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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

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House Tax Committee Will Not Seek Trump Tax Returns

By Reuters
Judge Denies Tribes' Request To Block Final Link In Dakota Pipeline

By Timothy Gardner
Puzder Owes Millions To Bank Seeking Labor Department Waiver

By David Sirota
It's Time To Grab The GOP By Tom Price's Seat

By @LOLGOP
Does Trump Know Where Jobs Really Come From?

By Leah McGrath Goodman

Money

House Tax Committee Will Not Seek Trump Tax Returns
A congressional tax oversight committee will not seek U.S. President Donald Trump's tax returns, despite calls from Democrats for a review to determine possible business ties to foreign countries including Russia, the panel's Republican chairman said on Monday.
By Reuters
Judge Denies Tribes' Request To Block Final Link In Dakota Pipeline
Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., rejected the request from the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, who argued that the project would prevent them from practicing religious ceremonies at a lake they contend is surrounded by sacred ground.
By Timothy Gardner
Puzder Owes Millions To Bank Seeking Labor Department Waiver
Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Labor personally owes millions of dollars to a convicted bank that is relying on the same department to waive sanctions for its crimes. The ties between embattled appointee Andrew Puzder and the multinational bank UBS were listed in federal documents, but they were not explicitly acknowledged in Puzder’s ethics agreement with federal regulators.
By David Sirota
Elizabeth Warren Won't Let Trump Gut The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"What Donald Trump wants to do is fire one of the most important financial cops and then say to the American people, you keep walking down this dark alley and, you know, what happens is what happens," Warren said in a recent interview. The financial cop in question is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray.
By Alexandra Rosenmann
Why Deutsche Bank Remains Trump’s Biggest Conflict Of Interest
If you measure President Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest by the amount of money at stake, or the variety of dicey interactions with government regulators, one dwarfs any other: his relationship with Deutsche Bank. The bank hoped to eliminate the president’s personal guarantee on loans. But such a move would not eliminate the conflict of interest, since the president’s company, which Trump still owns, would remain on the hook to pay back the loans.
By Jesse Eisinger
Construction Resumes On Dakota Pipeline Despite Tribe's Challenge
To obtain the temporary restraining order, the tribe must convince the judge there will be immediate harm suffered and prove it has a strong overall case should its lawsuit to halt the project result in a full trial. "This administration (Trump's) has expressed utter and complete disregard for not only our treaty and water rights, but the environment as a whole," the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said in a statement on its website.
By Terray Sylvester and Liz Hampton
Next Posts

Exclusive: Border 'Wall' To Cost $21.6 Billion, Take 3.5 Years To Build
The report’s estimated price-tag is much higher than a $12-billion figure cited by Trump in his campaign and estimates as high as $15 billion from Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The report is expected to be presented to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in the coming days.
By Julia Edwards Ainsley
Did Kellyanne Conway Break The Law By Plugging Ivanka's Brand?
"Go buy Ivanka's stuff ...I'm going to go get some myself today," Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News in an interview from the White House. "I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody." Norman Eisen, who served as an ethics adviser to Obama, said Conway's comments amounted to an advertisement and violated government ethics law.
By Reuters
Trump Blasts Nordstrom, Raising New Concern On Business Ties
In response to the Twitter comment Trump posted criticizing Nordstrom, White House spokesman Sean Spicer characterized the company's action as a "direct attack" on the president's policies. Nordstrom said it routinely cuts brands each year and that the decision to pass on the Ivanka Trump brand had been based on its performance.
By Will Dunham
Senate Panel Finally Receives Ethics Filings For Labor Nominee Puzder
Tentative plans for Puzder's hearing have been repeatedly postponed amid delays with a review by the Office of Government Ethics. Those stem from the complexities surrounding how Puzder will divest himself from CKE Restaurants, which is owned by private equity firm Roark Capital Group.
By Sarah N. Lynch
Who Will Pay For Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Wall?
Independent estimates from MIT researchers of initial construction costs run from US$25 billion to $40 billion – a far cry from the $15 billion claimed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell – plus $500 million to $750 million per year to keep the barrier repaired. One way or another, it is U.S. taxpayers who will pay for Trump’s border wall – not the Mexicans.
By Wayne Cornelius
Democrats Insist New Details Warrant SEC Probe Into Tom Price's Stock Trades
Price testified before the Senate health committee that he had purchased the stock at the same price that was available to all other investors. But the Senate Democrats noted that new reports indicate Price had purchased discounted shares in two separate private placements offered to fewer than 20 U.S. investors.
By Lesley Clark
While We Are Distracted By Tweets, Trump Is Building A Corporate State
The destructive toll of Donald Trump’s presidency is beginning to emerge, foreshadowing what’s likely to come as the White House and congressional Republicans begin to reverse, repeal, and replace federal laws and regulations. While Trump’s red-state supporters may be cheering now, they’ll soon feel the consequences.
By Steven Rosenfeld
Trump's Labor Secretary Pick Admits To Employing Illegal Immigrant
U.S. President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Labor Department has admitted to employing an undocumented immigrant as a house cleaner, according to multiple media reports on a revelation that has derailed previous Cabinet nominees.
By Reuters
Rick Scott Figures Some Dictators Aren't So Bad -- If They've Got Money
Governor Rick Scott recently warned Florida's seaports that they could lose critical state funding if they make any shipping deals with Cuba. He later told reporters: "I don't believe any port in our state, none of them, should be doing business with a brutal dictator." These would be stirring words if they didn't reek with hypocrisy.
By Carl Hiaasen
Trump Slump: Wall Street Opens Lower Amid Political Uncertainty
U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday as investors sought fresh catalysts after a strong jobs report last week, while uncertainty over President Donald Trump's policies continued to weigh. Investors are wary about Trump's focus on isolationist policies including travel restrictions to the United States.
By Tanya Agrawal
It's Time To Take America's Billionaire Class Head On
Private splendor and public squalor has never been more evident. While the recent election gave federal power to those who would widen the gap, state and local governments, the governments closest to the people, are where increasing needs, the perilous state of public services, and the growing disparity between the super-wealthy and the rest of us may offer fertile ground for progressive strategies that largely benefit those who voted for Trump.
By David Morris
Billionaire Betsy DeVos Can't Buy Her Way Into The Education Department
The defection of two Republican senators has imperiled President Trump’s nomination of Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos to serve as Secretary of Education. DeVos has contributed $5,000 to Susan Collins’ campaigns, but Lisa Murkowski’s no-vote was perhaps an even bigger surprise. DeVos’ family businesses have contributed $33,400 to Murkowski's political campaigns since 1989, according to OpenSecrets.
By Jefferson Morley
What Does 'America First' Mean For American Economic Interests?
The overwhelming majority of economists agree that prosperity requires countries to specialize in what they are good at producing, rather than trying to make and consume everything domestically. And the only way that specialization can work is if countries trade with one another and also allow a degree of capital and even labor mobility.
By Charles Hankla
Budget Chief Nominee Has A Serious 'Nannygate' Problem
Rep. Mulvaney surely knew better. As a state lawmaker and in Congress, he has supported measures that would bar governments from hiring applicants with outstanding tax debts or penalties. It's hard to imagine he really believed the person he paid to take care of his children didn't have a real job (or a real employer).
By Chicago Tribune
Delayed Again: Senate Postpones Hearing For Labor Nominee Puzder
The U.S. Senate panel tasked with vetting Andrew Puzder to head the Labor Department has postponed its tentative plans to hold his confirmation hearing yet again, a move that some political strategists say could signal trouble for the fast-food executive.
By Sarah N. Lynch
Labor Nominee Puzder Stakes Future On Discredited Trickle Down Economics
Even though President Trump appears to reject some standard Republican orthodoxy, such as on trade, Trump’s decision to nominate Puzder to lead the labor department indicates that the Trump administration will put forth more of the same trickle-down nonsense. We know all too well the damage trickle-down causes.
By David Madland
Democrats Boycott, Delay Committee Vote On Mnuchin And Price
Senate Democrats said they were postponing the vote because they wanted more information on Price's stock trades in an Australian medical company and needed more details on reports that Mnuchin's former bank, OneWest, used automated "robo-signings" of foreclosure documents, which contradicted statements the nominees had made to senators.
By Susan Cornwell and David Lawder
Danziger: Sheikh Your Booty
In the palaces and coffeehouses of Riyadh, Saudi princes wonder how they escaped the list of banned Muslim countries on Trump's executive order, despite their country's connection to 9/11. To Danziger, it is no mystery.
By Jeff Danziger
The Saudi Hypocrisy Behind Trump's Muslim Ban
The list of Wall Street banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds with extensive fundraising operations in Saudi Arabia reads like a "Who’s Who" of American business, including major firms from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to Blackstone and BlackRock. All these corporations are unwittingly helping to fund Saudi Arabia’s expansion of extremism. Not surprisingly, Trump is continuing this awful partnership with the Saudis. But this time, it’s for an even more self-centered reason—they help keep him rich.
By Amed Khan
Republicans Take First Steps To Kill Five Obama-Era Regulations
Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress can use simple majority votes to stop recent regulations in their tracks. Timing in the law means any rules enacted after May 31 are eligible for axing. The law has been used effectively only once, ending a rule on ergonomics in 2001. Both sides consider this week a test of its powers.
By Lisa Lambert
Mar-a-Lago: Such A Sweet Deal At Twice The Price
Mr. Trump envisions Mar-a-Lago as a resort for all the people, including those Rust Belt voters who got him elected. And while we'd love to offer them a patriotic discount to join our club, it really wouldn't be fair to all our millionaire members who shell out the big bucks. So, for one and all, the post-election price is $200,000.
By Carl Hiaasen
Even The Koch Brothers Are Lobbying Against The Republican Border Tax Plan
Besides defying Republican leaders on the border tax, the Koch-led organization on Sunday challenged Trump on a policy he implemented on Friday to stop the movement of people from countries with large Muslim populations from traveling to the United States.
By Richard Cowan
Trump's Billionaire Cabinet Keep Omitting Millions From Ethics Forms
President Trump's cabinet is worth a combined $14 billion, and they are catching flack in recent weeks for confessing an inability to keep track of their vast sums of wealth. Private bankers who work with the ultra rich say that if they had a dollar for every time a client forgot about a million, they would be, well, almost as rich as their clients.
By Elizabeth Dilts
9 Terrible Things Trump Has Done In His First Week As President
While the media spent the last week spilling digital ink over inauguration numbers, the new administration was diminishing women’s health and safety around the world, chipping away at health care for millions of Americans, and pouring money that could feed and insure children into a useless garbage heap along the border.
By Kali Holloway
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