Drain the swamp!

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This is actually pretty unbelievable..

Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told banking industry executives on Tuesday that they should press lawmakers hard to pursue their agenda, and revealed that, as a congressman, he would meet only with lobbyists if they contributed to his campaign.

“We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress,” Mr. Mulvaney, a former Republican lawmaker from South Carolina, told 1,300 bankers and lending industry officials at an American Bankers Association conference in Washington. “If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.”

Mr. Mulvaney, who received nearly $63,000 from payday lenders for his congressional campaigns. Mr. Mulvaney, who also runs the White House budget office, is a longtime critic of the Obama-era consumer bureau, including while serving in Congress. He was tapped by President Trump in November to temporarily run the bureau, in part because of his promise to sharply curtail it.

Since then, he has frozen all new investigations and slowed down existing inquiries by requiring employees to produce detailed justifications. He also sharply restricted the bureau’s access to bank data, arguing that its investigations created online security risks. And he has scaled back efforts to go after payday lenders, auto lenders and other financial services companies accused of preying on the vulnerable.

But he wants Congress to go further and has urged it to wrest funding of the independent watchdog from the Federal Reserve, a move that would give lawmakers — and those with access to them — more influence on the bureau’s actions. On Tuesday, he implored the financial services industry to help support the legislative changes he has requested.

Mulvaney, Watchdog Agency’s Leader, Advises Bankers on Ways to Curtail It - The New York Times

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And this is the guy that is supposed to set the standard at the CFPB:

“As acting director of the CFPB, Mulvaney is expected to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law,” Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of CREW, said in a statement. “His real estate dealings, and his apparent failure to come clean about them to the Senate, appear to be at odds with his legal and ethical requirements and run directly counter to the basic principles he is expected to uphold at the CFPB.” The complaint references Mulvaney’s 2017 confirmation in front of the Senate Budget Committee, in which he detailed a foreclosure on one of his investments. CREW alleges that the Office of Management and Budget director was aware that the foreclosure was not “uncontested,” as he claimed at the time. CREW also says Mulvaney “violated his ethical obligations by taking complex, unusual and potentially dishonest steps to avoid paying debts his company owed related to the property at issue in the foreclosure.”

Ethics watchdog calls for probe into Mulvaney over 'real estate dealings' | TheHill

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Scott Pruitt is the swamp

1) He is in the process of repealing 66 public safety and health regulations and in no single case has he even heard his own staff involved in the writing in any of them, work that usually takes a decade and involves rigorous science and data gathering. This is why some 700 EPA staff have resigned already.

2) Instead, the only people he listens to are industry people, lobbyists and party donors (why do you think he has installed a sound proof phone booth at his EPA office?) This is deregulation a la carte for industry, by industry, bypassing the whole science based EPA system that meticulously assesses the rules and the health and safety hazards.

3) The fact that Pruitt is involved in multiple scandals (it's hard to keep up, there are 11 different investigations in these already) is actually a bit of an unfortunate side show. The main issue is that he lets industry deregulate itself, damning all the science, and putting the environment and people in danger.

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Imagine, just imagine how Fox News, and all the other right-wing media and the House Republicans would have reacted if this was Hillary, not Trump:

Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah cannot explain how the Trump Organization’s involvement in a project in Indonesia partially financed by the Chinese government adheres to the Constitution’s emoluments clause and Trump’s personal promise not to pursue new foreign business deals while he’s president. “The Trump Organization is involved in a project in Indonesia building hotels, golf courses, residences — it is getting up to $500 million in backing from the Chinese government,” Noah Bierman of the Los Angeles Times said during Monday’s press briefing. 

A National Review report about the Chinese government’s involvement in financing “an Indonesian theme park that will feature a Trump-branded golf course and hotels” came just one day after Trump posted a bizarre tweet on behalf of the Chinese phone company ZTE — a company that had been hit hard by the Commerce Department for violating a ban on American companies “selling components to ZTE for seven years after it illegally shipped goods made with U.S. parts to Iran and North Korea,” according to Reuters.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
12:01 PM - May 13, 2018

• 46K people are talking about this
  

During Monday’s briefing, reporters repeatedly grilled Shah about what prompted Trump’s tweet promising to help ZTE — especially since the tweet came on the heels of a campaign in which Trump accused China of “the greatest single theft in the history of the world,” saying things like, “we can’t continue to allow China to rape our country.” Shah had no good answers for them.

White House can’t explain how Chinese financing of Trump-linked project doesn’t violate Constitution – ThinkProgress

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Jared Kushner and his family business have a big problem. In 2007, then 27-year-old Kushner made an audacious move while running his family real estate business: He bought an skyscraper in Manhattan — 666 5th Avenue — for $1.8 billion. It was the most ever paid for an office tower. And the timing couldn’t have been worse. The tower was purchased at the height of the real estate bubble, just before the financial crisis. The commercial real estate market in New York City collapsed. Running out of cash, Kushner was forced to sell the lucrative retail space on the ground floor to Vornado Realty Trust, a more experienced real estate firm, to keep things afloat. Vornado later bought about half of the office tower. But that wasn’t enough. The tower is aging and the vacancy rate is high. The building is about one-third vacant and rent covers only about fifty percent of the mortgage, forcing the Kushners and their business partners to burn millions each month. But the real issue comes in February 2019, when the tower’s $1.2 billion mortgage becomes due. Refinancing is really not an option since many real estate experts believe the mortgage exceeds the value of the tower.

Kushners accept Qatar-linked bailout after claiming they wouldn’t take money due to conflicts of interest – ThinkProgress

So much for being a bright businessman, but things get worse:

Jared Kushner himself attempted to strike a deal with a Chinese company, Anbang, in the days following the 2016 election. But it evaporated upon further scrutiny of the terms of the deal, which were extremely favorable to the Kushners, and of Anbang’s murky connections to the Chinese government. Enter the Qataris. Three months after the inauguration and shortly after the Anbang deal fell through, Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, reportedly “made a direct pitch to Qatar’s minister of finance,” Ali Sharif Al Emadi, to provide new financing for 666 5th Avenue. In March, Charles Kushner confirmed the meeting but described it as a courtesy and said he would never take money from the Qataris, presumably because it would present a conflict of interest due to Jared Kushner’s position in the White House.

I was invited to a meeting. Before the meeting, Kushner Companies had decided that it was not going to accept sovereign wealth fund investments. We informed the Qatar representatives of our decision and they agreed. Even if they were there ready to wire the money, we would not have taken it.

Now, they are taking the money...

The deal is “is likely to raise further concerns about Jared Kushner’s dual role as a White House point person on the Middle East and a continuing stake holder in the family’s company,” as the Times reports. Kushner has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance due to concerns that foreign government could use his business entanglements to gain influence.

The Qatari Investment Authority has been in the news recently. Michael Avenatti — the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who accepted hush money to stay quiet about her alleged affair with President Trump — recently tweeted photos of Ahmed al-Rumaihi, a former Qatari diplomat who now heads up their investment fund, entering Trump Tower in December 2016. Separately, a declaration in a lawsuit about a 3-on-3 basketball league alleges that al-Rumaihi bragged about his ability to influence former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn with cash. Al-Rumaihi denies the allegation in the lawsuit. Al-Rumaihi does claim that, around the same time, Michael Cohen demanded $1 million for his help influencing the Trump administration.

Kushners accept Qatar-linked bailout after claiming they wouldn’t take money due to conflicts of interest – ThinkProgress

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Republican aides in Congress who were instrumental in writing the sweeping tax law last year are hitting the exits to take jobs in the lobbying industry.  At least a half dozen high-profile GOP staffers have departed or are departing Capitol Hill, swapping jobs in the legislative branch for plum postings at firms like Akin Gump and Squire Patton Boggs.  The exile from Congress includes top aides for the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee, and the offices of Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Among the biggest departures is Mark Prater, who served as chief tax counsel and deputy staff director for Senate Finance Committee Republicans. Prater, who has not yet announced his next career move, worked for the committee for nearly 30 years.

Authors of GOP tax law disperse to lobby firms | TheHill

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House Democrats said in a letter on Thursday that the White House is ignoring requests for information from the government's top watchdog and are asking for a hearing on the matter. "We are writing to request that you hold an immediate hearing on the dramatic decision by the White House to obstruct investigations by our independent investigators at the Government Accountability Office. We ask that the Committee obtain testimony from the White House Counsel and General Counsel of GAO," Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), referring to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Government watchdog says White House is blocking its investigations | TheHill

Ten individuals who were arrested while protesting President Trump's inauguration had their felony charges dismissed by a Washington, D.C., judge on Thursday after the court found prosecutors had withheld evidence, according to the HuffPost.

Charges dismissed for more Trump inauguration protesters after prosecutors found to have withheld evidence | TheHill

Chinese trademarks issued to Ivanka Trump's fashion brand in May are raising questions over whether the first daughter is receiving special treatment from a foreign government or is simply the victim of bad timing. The Chinese government awarded Ivanka Trump's fashion brand seven new trademarks, according to online records, just as President Donald Trump pledged to revive Chinese telecom giant ZTE. The trademarks, for items such as baby blankets, bamboo crafts and coffins, include products that the brand sells as well as items that it seeks to prevent others from selling with Trump branding.

Ivanka Trump Chinese trademarks raise conflict of interest questions

[Admin]

It's that EPA guy again, even though the real scandal is what he's doing to the environment as there is a wholesale takeover of the EPA by business interests..

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shelled out $1,560 to pay for customized fountain pens for Administrator Scott Pruitt, according to internal emails. The 12 silver pens, made by a Washington-based jewelry store, included an EPA seal and Pruitt's signature, The Washington Post first reported Friday. The order was among a larger $3,230 order that included personalized journals from Tiny Jewel Box, a store that calls itself D.C.'s “premier destination for fine jewelry and watches.”

EPA spent $1,560 on customized fountain pens for Pruitt: emails | TheHill

A lobbyist whose wife rented a condo to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt lobbied the agency for three clients last year, apparently contradicting his claim that he hadn’t represented clients at the EPA during the Trump administration, according to new disclosure forms filed by his former employer. J. Steven Hart, who formerly served as the chairman of law and lobbying firm Williams & Jensen, advocated at the EPA for Coca-Cola, the Financial Oversight and Management Control Board of Puerto Rico and Smithfield Foods.  The first two clients have not been previously reported, and the new forms suggest that there was more work done on behalf of Smithfield Foods than was previously known.

Firm discloses more EPA lobbying by advocate with ties to Pruitt condo rental | TheHill

First-class flights totaling more than $105,000, a $43,000 secure phone booth, a $50-a-night condo linked to lobbyists, $1,560 on a dozen customized fountain pens, and now a pair of $130 basketball tickets purchased in cash from a billionaire coal executive. The list of controversial purchases by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and the agency he runs keeps growing.

NYT: Scott Pruitt Paid Coal Billionaire Cash for Courtside Basketball Seats – Mother Jones

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Have we reached peak Pruitt yet? Don't think so..

The tomfoolery of Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency’s leader, has reached a new level, somehow. This week, we learned that he directed an aide, Millan Hupp (who has since resigned), to run personal errands for him last year, including looking into buying a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel, finding housing, and booking vacations.

There are rules against asking federal employees to perform personal tasks, as well as restrictions on employees providing gifts of time or material to their bosses. There are additional rules limiting what you’re allowed to do on government time.

Then on Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Pruitt also sent his 24-hour security detail, which costs $3.5 million, to run errands for him, including driving him to multiple locations to look for a moisturizing lotion offered by Ritz-Carlton hotels, and picking up his dry cleaning, though the time frame wasn’t specified.

We also found out that Pruitt’s scheduler Sydney Hupp (Millan’s sister, who left the EPA last year) used her official email to schedule a phone call between Pruitt and representatives of Chick-fil-A because Pruitt’s wife, Marlyn Pruitt, wanted to open a franchise of the fast-food restaurant chain last year. The company has a notoriously difficult application process, and opening a Chick-fil-A restaurant is reportedly “harder than getting into Harvard.”

While Pruitt dodged questions about it from Nexstar reporter Jessica Smith on Wednesday, he called Chick-fil-A a “franchise of faith.”After Hupp announced she was resigning this week, Sarah Greenwalt, senior counsel at the EPA, said she was stepping down too. To wit: These are the same two aides who were slated to receive huge raises under a loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act after the White House had already declined to grant the pay bumps.

Greenwalt, who Pruitt described as “a tremendous leader,” said she was excited to go back to Oklahoma, though she said in a statement she would “deeply cherish” her time in the Trump administration. When Atlantic reporter Elaina Plott contacted the EPA Wednesday to confirm their departures, EPA spokesperson Jahan Wilcox responded, “You have a great day, you’re a piece of trash.”

That’s all just this week. These new ethics concerns pile on top of Pruitt’s shady dealings with private interests and more than a dozen ongoing investigations. Plus all the evidence he’s grown enamored of the trappings and prestige of government. French dining. First-class flights. Luxury hotels. Bulletproof SUVs. Lunches at the White House mess. A 20-person security detail. Fine writing instruments.

He also wanted to update the EPA’s challenge coin to drop the agency’s logo because, according to the New York Times, he thought “it looked like a marijuana leaf.” And these are arguably ephemeral indiscretions compared to the environmental regulations he’s been dismantling and the favors to industry he’s been handing.

But what’s becoming clearer is that Pruitt’s strategy hews extremely close to the Trump playbook: Never say sorry, blame subordinates, berate and attack the media. So far, that’s seemed to help Pruitt keep his job, since his boss continues to praise him..

Scott Pruitt asked staff to help him find Ritz-Carlton moisturizer and an old mattress: reports - Vox

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Former Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), President Trump's rejected nominee to run the Export-Import Bank, has been quietly hired to a position at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) despite the agency's hiring freeze, Politico reported Saturday. Garrett had an "excepted service" position as an attorney created for him at the SEC’s Office of the General Counsel earlier this year, according to the report. The personnel move, which was not announced publicly by the SEC, was discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Rejected Trump nominee quietly hired by SEC: report | TheHill