tony Sayegh, who had …

Axios reports: The Treasury Department said on Wednesday evening that it would not immediately comply with a congressional request to hand over President Trump’s tax returns, setting up a protracted legal battle between two branches of government. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in a letter to Representative Richard E. Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means …

The Washington Examiner reports: The national debt rose more than $1.2 trillion in the fiscal year that just concluded on Sept. 30, according to a government website that tracks the debt. The total national debt was $20.245 trillion on the last business day of fiscal year 2017. On the last business day of fiscal year 2018, which was Friday, Sept. …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is considering bypassing Congress to grant a $100 billion tax cut mainly to the wealthy, a legally tenuous maneuver that would cut capital gains taxation and fulfill a long-held ambition of many investors and conservatives. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Group of 20 …

ABC News reports: The Trump administration on Monday slapped sanctions on several Russian companies and businessmen for engaging in cyberattacks and assisting Russia’s military and intelligence services with other malicious activities. The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on five Russian firms and three of their executives under legislation passed last year and an executive order aimed at punishing …

The Hill reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spent nearly $1 million on seven military aircraft trips between the spring and fall of 2017, according to documents gathered by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW sued for records following a highly publicized trip Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton took to Fort Knox, Ky., in August. The trip, …

CNBC reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday he spends little time thinking about dollar weakness over the short term, walking back his comments that sent the U.S. currency reeling amid fears of a trade war. Speaking during a CNBC-moderated panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mnuchin said dollar weakness in the short term was “not a concern …

KTLA reports: Someone sent a package wrapped in holiday gift paper and filled with horse manure that was addressed to United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and placed on a street in Bel-Air, the Los Angeles Police Department said Saturday evening. The package was reported to police after it was discovered in the 900 block of Bel-Air Road, LAPD officials …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin took military aircraft on at least seven occasions without adequate justification, his department’s inspector general said in a report. The inspector general said that Mnuchin’s use of the planes was not illegal but that he had failed to meet rules that require that military flights be used only if the …

CNBC reports: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin put Harriet Tubman’s role on the $20 bill in question. Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday: “Ultimately we will be looking at this issue. It’s not something I’m focused on at the moment.” Instead, he said he’s concentrating on making sure any tweaks to U.S. currency bills thwart counterfeiters. “The No. 1 issue why we …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday said it was fining global oil company ExxonMobil Corp $2 million for violating sanctions on Russia in May 2014. The heads of the company’s U.S. subsidiaries signed eight documents between May 14 and May 23, 2014 with Igor Sechin, the head of Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets …

New England News reports: In announcing the appointment of Joseph Otting to a key treasury job on Monday, the White House Press Office trumpeted his credentials, noting that he was a graduate of the School of Credit and Financial Management at Dartmouth College. But in fact, Dartmouth does not have such a school. “Joseph Otting is not a Dartmouth graduate,” …

Bloomberg reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed the administration will propose a corporate tax rate reduction to 15 percent and said lawmakers broadly agree on the need for a tax overhaul, citing a “very successful meeting” on Tuesday evening in Washington. The administration wants to implement the biggest tax cuts and reform in U.S. history as part of a drive …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin used his first senior staff meeting to tell his new aides he would not tolerate leaks to the news media, sources familiar with the matter said. Current and former officials said that in a departure from past practice, access to a classified computer system at the White House has been tightened …

McClatchy reports: The Senate confirmed Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary in a vote Monday evening, adding the former Goldman Sachs executive to President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. The 53-47 vote, which fell largely along party lines, makes Mnuchin the 10th of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to be confirmed in three weeks. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) was the only Democrat to support …

Politico reports: The Trump administration on Thursday relaxed the sanctions that the Obama administration placed on a Russian spy agency in retaliation for its alleged cyberattacks. The “general license” issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control appears to authorize U.S. companies to continue requesting licenses from Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, to sell American technology products …

The Guardian reports on what to expect: Mnuchin made much of his fortune by capitalising on the housing crisis. In 2008 Mnuchin and his partners took over IndyMac, a Californian bank that had been felled by its risky lending practices in the financial crisis and taken over by the government. Mnuchin told the Wall Street Journal last year he was …