Corruption

Solidarity And The Absent State In Puerto Rico

June 17, 2020 Pedro Cabán, Dissent Magazine. Resist! Corruption, Mutual Aid, Puerto Rico, Solidarity

Puerto Rican artists, entertainers, and athletes have been conspicuous in calling for protests against the government, which the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP) firmly controls. Indeed, January 2020 was uncannily similar to last July, when El Residente, Bad Bunny, Ilde, Daddy Yankee, Ricky Martin, and other artists roused scores of thousands of their fans to rise in opposition to Governor Ricardo Rosselló. Seven months later, as the government failed to take any decisive action toward a relief effort, anger was building against Rosselló’s hapless successor. Even more damaging for the practice of democracy is people’s awareness that Puerto Rico is ruled by an entrenched and hard-hearted political class that holds them in contempt. After a seemingly endless swarm of earthquakes battered the southwest coast, the colonial state was once again absent. The people were, as always, presente, caring for one another when the authorities failed to do so.

Members Of Congress Receive COVID-19 Small Business Loans

June 15, 2020 Jessica Buxbaum, Shadowproof. Educate! CARES Act, Congress, Corruption, COVID-19

Members of Congress obtained disaster loans for their businesses through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The program has been embroiled in controversy since it launched in March. Large corporations received multimillion-dollar loans. Minority-owned businesses were shut out of aid. Seventy-four members of Congress own businesses or have relatives or spouses who own businesses. Of this number, only 14 of them responded to repeated inquiries stating that they did not apply for federal loans, including those with considerable wealth. The CARES Act does contain a conflict of interest provision prohibiting members of Congress or their immediate families from receiving aid. However, as detailed in a House Ethics Committee memorandum released in April, this clause is only restricted to emergency relief funds. This subtle loophole has permitted lawmakers to circumvent potential conflicts of interest and access government relief.

Ethics Groups Call On Coronavirus ‘Vaccine Czar’ To Disclose Potential Conflicts

June 1, 2020 Soo Rin Kim, Olivia Rubin, Katherine Faulders and Matthew Mosk, ABC News. Resist! Corruption, COVID-19, Donald Trump, Vaccine

The Trump administration's decision to hire its new "vaccine czar" as a private contractor, rather than a government employee, has alarmed some ethics experts who say the designation will involve him in programs that could channel millions of federal dollars into the development of coronavirus vaccine and treatments without requiring he disclose financial holdings or potential conflicts. When it was announced two weeks ago that Moncef Slaoui would head up "Operation Warp Speed" to find and distribute a vaccine, the administration described him as “chief advisor,” but did not explicitly say he would not be a formal government employee. As a private contractor, he is not bound to the same disclosure regulations and criminal ethics laws as many formal executive branch employees, ethics experts told ABC News. That decision marks the latest concern with what ethics experts are describing as a blind spot into the coronavirus response.

A Delusional Nation In Decline

May 16, 2020 By Jared Yates Sexton, The Muckrake. Educate! Corruption, COVID-19, Fascism, Reopen Economy

In recent weeks, the fabricated “Reopen America” movement, funded and focused by Right Wing billionaires and conservative media, has led to protests around the country, including in Michigan, where white supremacist militias have used it to their advantage for the purposes of recruitment and action. These militias have stormed the Michigan state legislature, interrupted business, and, as of this week, shut down the government of Michigan for fear of possible violence. Any student of history understands the process by which nations slide into authoritarian abyss. It comes, most often, after years of political and social decay, wherein the people lose faith in their corrupted governments and systems, are won over by a budding authoritarian, and watch lawlessness, both in the form of corruption and in out and out fascism, comes into full and unavoidable view.

White House Pushed FEMA To Give Its Biggest Coronavirus Contract To A Company That Never Had To Bid

April 12, 2020 By J. David McSwane and Yeganeh Torbati, ProPublica. Educate! Corruption, COVID-19, FEMA, Trump

Last month, as a deadly new virus swept over the globe, one Canadian defense contractor predicted on an earnings call that it would lead to a big business opportunity in the U.S. Thanks to the White House, that bet paid off just a few weeks later in a $96 million no-bid deal. In an unusual move, even in times of disaster, the White House stepped into the federal purchasing process, ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency to award a contract to AirBoss of America. The Trump administration has rushed through hundreds of deals to address the pandemic without the usual oversight, more than $760 million reported as of this week, but the AirBoss transaction is the single largest no-bid purchase, a ProPublica analysis of federal purchasing data found. While FEMA placed the order, it was directed to do so by the White House, ProPublica found.

Corporate And White-Collar Prosecutions At All-Time Lows

March 10, 2020 Staff, Trac.syr.edu Educate! Corporations, Corruption, DOJ

The latest available case-by-case records from the Department of Justice (DOJ) show that the prosecution of white-collar offenders in January 2020 reached an all-time low since tracking began during the Reagan Administration. Only 359 defendants were prosecuted in January 2020. Almost all of these were individuals rather than businesses.

The Golden Age Of White Collar Crime

February 21, 2020 Michael Hobbes, Huffpost.com Educate! Corruption, Ruling Class

OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, nearly every institution of American life has taken on the unmistakable stench of moral rot. Corporate behemoths like Boeing and Wells Fargo have traded blue-chip credibility for white-collar callousness. Elite universities are selling admission spots to the highest Hollywood bidder. Silicon Valley unicorns have revealed themselves as long cons (Theranos)...

How The UK Is Violating International And Domestic Law

February 10, 2020 By Alan Macleod, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Corruption, International Law, United Kingdom (UK)

During a discussion at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies yesterday, United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper claimed that North Korea and Iran – two countries that have drawn the ire of Washington in recent weeks – were “rogue states” that require our “constant vigilance.” The Oxford English Dictionary describes a rogue state as “a nation or state regarded as breaking international law and posing a threat to the security of other nations.”

The FBI Has Been Lying About Seth Rich

January 31, 2020 By Craig Murray, Consortiumnews.com Educate! Corruption, FBI

A persistent American lawyer has uncovered the undeniable fact that the FBI has been continuously lying, including giving false testimony in court, in response to Freedom of Information Act requests for its records on Seth Rich, a young employee of the Democratic National Committee who was murdered in July 2016. The FBI has previously given affidavits that it has no records regarding Seth Rich.

Emails Reveal U.S. Justice Dept. Working Closely With Oil Industry To Oppose Climate Lawsuits

January 14, 2020 By David Hasemyer, Insideclimatenews.org Educate! Climate Change, Corruption, Department of Justice, Lawsuit, Oil

In early 2018, a few months after the cities of Oakland and San Francisco sued several major oil companies over climate change, attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice began a series of email exchanges and meetings with lawyers for the oil companies targeted in the litigation. At one point, Eric Grant, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, sent an email to Indiana's solicitor general saying that his "boss" had asked him to set up a meeting to go over a plan for the government to intercede in the cases on the companies' behalf.

Puerto Rico: Three Years For History

January 12, 2020 By José E. Rivera Santana, Resumen. Strategize! Corruption, Democracy, Puerto Rico, Vulture Funds

As 2020 begins, it is worth taking a look back and commenting on the events that have taken place in Puerto Rico over the last year and identifying their links and possible consequences. The exercise leads us, inevitably, to situate ourselves in 2016 in order to trace the process that describes this last episode of our history. That year several events of great significance took place. Of particular note were the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled on the delegitimization of the “commonwealth”. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress, almost simultaneously, approved the Promise Act imposing a Fiscal Control Board (FCB) on the Government of Puerto Rico. Against this backdrop, the 2016 general elections were held and later, in January 2017, the Ricardo Rosselló Nevárez administration began.

Billionaire Backstory: Mayor Pete’s Favorite Wine-Maker Hasn’t Been A Good Napa Neighbor

December 26, 2019 By Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon, Popular Resistance Educate! Corruption, Money in Politics, Pete Buttigieg

The vineyard owners, Craig and Kathryn Hall, have given $2.4 million to Democratic candidates, party campaign committees, and PACs since the 1980s. But, on this occasion, the disclosure that the Halls served $350 bottles of cabernet sauvignon under a chandelier with 1,500 Swarovski crystals drew the populist wrath of Senator Warren.

Firm Knew About Lead In Flint’s Water But Didn’t Warn Public, Emails Show

December 12, 2019 Emily Holden, Ron Fonger and Jessica Glenza, Mlive.com Educate! Corruption, Flint, pollution, Water

FLINT, MI -- Executives at Veolia knew that families in Flint might be at risk of being poisoned by lead in their tap water months before the city publicly admitted the problem in 2015, according to internal company emails. Email exchanges in February 2015 between executives at Veolia, one of the world’s largest utilities companies and a city contractor at the time, show some senior employees were aware that lead from the city’s pipes could be leeching into drinking water. They argued that city officials should be told to change Flint’s water supply to protect residents.

Workers Protest Their Union From Below

December 9, 2019 Alice Herman, Inthesetimes.com Resist! Class Struggle, Corruption, Labor Unions, Workers Rights and Jobs

Every day, Nikki Sampson drives from her home in Portage to Madison, where she works as a dispatcher for the city’s bus service. To get there, she drives along a 40-mile stretch of highway, which crosses the Wisconsin River twice and then slices south through farms and municipalities. That road lies at the heart of the region represented by Sampson’s 4,256-strong union—Teamsters Local 695. Sampson has worked for Metro transit for over 20 years, and says that as a younger employee there...

The Untold Story Of The Trump-Ukraine ‘Scandal’: The Routine Corruption Of US Foreign Policy

December 5, 2019 By Joe Lauria, Consortiumnews.com Educate! Corruption, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Ukraine

The most crucial aspects of the Trump-Ukraine “scandal,” which has led to impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, are not being told, even by Republicans. Trump was very likely motivated by politics if he indeed withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for Kiev launching an investigation into Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden, though the transcript of the call released by the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelinsky does not make certain such a quid-pro-quo.

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