Peter Flaherty
Federal Election Commission is Investigating Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s PAC
From the Washington Examiner by Alana Goodman:
The Federal Election Commission is examining financial discrepancies at a political action committee that was run by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after an outside watchdog group raised questions about the group’s spending activities.
Justice Democrats PAC, a committee where Ocasio-Cortez served on the board until last summer, said in financial reports that it helped pay off candidate debts that did not appear to exist, according to a May 30 letter from the FEC cited by the Washington Free Beacon.
The FEC asked the PAC to explain the discrepancies, request refunds from the campaigns that allegedly received the payments, and update its financial statements, noting that the commission “may take further legal action regarding this impermissible activity.”
Justice Democrat PAC’s financial report for April 1, 2018, to June 30, 2018, “discloses one or more contributions to federal candidates for the retirement of debts incurred … Read More ➡
Nonprofit Documents Confirm Self-Dealing by Rep. Cummings Wife
From the Daily Caller by Andrew Kerr:
House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings’s wife has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars from her charity to her private for-profit organization, according to a previously undisclosed cost-sharing arrangement that multiple experts said raises red flags.
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings’s charity, the Center for Global Policy Solutions (CGPS), paid her for-profit venture, Global Policy Solutions LLC, over $250,000 in “management fees” between 2013 and 2015, according to the charity’s audited financial statements covering those years. The management fees were paid in addition to a cost-sharing agreement where the charity pays for its share of equipment, personnel and other expenditures.
Rockeymoore Cummings’s charity is funded by companies with interests before her husband’s congressional committee, according to the Washington Examiner.
“It’s self-dealing. It’s taking the charity’s resources and turning them into personal profits,” National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) investigator Tom Anderson told The Daily … Read More ➡
Rep. Cummings Wife Still Illegally Withholding Nonprofit Tax Return
From the Daily Caller by Luke Rosiak:
Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings’ wife is breaking the law by not revealing financial disclosures about her nonprofit, an uninvolved legal expert told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings runs a nonprofit called the Center for Global Policy Solutions that is closely intertwined with a for-profit consulting firm, Global Policy Solutions LLC. The nonprofit has received millions of dollars from groups with interests before the congressman’s committee, potentially buying them favorable treatment, according to a complaint filed with the IRS by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC).
At least three different groups have requested the forms, and to each, Rockeymoore Cummings has refused, even when told that the law requires it. She refused on the phone to NLPC, and did not answer formal requests to view the forms from the Washington Examiner and TheDCNF.
“Wow. That’s illegal,” Sally Wagenmaker, … Read More ➡
Constitutional Challenge to Mueller Ends
Andrew Miller, a witness in the Russia investigation, today agreed to honor a subpoena issued last year to appear before the grand jury convened by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The former aide to GOP operative Roger Stone had been refusing to appear on the grounds that Mueller’s appointment and authority were unconstitutional.
Miller’s appearance before the grand jury will effectively end the constitutional challenge to Mueller.
Miller’s challenge went through the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, up to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and back down to the District Court. Today, District Court Judge Beryl Howell denied a motion by Miller to further stay the subpoena. Miller’s attorney, Paul Kamenar, argued that grand juries are not allowed to gather evidence after an indictment has been made. It has been presumed that the Special Counsel’s interest in Miller pertained … Read More ➡
Facebook Opposes Shareholder Proposal on Ideological Diversity
In another indication that the company is biased against conservatives and libertarians, Facebook opposes a shareholder proposal that promotes ideological and political diversity in its workforce. Sponsored by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), the resolution will be considered at the Facebook annual meeting on Thursday, May 30 in Menlo Park, California.
Facebook’s opposing statement doesn’t directly address the issue raised by the resolution and instead describes programs that make the workforce even more Left-wing and are based on group identity. According to NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty, who will present the resolution, “Once again, Zuckerberg is giving the back of his hand to legitimate concerns about the bias problem at Facebook.”
NLPC’s resolution and supporting statement is below. Facebook’s statement of opposition appears on page 69 of the proxy, which can be viewed here.
WORKFORCE DIVERSITY
WHEREAS:
In 2016, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote, … Read More ➡
IRS Complaint Filed Against Wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) today filed a Complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against the Center for Global Policy Solutions (CGPS), a 501(c)(3) organization headed by Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, wife to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
Mrs. Cummings is currently Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party and is a former candidate for Governor. Rep. Cummings is Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The Complaint describes a score of apparent Internal Revenue Code violations, including prohibited private benefit and inurement of the Cummings. CGPS has received millions in grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and, in late 2017, was granted a million-dollar contract from the General Services Administration. The funds were purportedly provided to fight childhood obesity. The Complaint asks the IRS to investigate whether “its organizers are getting fat off the grants.”
At the same time she heads CGPS, Mrs. Cummings heads a for-profit … Read More ➡
Feds Still Want Witness Testimony in Mueller Probe, But Why?
From Courthouse News Service by Britain Eakin:
Challenging the lack of cooperation by former Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller, prosecutors told the D.C. Circuit Thursday that the grand jury that worked with special counsel Robert Mueller still needs Miller’s testimony.
Filed this morning by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the government’s 21-page opposition brief indicates that the grand jury empaneled by Mueller is likely still working, and that more criminal charges related to Miller’s testimony are possible.
The grand jury working with Mueller had subpoenaed Miller in May 2018 for testimony concerning Stone’s relationship to WikiLeaks, its founder Julian Assange and Guccifer 2.0, a fake persona allegedly tied to Russian intelligence that filtered hacked Democratic emails damaging to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
After Miller refused to testify last year, a federal judge held him in contempt, prompting an appeal to the … Read More ➡
Is Tim Cook Above it All, or Just Arrogant?
Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed recently that he and his company do not engage in the dirty business of “politics” but only “policy.” He is supposedly above it all, guided instead by doing “what’s right.”
Cook acknowledges that some may not like his “policy” decisions, but that he thinks they admire Apple’s leadership for sticking to their principles. He added that the company only weighs in where it has a “legitimate position or lens on the issue,” like climate change, education, immigration, and transgender restroom policies.
“I think people appreciate that, even when they do disagree,” he said, explaining his beliefs about the role of business in public issues. “We do them out of believing deeply that they’re right and we do have a unique lens. We focus on the policy, not the politics.”
Cook has a self-serving definition of “politics.” It apparently does not include … Read More ➡
Appeals Court Rejects Rehearing of Mueller Constitutional Challenge
On April 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals refused to rehear a constitutional challenge to the appointment and authority of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Court did not rule on a related but separate request to decide whether the case was now moot because Mueller has turned in his report. That question was kicked back down to D.C. Circuit Court.
A three-judge panel of the Appeals Court ruled against the plaintiff Andrew Miller on February 26. Miller is a former aide to Roger Stone who has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness before Mueller’s grand jury. He has refused to any questions on the basis that Mueller’s probe is unconstitutional. Miller had sought an en banc rehearing of all eleven judges of the Appeals Court.
Miller is represented by constitutional and appellate lawyer Paul Kamenar on a partial pro bono basis, and is supported by the National … Read More ➡