Former state senator Frank Artiles arrested for campaign finance fraud
FL Republican Arrested For Paying Straw Candidate $50K In Campaign Fraud
Trump Adviser Arrested On ‘Build The Wall’ Money Laundering Charges
L-R Brian Kolfage, Stephen Bannon (via social media)
Stephen Bannon, a former top aide to President Donald Trump, and Brian Kolfage, the leader of the crowdfunded “We Build The Wall” effort, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Kolfage, the criminal complaint said, “covertly took more than $350,000 in funds that has been donated to “We Build The Wall” for his personal use.”
Kolfage allegedly spent his money on “home renovations, payments toward a boat, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments, and credit card debt.”
Bannon and the other two spent on “travel, hotels, consumer goods, and personal credit card debts.” The four men found out they would potentially be subjected to a criminal investigation in October 2019, at which point they allegedly “took additional steps to conceal the fraudulent scheme.”
The New York Times reports prosecutors say that after siphoning money from the project, Mr. Bannon plowed nearly $1 million into paying off his personal expenses. Of course, asked about the arrests and indictments, Trump now knows practically nothing about the project and in his recollection, Bannon was barely a part of his team. When asked about other Trump allies like Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and others who’ve been indicted on serious charges, Trump pivots, “Well, there was great lawlessness in the Obama administration.”
Here’s Trump describing Steve Bannon as something akin to a coffee boy pic.twitter.com/DaRChb8pv0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2020
REPORTER: Sir, it’s not just Steve Bannon. It’s Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort. What’s that say about your judgement and the culture of lawlessness around you? TRUMP: Well, there was great lawlessness in the Obama administration. pic.twitter.com/sjRExKljrz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2020
Donald Trump Jr. praised We Build The Wall and Brian Kolfage at a 2018 event: “This is private enterprise at its finest. Doing it better, faster, cheaper than anything else. What you guys are doing is amazing.” pic.twitter.com/hOL25JoZPI
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) August 20, 2020
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu Indicted On Charges Of Bribery & Fraud
Benjamin Netanyahu (image via Flickr)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust on Thursday, making him the first Israeli premier to be indicted while in office and sending Israel’s already stalemated political system into further disarray.
Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit capped almost three years of investigation and months of speculation by handing down a 63-page indictment against the country’s longest-serving prime minister and its center of political gravity for the last decade.
The cases against Netanyahu center on police allegations that the prime minister and his wife, Sara, accepted more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods in exchange for political favors and that Netanyahu interceded with regulators and lawmakers on behalf of two media companies in exchange for positive news stories.
Netanyahu has consistently denied all of the allegations calling the accusations and investigation a ‘witch hunt.’ Now, where have we heard that term before? Hmm… (image via Flickr/CC license)
CNN Speaks To GOP Voters But Doesn’t Reveal They Are All Organized Trump Activists
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| (screen capture via CNN) |
This is bad.
CNN interviewed a group of women presented as ‘Republican’ voters who happen to support Donald Trump, when they are actually part of an organized group that promotes the Donald.
From The Washington Post:
The seemingly random group of eight women were, in fact, members of an organized group dedicated to promoting Trump. The group calls itself the Trumpettes of America 2019 Palm Beach Team, although CNN and correspondent Randi Kaye didn’t mention anything about such a group. Nor did the anchors, including Anderson Cooper, who introduced Kaye’s report.
The network simply identified the panelists individually, with their names appearing onscreen next to the word “Republican.” Kaye gave no hint that the women knew one another and had a common cause.
As a result, the segment left the impression that CNN had assembled a panel reflecting a cross-section of opinion from Republican women about the crossfire between Trump and four freshman Democratic congresswomen of color, whom Trump told to “go back” to their own countries in Sunday tweets, despite all four being American citizens.
Rather than a cross-section, however, the Trumpettes were plainly of one mind.
Some of the women had appeared on CNN before, and neither time was an affiliation to being part of an organized Trump group acknowledged.
Edward Wasserman, dean of the University of California at Berkeley journalism school, described the lack of disclosure as “a fraud on the viewer.”
Wasserman told the Post the network may have withheld the identity of the group “to cover up the lack of news value in the interview and to provide ‘something that looks like balance’ in the face of Trump’s criticism that CNN is anti-Trump.”
The women do seem pleased with how the segment went, even going so far as to promote the clip on their Facebook page.
However, note that they encouraged their followers to watch them on “the Anti-Trump Fake News CNN Show.”
There’s gratitude for you…
NY Times Reports Donald Trump Is No “Self-Made” Man
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| Donald Trump |
The New York Times has done a deep dive into Donald Trump’s financial worth based on interviews with his father’s former employees and advisers, as well as more than 100,000 pages of documents describing the inner workings and immense profitability of his empire.
The results of The Times research suggests the Donald is no ‘self-made’ man.
Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help.
But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day.
[snip]
In Mr. Trump’s version of how he got rich, he was the master dealmaker who broke free of his father’s “tiny” outer-borough operation and parlayed a single $1 million loan from his father (“I had to pay him back with interest!”) into a $10 billion empire that would slap the Trump name on hotels, high-rises, casinos, airlines and golf courses the world over. In Mr. Trump’s version, it was always his guts and gumption that overcame setbacks. Fred Trump was simply a cheerleader.
“I built what I built myself,” Mr. Trump has said, a narrative that was long amplified by often-credulous coverage from news organizations, including The Times.
[snip]
By age 3, Mr. Trump was earning $200,000 a year in today’s dollars from his father’s empire. He was a millionaire by age 8. By the time he was 17, his father had given him part ownership of a 52-unit apartment building. Soon after Mr. Trump graduated from college, he was receiving the equivalent of $1 million a year from his father. The money increased with the years, to more than $5 million annually in his 40s and 50s.
A lawyer for Trump. Charles J. Harder, issued a statement to the Times saying, “The New York Times’s allegations of fraud and tax evasion are 100 percent false, and highly defamatory.”
“There was no fraud or tax evasion by anyone. The facts upon which The Times bases its false allegations are extremely inaccurate,” Harder added.
Can you imagine the discovery process if Trump sued for defamation? Would be all kinds of fun…
If this article on Fred Trump and @realDonaldTrump is accurate, their actions would appear to constitute tax evasion and tax fraud. https://t.co/tvydLiJ0o1— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 2, 2018
The 94% UNDER-valuing of Fred Trump’s real estate, per @nytimes is egregious, likely criminal. Trumps escaped $300+ million of gift tax. 2 decades ago I reported such cheating was rampant, but IRS lacked resources to pursue. Congress has since made cheating easier.— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) October 2, 2018
“I have never even heard of Fred Trump.” pic.twitter.com/XiDVLVLYnh— Diane N. Sevenay (@Diane_7A) October 2, 2018
Anti-LGBT Congressman (And Wife) Indicted On Campaign Finance Violations, Wire Fraud & More
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| Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter |
Virulently anti-LGBTQ Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter was indicted Tuesday, along with his wife Margaret, on charges of misusing campaign funds to the tune of $250,000.
Charges also included filing false campaign finance records to the Federal Election Commission.
CNN has the details:
The charges of wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy were the culmination of a Department of Justice investigation that has stretched for more than a year, during which the Republican congressman from California has maintained his innocence.
Republican Party leaders had long worried that with a potential indictment looming, Hunter’s traditionally safe district which makes up much of eastern San Diego County could be at risk of Democratic takeover in November’s midterm election.
The CNN report goes on to share that the congressman and his wife overdrew their bank accounts over 1,100 times in a 7 year period.
Investigators found the Hunters took several lavish family vacations including “a 2015 family vacation in Italy over Thanksgiving totaling more than $14,000; an April vacation in Hawaii costing $6,500; and a $3,700 trip to Las Vegas and Boise in July 2015.”
There were also big-ticket “campaign expenditures” like a $2,000 trip for a family member to attend a Pittsburgh Steelers football game in 2010.
Hunter allegedly insisted his wife be paid $116,000 from 2010 to 2017 as a “campaign consultant.”
According to The Washington Examiner, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has now stripped Hunter of his committee assignments.
“The charges against Rep. Hunter are deeply serious,” Ryan said. “The Ethics Committee deferred its investigation at the request of the Justice Department.”
“Now that he has been indicted, Rep. Hunter will be removed from his committee assignments pending the resolution of this matter,” Ryan added.
While Hunter represents a solidly Republican district, his Democratic opponent, Campa-Najjar, has been out-fundraising the Republican, reporting more than $1 million in campaign donations. Campa-Najjar has just over $200,000 in cash-on-hand while Hunter has over $350,000.
The California congressman has been viciously anti-LGBTQ for years and was one of the most strident voices against the repeal of DADT in 2011 and strongly supported the hideous Defense of Marriage Act.
Hunter was the second member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president. The first was Rep. Chris Collins (R) of New York.
Both now face prison time.
Former Trump Lawyer Investigated For $20 Million Tax/Bank Fraud
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| Former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen |
The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and ‘fixer,’ Michael Cohen, is being investigated for possible tax and bank fraud to the tune of $20 million in loans related to the taxi business he and his family own.
Investigators are also examining whether Mr. Cohen violated campaign finance or other laws by helping to arrange financial deals to secure the silence of women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. The inquiry has entered the final stage and prosecutors are considering filing charges by the end of August, two of the people said.
Any criminal charges against Mr. Cohen would deal a significant blow to the president. Mr. Cohen, 52, worked for the president’s company, the Trump Organization, for more than a decade. He was one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal and visible aides and called himself the president’s personal lawyer after Mr. Trump took office.
Trump keeps calling the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller a “witch hunt.”
If that were true, Mueller sure has found a considerable number of witches to indict.
Trump is also angry that Mueller is filing indictments that don’t seem related to “Russian interference,” but the Special Counsel was charged with investigating not only the election interference but any crimes that might arise from the investigation.
Does it make any sense that the police, while investigating a robbery, should ignore a dead body they trip over in the course of the investigation?
“Pharma Douche” Martin Shkreli Found Guilty Of Fraud
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| Martin Shkreli, the “most hated man in America” |
Infamous “pharma douche” Martin Shkreli, has been convicted on three of eight counts on Friday, after a five-week trial in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn.
Accused of eight counts of securities and wire fraud, Shkreli now faces up to 20 years in prison.
From the New York Times:
The conviction, even as a mixed verdict, was a shattering defeat for the divisive Mr. Shkreli, who said before the trial that he was “so innocent” that the judge, jury and prosecutors would apologize to him afterward.
Mr. Shkreli was accused of securities and wire fraud related to two hedge funds he ran, MSMB Capital and MSMB Healthcare. Prosecutors charged he then illegally used a pharmaceutical company he founded, Retrophin, to repay the defrauded MSMB investors.
The prosecution brought forth an “avalanche” of evidence, as the prosecutor Jacquelyn Kasulis put it in her rebuttal argument, that included a threatening letter he sent to the wife of a former employee, statements he sent to MSMB investors showing great returns at the same time he had no money in fund accounts, three versions of a backdated agreement to make it look as if MSMB Capital had invested in Retrophin when it had not, as well as claims about assets under management that were wildly out of line with his actual fund size.
“It’s time for Martin Shkreli to be held accountable,” she said.
Shkreli came to the public spotlight after raising the price of a drug called Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 overnight. However, this case had nothing to do with the Daraprim debacle.
Trump Continues To Distract From $25 Million Fraud Settlement By Attacking HAMILTON
Donald Trump continues to use the Hamilton/Mike Pence incident on Friday night to distract from the fact that he just settled a huge fraud lawsuit regarding his failed Trump University for $25 million.
After posting two tweets yesterday morning, the Donald took to Twitter again on the subject. First he tweeted the above missive, which he promptly deleted.
Didn’t he just go after Hillary Clinton for deleting internet communications?
And then he posted the below tweet in the middle of the night. In the post, he again demands an apology from the cast for calling Pence “sir,” telling the audience not to “boo” Pence, and expressing their concerns as constituents in a calm voice.
Along the way, he slams Hamilton as “highly overrated.” The show is one of the most celebrated in Broadway history and sold out for the next 8 months. But, whatevs….
Is this really “presidential?”
The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2016
A Glimpse Of The Future From 1957
I happened to scroll past this today on Facebook, and something made me stop and watch.
This is a mashup of scenes from the 1957 film, A Face In The Crowd.
Official synopsis: An Arkansas drifter becomes an overnight media sensation. As he becomes drunk with fame and power, will he ever be exposed as the fraud he has become?
Very powerful, and quite the prescient warning. Let me know if this reminds you of anyone.
Near the end, music theater fans may get a small kick out of the “You’re gonna love me” section.
Posted on Facebook:
I try to stay as far away from politics on Facebook as possible. That said, I just cut together a few of my favorite scenes from Elia Kazan’s 1957 classic A Face in the Crowd. The entire film should be required viewing for everyone during this election