Pras Michel, a former member of the Fugees convicted earlier this year related to laundering millions of dollars to President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/barack-obama" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barack Obama&#8217;s</a> campaign, called for a new trial on Monday by claiming his legal team used artificial intelligence to craft their closing argument for the jury.
Michel, 50, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-fugees-rapper-pras-found-guilty-on-charges-involving-international-conspiracy-between-china-and-u-s-gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found guilty</a> in April in a federal court on ten criminal counts related to an international conspiracy to help China influence the U.S. government, including concealment of material facts, making false entries in records, witness tampering, and serving as an unregistered agent of a foreign power.
In his <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24036102-michelnewtrialmotion101623" target="_blank" rel="noopener">113-page motion</a> filed with a federal judge in Washington, the hip-hop artist&#8217;s new legal team argued that Michel&#8217;s Los Angeles-based lawyer, David Kenner, used litigation assistance technology in the trial, contributing to &#8220;prejudicial ineffective assistance of counsel.&#8221;
Kenner &#8220;used an experimental artificial intelligence (AI) program to draft the closing argument, ignoring the best arguments and conflating the charged schemes, and he then publicly boasted that the AI program &#8216;turned hours or days of legal work into seconds,'&#8221; the legal team from D.C.-based ArentFox Schiff wrote. &#8220;It is now apparent that Kenner and his co-counsel appear to have had an undisclosed financial stake in the AI program, and they experimented with it during Michel&#8217;s trial so they could issue a press release afterward promoting the program — a clear conflict of interest.&#8221;
Former federal prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg reportedly wrote in a declaration accompanying the motion that Michel&#8217;s ex-publicist notified some legal team members that Kenner had boasted at the end of the trial that &#8220;AI wrote our closing.&#8221;
&#8220;Michel&#8217;s counsel was deficient throughout, likely more focused on promoting his AI program and saving himself from the contempt proceeding than zealously defending Michel,&#8221; Zeidenberg wrote.
Zeidenberg referred to a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230511154841/https:/www.eyelevel.ai/post/first-use-of-ai-in-federal-trial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> by a firm called EyeLevel issued in May that included a quote from Kenner calling the AI tool &#8220;an absolute game changer for complex litigation&#8221; while omitting that the grand jury convicted Michel on all ten felony charges after three days of jury deliberation.
The trial included testimony from high-profile witnesses, from Leonardo DiCaprio to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
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Michel, who rose to fame in the early 1990s upon forming the East Coast hip-hop trio with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, played a central role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to improperly influence top government officials, including the Obama and Trump administrations, according to federal prosecutors.
Authorities accused Michel of taking about $88 million from Malaysian financier Jho Low, who also faces charges separately for allegedly embezzling billions from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, between 2009 and 2014. Court documents and trial evidence detail that Low and Michel conspired to lobby President Trump and the Justice Department to drop the 1MDB embezzlement investigation and extradite a Chinese national on behalf of Beijing.
During the Obama administration, authorities said Michel and Low funneled millions of dollars into roughly 20 straw donors for President Obama&#8217;s re-election campaign in 2012. According to NBC, Michel told trial jurors that he accepted approximately $20 million from Low, who hoped to get a picture with Obama. However, he claimed he did not intend to use the money as foreign campaign contributions or his services.
Michel also admitted to giving approximately $800,000 in donation money to friends intended for exclusive access to Obama fundraisers in Miami and Washington, D.C., roughly priced at $40,000 per seat. Still, he considered the funds &#8220;free money&#8221; and his to spend.
Michel has reportedly remained out of jail on bond since the first charges were filed in 2019. He faces up to 20 years in prison, but authorities have not yet set a sentencing date.
The artist is set to join the Fugees on a North American reunion tour on Tuesday connected to the 25th anniversary of Lauryn Hill&#8217;s solo album, &#8220;The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,&#8221; where the trio plans to perform more than 20 concerts.
It&#8217;s unclear if Michel will attend the full tour.

Trial Of Ex-Fugee Pras Michel In 1MDB Case

Fugees Rapper Convicted For Laundering Money Into Obama Campaign Seeks New Trial

Crime

Hip Hop

Money In Politics

Obama Administration

Trump Administration

U.S.

The wealthy Democrat donor who paid Hunter Biden for a piece of his hyper-expensive artwork was appointed to a federal commission known for years for corruption, secrecy, and as a vehicle to advance the financial interests of its members.
Elizabeth Hirsch Naftali, who has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrat politicians over the years, was appointed by President Joe Biden to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. The commission post is one Hunter knows well — it&#8217;s the same position President Barack Obama handed to Hunter’s business partner Eric Schwerin in 2015.
The reason Hunter&#8217;s associates gravitate to the notoriously corrupt commission may have to do with the lack of attention paid to it—it&#8217;s the sort of government agency where a director could pocket a six-figure government salary while building lucrative foreign relationships. Schwerin suggested to Hunter after Obama was elected that the commission could be beneficial for leverage with foreign governments, according to emails on Hunter&#8217;s abandoned laptop.
At the time Schwerin was put on the commission, its executive director, Jeffrey Farrow, was earning $143,000 a year for working what amounted to a one-day-a-week job. In 2013, the agency&#8217;s only full-time employee, Katarina Ryan, filed a complaint with government investigators saying Farrow didn’t even work one day a week. Instead, Ryan said, Farrow spent 90% of his time running a for-profit international lobbying firm out of the government office. His lobbying practice brought in up to $750,000 a year, according to lobbying disclosures.
“This is a classic example of using a public office for private gain,&#8221; she <a href="https://osc.gov/Documents/Public%20Files/FY16/DI-12-3628/DI-12-3628-Whistelblower%20Comments.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a whistleblower complaint, &#8220;but what makes it particularly reckless is to have the Federal government subsidize expenses for a lobbyist.”
A lawyer who specializes in lobbying cases described the situation in terms that bring to mind the controversy surrounding Hunter’s foreign lobbying work.  “Someone burrowed so deeply in the government and yet at the same time engaging in lobbying and representing a foreign government — it is pretty brazen,” the lawyer told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/us/politics/jeffrey-farrow-lobbying-government-contractor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
&#8220;Mr. Farrow, as a result of his different jobs, was often working with the State Department and members of Congress in his official capacity — as the agency urged foreign governments to preserve cemeteries and other historic sites — while he was also making appeals to these same officials on behalf of his lobbying clients,&#8221; The Times reported.
The commission was uncooperative with the multiple government entities investigating it. The commission permitted the General Services Administration inspector general to investigate only with a limited scope, and on the condition that the investigators were prohibited from referring their findings for criminal prosecution without its consent.
The final inspector general report was hidden from the public until Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) requested it as part of a Senate Homeland Security investigation into the commission. Even then, the commission&#8217;s chairwoman, Leslie Weiss, called the GSA &#8220;seeking advice on how to withhold the report from the committee.&#8221; Johnson received the report only by going directly to the GSA, he said in a 2015 letter to the commission.
The inspector general found that people associated with the obscure government agency used it as a personal piggy bank and routinely falsified paperwork. &#8220;Invoices were designed to consume the maximum amount of taxpayer dollars that could be allocated,&#8221; Johnson wrote.
It found evidence that Warren Miller, a former chairman of the commission, was also using the office and extensive benefits for personal use and to run a law firm.
To sidestep federal rules, it designated Farrow and other employees as contractors, even though they were acting as employees and signing contracts on behalf of the agency, which is illegal, the <a href="https://osc.gov/Documents/Public%20Files/FY16/DI-12-3628/DI-12-3628%20Agency%20Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inspector general found.</a> The commission also hired other contractors from a company run by Farrow&#8217;s cousin.
Ryan was put on leave after her whistleblower complaint, while the commission continued to employ Farrow. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which investigates whistleblower retaliation, informed President Obama in November 2015 that Weiss, then the commission’s chair, had thwarted its investigation by turning its details over to the suspects.
“OSC&#8217;s referral letter to Chair Weiss requested that the letter not be shared with Messrs. Miller and Farrow and noted that both should recuse themselves from the matter because they were subjects of the allegations. Nevertheless, the information provided to OSC confirms that Mr. Farrow was actively involved in the commission&#8217;s resolution of this matter,” OSC <a href="https://osc.gov/Documents/Public%20Files/FY16/DI-12-3628/DI-12-3628%20Letter%20to%20President.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “Mr. Farrow&#8217;s involvement in the resolution of these issues is troubling not only because he was the key subject, but because his involvement created an opportunity for self-dealing.”
Though the exact timing of the art buy is not known, Naftali was appointed to the federal post in July 2022, eight months after Hunter&#8217;s first art opening, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunter-biden-joe-artwork-berges-gallery-elizabeth-hirsh-naftali-2023-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider</a> reported. Hunter&#8217;s artwork sells for as much as $500,000, and while the Biden administration had claimed that only the art gallery would know who purchased it — the Business Insider report says Hunter learned the identity of at least two of the buyers.
Naftali has contributed large sums of money to Biden and his allies in recent years. Just last year, she hosted a fundraiser that was headlined by Vice President Kamala Harris. She has visited the Biden White House more than a dozen times, most recently in March of this year, according to official visitor logs.

Hunter Biden at an art gallery

Government Job Handed To Hunter Biden’s Art Buyer Is Notorious For Corruption, Foreign Influence-Peddling

Government Job Handed To Hunter Biden's Art Buyer Is Notorious For Corruption, Foreign Influence-Peddling

Fraud

Hunter Biden

Independent journalist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-okeefe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James O&#8217;Keefe</a> dropped a bombshell video on BlackRock Inc. — a prominent investment management and financial services firm — revealing just how broad the company&#8217;s impact might be.
A journalist working for the <a href="https://okeefemediagroup.com/breaking-blackrock-recruiter-who-decides-peoples-fate-says-war-is-good-for-business-while-spilling-info-on-asset-giant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">O&#8217;Keefe Media Group</a> (OMG) spoke with BlackRock recruiter Serge Varlay — who told her that because of the vast sums of money the company controls in the global market, they can essentially &#8220;run the world.&#8221; He began with a caveat, noting that BlackRock did not necessarily want people to notice what they were doing.
&#8220;They don&#8217;t want to be in the news. They don&#8217;t want people to talk about them. They don’t want to be anywhere on the radar,&#8221; he said, and when the journalist asked him why, he paused. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know, but I suspect it&#8217;s because it&#8217;s easier to do things when people aren&#8217;t thinking about it.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/BlackRock?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlackRock</a> Recruiter Who “Decides People’s Fate” Spills Info on Company’s World Impact
“It’s not who the president is- it’s who’s controlling the wallet of the president”
“You got $10K? You can buy a senator&quot;
“War is real f***ing good for business” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackRockExposed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackRockExposed</a> <a href="https://t.co/DZIy1DuZKF">pic.twitter.com/DZIy1DuZKF</a>
&mdash; James O&#39;Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1671262303319392259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Varlay went on to explain that while BlackRock might be one of the biggest players, the asset management firm was not the only game in town.
&#8220;All of these financial institutions, they buy politicians,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You can take this big f*** ton of money and buy people … It’s not who is the president, it’s who is controlling the wallet of the president. You could buy your candidates. First, there is the senators, these guys are f***ing cheap. Got 10 grand? You can buy a senator. I’ll give you 500k right now &#8230; It doesn’t matter who wins, they’re in my pocket.&#8221;
In another segment of the video, Varlay discussed the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine — but strictly from a financial perspective.
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&#8220;Ukraine is good for business, you know that right? Russia blows up Ukraine’s grain silos and the price of wheat is going to go mad up. The Ukrainian economy is tied very largely to the wheat market. The price of bread, literally everything goes up and down, this is fantastic if you’re trading,&#8221; Varlay continued, adding, &#8220;Volatility creates opportunity to make profit. War is real f***ing good for business. It&#8217;s exciting when s*** goes wrong, right?&#8221;
Varlay said several times that there were other financial institutions taking similar steps to &#8220;buy politicians&#8221; and influence the global markets, but that the sheer volume of capital that BlackRock was controlling made the company even more formidable.
&#8220;BlackRock manages $20 trillion. It&#8217;s incomprehensible numbers,&#8221; he said.

BlackRock Gets $146 Billion Of Fresh Cash After Market Rout

James O’Keefe Drops Bombshell Video On BlackRock: ‘You Got $10k? You Can Buy A Senator’

James O'Keefe Drops Bombshell Video On BlackRock: 'You Got $10k? You Can Buy A Senator'

BlackRock

Business

General

James O'Keefe

Presidency

Senate

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sherrod-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sherrod Brown</a> (D-OH) took hundreds of thousands of dollars from three drug companies at the center of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opioid-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opioid epidemic</a> in the U.S.
According to FEC financial reports cited by the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/ohio-democratic-senator-took-243k-from-opioid-giants-fec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>, Brown raked in more than $200,000 from political action committees associated with Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen since 2003. The three pharmaceutical giants paid out a $26 billion settlement to settle thousands of individual lawsuits from states and local governments. Ohio is also one of the states hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.
According to <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00264697&amp;committee_id=C00331694&amp;committee_id=C00690073&amp;contributor_name=C00108035&amp;contributor_name=C00332833&amp;contributor_name=C00400929" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FEC filings</a>, Brown took in a total of $144,500 in contributions to his campaign and leadership PAC, America Works PAC. He raised $85,000 from Cardinal Health, $56,500 from AmerisourceBergen, and $1,500 from McKesson. The latest donation was a $2,500 donation from Cardinal Health on September 21. The New York Post further reported that he took in $54,100 from lobbyists who worked for the three pharmaceutical distributors, including $5,600, the legal maximum, from a McKesson lobbyist in 2020 and again in 2021.
Separately, individual employees <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00264697&amp;committee_id=C00331694&amp;committee_id=C00690073&amp;contributor_employer=cardinal+health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> another $40,025. Cardinal Health Chief Information Officer Mark MacNaughton was a frequent small-dollar donor. Former Cardinal Health CEO George S. Barrett donated a total of $15,400 between 2011 and 2019, all in large amounts. Theodore Frank of McKesson donated $1,000 to his 2018 campaign. Rita Ersfeld Norton of AmerisourceBergen gave him $1,000 in 2017.
Together, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen account for 90% of the U.S. supply chains for drugs and medical supplies. But the companies have allegedly been complicit in the proliferation of opioids; the New York Post reported that for more than a decade, the three pharma giants failed to track suspicious orders or increases in opioid use among purchasers, in spite of doctors potentially criminally overprescribing the drugs.
The three companies, along with Johnson &amp; Johnson, settled a $26 billion lawsuit with 49 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and thousands of municipalities in February 2022. In a <a href="https://www.mckesson.com/About-McKesson/Newsroom/Press-Releases/2022/Distributors-Approve-Opioid-Settlement-Agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joint statement</a> in February, the three companies announced that, beginning on April 2, 2022, they would pay out more than $19.5 billion over the next 18 years: Amerisource is set to pay out $6.1 billion; Cardinal Health, $6 billion; and McKesson, $7.4 billion. The settlement dealt with 46 of the 49 states; Alabama, Oklahoma, and Washington State refused the settlement. West Virginia settled previously. The Cherokee Nation also settled separately, and the remaining Native Americans had reached an agreement in principle at the time.
The New York Post also reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration settled a $150 million payout for violating federal controlled substance laws in 2017, the largest penalty in the DEA&#8217;s history.
Ohio had an estimated 5,068 deaths from drug overdoses in 2021, the fifth-highest in the nation, according to the CDC&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Vital Statistics System</a>. The CDC reported 107,622 deaths from drug overdoses in 2021, the highest number on record, as The Daily Wire reported last year. The New York Times <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/record-number-of-americans-died-from-drug-overdoses-in-2021-cdc-data-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time that synthetic opioids accounted for 71,000 deaths.
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In 2017, Brown himself <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSherrodBrown/status/922482085272674304" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the opioid crisis “one of biggest public health emergencies in my lifetime [and] all too often addiction starts in [the] medicine cabinet.”
Brown is running for a fourth term in the Senate in 2024. But he faces an uphill battle in a state that is rapidly turning red: former President Trump won the state by eight points in 2020; Republican Senator J.D. Vance won the state by six points in 2022. So far, State Senator Matt Dolan and businessman Bernie Moreno have entered the Republican primary.

Democratic Lawmakers Demand Senate Vote On House-Passed Bipartisan Background Checks Gun Control Act

Ohio Democrat Senator Took Thousands Of Dollars In Donations From Pharma Companies At Center Of Opioid Crisis

Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown Took Thousands Of Dollars In Donations From Pharma Companies At Center Of Opioid Crisis

Big Pharma

Health

Ohio

Opioid Crisis

Politics

Prescription Drugs

Sherrod Brown

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oregon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oregon</a> Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned from her post Tuesday after consulting for a cannabis company that state officials were auditing.
Fagan, a Democrat, announced in a <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=143940" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> that she would resign, effective May 8. The resignation comes after local news outlets reported that she was receiving $10,000 a month in consulting fees from one of the state&#8217;s largest marijuana dispensaries; at the same time, the Oregon Department of Revenue and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission were auditing the franchise and the cannabis industry.
“While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical guidelines in trying to make ends meet for my family, it is clear that my actions have become a distraction from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s office,&#8221; Fagan said in a statement. &#8220;Protecting our state’s democracy and ensuring faith in our elected leaders — these are the reasons I ran for this office. They are also the reasons I will be submitting my resignation today. I want to thank the incredible staff in the Secretary of State’s office for their hard work and Oregonians for the opportunity to serve them. It has been a true honor to serve the people of Oregon.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2023/04/27/secretary-of-state-shemia-fagan-is-working-as-private-consultant-to-troubled-cannabis-couple/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Willamette Week</a>, Fagan confirmed that she had accepted a consulting contract with La Mota, one of the largest marijuana dispensary chains in the state. La Mota is in significant legal trouble; the Oregon Department of Revenue and the IRS have filed more than $7 million in liens against the owners for unpaid taxes. The owners, and the companies they control, have been sued more than 30 times in state court for failing to pay bills and other claims. The owners of the chain were also significant donors to her campaign, and other Democrats statewide.
Besides the audit, the cannabis industry is regulated by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, which is overseen by Fagan. Furthermore, the state&#8217;s Audits Division, also overseen by Fagan, was expected to release a report last week auditing the OLCC&#8217;s regulation of cannabis; Fagan had recused herself from that investigation.
A separate report from Willamette Week <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2023/05/01/fagans-contract-would-have-paid-her-more-than-state-salary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monday</a> revealed that Fagan was being paid a $10,000 monthly consulting fee, with $30,000 bonuses for each license she helped La Mota secure outside Oregon. That figure, which totals about $120,000, is much more than her state salary of $77,000 a year. The contract had no end date. In a separate announcement Monday, she announced that she had terminated the contract.
Deputy Secretary Cheryl Myers will fill the post until Governor Tina Kotek appoints a replacement.
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Fagan&#8217;s resignation comes just two months after several of her subordinates on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oregon-alcohol-regulators-used-their-power-to-get-their-hands-on-rare-ultra-expensive-bourbon-investigation-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission</a> were also found to have used their power for personal gain. According to an internal investigation, at least six members of the OLCC, including the agency’s former executive director, used their authority to divert rare and expensive bourbon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/whiskey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whiskey</a> so they could buy it for their personal use. The officials allegedly used their connections to push the rare spirits to a particular store where they could be kept away from the public.

Oregon Flag and U.S. Flag

Oregon Secretary Of State Resigns After She Took $10K A Month Consulting Marijuana Dispensary During State Audit

Democrat Oregon Secretary Of State Resigns After Taking $10K A Month Consulting Marijuana Dispensary While State Audited Company, Industry

Corruption

Marijuana

Oregon

Secretary of State

There is an old rap remix by Asher Roth of &#8220;I Love College&#8221; fame that states, &#8220;A million here, a million there. Yeah, you got a mil, but for real dog, nobody cares.&#8221;
Unfortunately, that lyric also describes the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mainstream-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legacy media</a> and Democratic Party&#8217;s reaction to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congressman James Comer&#8217;s (R-KY)</a> bombshell report last week that a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese Communist Party-linked energy company</a> doled out at least a million dollars to members of the Biden family via <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/comer-believes-6-or-7-biden-family-members-involved-in-foreign-business-schemes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden&#8217;s business partner</a> for unexplained reasons in 2017.
Well, screw &#8217;em. Legacy media and the Democrats are not needed to make sure that this potential national embarrassment and security risk of a scandal is fully exposed, with those who allegedly broke the law put on trial.
That being said, you would think — or maybe hope — that at least one member of the media would be curious and think: &#8220;How is it that so many members of the Biden family — including Beau&#8217;s widow Hallie and one relative named only &#8216;Biden&#8217; — are energy and business experts?&#8221;
Well, a much more likely explanation to that question — and one that the lapdog press doesn&#8217;t want to hear — is that the Bidens were selling access to Grandpa Joe&#8217;s political connections.
The president, for his part, has denied that the transactions occurred at all, let alone that any wrongdoing occurred.
&#8220;That&#8217;s not true,&#8221; Biden told reporters when pressed about Comer&#8217;s report this week.
Comer has said that is, for lack of a better descriptor, just pure bullcrap.
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&#8220;President Biden’s statement was misleading and dishonest,&#8221; Comer <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/comer-demands-biden-correct-dishonest-denial-family-hunter-business-partner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a>. How does he know? Well, again he discovered this transaction based on &#8220;bank documents from a financial institution pursuant to a subpoena.&#8221;
Adding to the evidence this is the real-deal are statements from Hunter&#8217;s legal team.
&#8220;Further undercutting President Biden’s assertion, Hunter Biden’s legal team publicly acknowledged he was involved in a ‘joint venture’ with an &#8216;energy company in China’ and ‘shared&#8217; his portion of the funds with James and Hallie Biden,&#8221; Comer wrote to the House.
Comer has requested that the White House correct the record by March 27, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/comer-demands-biden-correct-dishonest-denial-family-hunter-business-partner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Fox News.
As Comer has pointed out, this is just one transaction that needs to be explained. There are undoubtedly countless more money exchanges between the Biden family and foreign nations from all over the globe that need to be explained — not just from the CCP.
Now, we all know that if this were former President Trump and his kids, the Democrat-Media complex would justifiably be all over this story. Authorities from every blue state and across the federal government would be scrutinizing every business action ever taken by the Trump family. Republicans would probably support it — based on the alleged amount of evidence available for public consumption.
Instead, the legacy media is virtually ignoring the story. Federal authorities seem to have no interest — except for those like Comer in Congress.
So, the point here is not to say, &#8220;Wow! Imagine if this situation were reversed!&#8221;
Indeed, you should imagine if the situation were reversed, and then wonder why Republicans haven&#8217;t been following the same playbook (minus the dishonesty) if they truly want to win. Ideally, Comer and his team stay on this story until the whole truth and nothing but the truth is unveiled while more GOP officials join hands.
Democrats and their media allies will never care about this story so long as the “Big Guy&#8221; in the White House is politically useful. Yet that does not mean that Republicans and conservative media do not have the agency and proper legal avenues to make sure that the rule of law is upheld and no stone is left unturned.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TODAY — Pictured: Joe Biden on Monday, November 13, 2017.

Biden Family Got Over A Million From China But Nobody In The Democrat-Media Complex Cares

Chinese Communist Party

Communist China

Executive

James Comer

Joe Biden

Some believe that the cushiest job in the world is playing as a backup quarterback in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nfl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NFL</a> but, as of late, perhaps the sweetest gig one can land is being the spouse of a Democratic member of Congress.
Per several reports on Tuesday, Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) and retired Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) are just the latest lefties accused of shelling out big bucks to their spouses for no-show jobs on the campaign trail and beyond.
Over the weekend, Bush quietly married her security guard Cortney Merritts. The Missouri Democrat has often called to &#8220;Defund the Police&#8221; while claiming that she needs security because her life would be in danger without it. As for the well-being of the plebs who can&#8217;t afford private security, well, she hasn&#8217;t quite addressed those concerns.
The receipts show that Bush paid Merritts $60,000 for his &#8220;security services.&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cori-bushs-campaign-paid-husband-security-services-doesnt-have-private-security-license" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Tuesday that Merritt isn&#8217;t actually licensed to practice any security in Bush&#8217;s district — as required by state law. Nonetheless, Bush&#8217;s campaign paid Merritt throughout 2022 via a series of $2,500 checks. At the same time, Bush&#8217;s campaign paid PEACE Security $225,281.80 for personal protection.
Adding to the intrigue, Bush&#8217;s office confirmed that the newlyweds have been an item since 2021 — which means Bush hired her boyfriend for supposed personal security despite him not having the authority to act in that capacity since 2012, Fox News claimed.
Also on Tuesday, The Washington Examiner reported that former Congressman Bobby Rush is accused of handing out potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of campaign funds to not only his wife, but his son, mother, and even his church in Chicago where he serves as the pastor.
The Examiner&#8217;s Gabe Kaminsky noted that Rush’s campaign has paid his ex-convict son, Jeffrey Rush, roughly $45,000 since 2019. In 2022, his campaign paid $13,500 to his wife for &#8220;accounting services,&#8221; according to Kaminsky. Rush had announced his plans to retire in January 2023 and wasn&#8217;t up for re-election. Right before exiting office, he gave his wife another 900 smackeroos, per The Examiner.
Rush and Bush aren&#8217;t alone in their family jobs program.
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-19518">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) gave the firm co-owned by her husband (not her brother) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ilhan-omar-cuts-ties-to-husbands-firm-after-funneling-millions-in-campaign-funds-to-it-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly three million dollars</a> during the 2020 election. She then cut ties immediately after she won.
In 2022, the team of Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/report-dem-maxine-waters-funnels-tens-of-thousands-in-campaign-funds-to-daughters-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paid</a> more than $200,000 to her daughter for campaign services such as creating mailers. Per The Washington Free Beacon, Waters&#8217; daughter has been given more than $1.2 million over the past few decades by Auntie Maxine — as she is known by her fans.
And then there&#8217;s Vice President Kamala Harris, who wasn&#8217;t a spouse but a girlfriend to San Fransisco Mayor Willie Brown. Many have claimed that &#8220;love connection&#8221; helped kickstart her career.
Here&#8217;s what he had to say about his ex-<a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Sure-I-dated-Kamala-Harris-So-what-13562972.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inamorata</a> in 2019: &#8220;Yes, we dated. It was more than 20 years ago. Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker. And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco.&#8221;
Brown went on to claim he also helped other Californian women advance in their careers, but that Harris was the only one to threaten to put him in jail for &#8220;so much as jaywalking.&#8221;
That being said, given the general insanity of leftists, maybe it&#8217;s a better choice to go for the backup QB gig for your next career if you are reading this column and seeing green. Learning an NFL playbook would be a lot less hassle than trying to make sure campaign expenditures comply with the law over family dinners.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Bobby Rush, Cori Bush

It Pays To Be A Democrat’s Spouse: The Latest Members Of Congress Accused Of Shelling Out Big Bucks To Loved Ones

It Pays To Be A Democrat's Spouse: The Latest Members Of Congress Accused Of Shelling Out Big Bucks To Loved Ones

Congress

Cori Bush

Democrats

Maxine Waters

Money

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) is being <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/11/21/rep-maloney-facing-ethics-investigation-over-met-gala-attendance/?sh=2b0b3ce4ae30" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated</a> over her attendance at the Met Gala in recent years.
In June, the Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/sites/ethics.house.gov/files/documents/OCE%20Report%20and%20Findings_14.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created</a> its report related to the allegations made against Maloney and her attendance at the 2021 Met gala. 
The board found that “there is substantial reason to believe that [Maloney] solicited or accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala.” The board recommended that the House of Representatives&#8217; Committee on Ethics continue to look into the allegation that she “may have solicited or accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala.”
The Committee on Ethics put out a press <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/press-releases/statement-acting-chairwoman-and-acting-ranking-member-committee-ethics-regarding-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a> on Monday, explaining that it will continue to review the subject. It also released the OCE&#8217;s Report and Findings.
The board&#8217;s findings detail that even though Maloney told the OCE that she had always been invited to the Met Gala, and had never asked to be invited, that wasn’t true. In 2016, she called a former president of the Met to ask to be invited. The former president said Maloney was “unhappy to say the least that she is not receiving an invitation to the party of the year,” adding how Maloney “went on about how much she does for The Met.”
Maloney has also taken steps to get federal funds and grants for the Met. One of the witnesses explained how Maloney has helped the Met saying,“…all of them [government officials], as I like to say, have been our champions and have really articulated what we do here in terms of education and community outreach with their various colleagues at those levels of government. For us it has been invaluable just like being, I like to say, a cheerleader for the museum.”
When questioned, Maloney doubled down and said she did not remember ever calling people at the Met over whether or not she was invited to the gala. 
Further evidence showed that Maloney might have asked to be invited to the Met Gala in 2020, as well, which was <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/21/ethics-panel-probes-rep-carolyn-maloneys-met-gala-invites">canceled</a> due to the pandemic. 
The OCE discovered that Maloney was invited to the Met Gala every year after her 2016 request. White House regulations allow Members of Congress to go to charitable events only if they “accept unsolicited offers of free attendance,” according to the report.
“Representative Maloney is confident that the House Ethics Committee will dismiss this matter,” a spokesperson for Maloney told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Although the Committee has not made any determination a violation occurred, she is disappointed by the unproven and disputed allegations in the report issued by Office of Congressional Ethics and strongly disagrees with its referral.&#8221;
Maloney is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/23/jerry-nadler-beats-carolyn-maloney-in-ny-house-democratic-primary.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaving</a> office in January after she lost her primary to Representative Jerry Nadler for the twelfth congressional district in New York that was recently <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/final-new-york-congressional-map-sets-thorny-democratic-primaries-rcna30011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">re-drawn</a>.

49CE0222-5341-415D-9665-0D2AFDD172C9_1_201_a

Ethics Committee Investigating Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney Over Met Gala Invites

House Committee On Ethics Investigating New York Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney Over Met Gala Invites

Met Gala

New York

CNN&#8217;s John Avlon laid into Democrats on Tuesday, challenging the party&#8217;s apparent strategy of backing far-right candidates in Republican primaries — particularly when their opponents were not fans of former President Donald Trump — in the hopes that they will be more easily defeated by Democrats in November&#8217;s general election.
Avlon joined the hosts of &#8220;New Day&#8221; and he noted that Democrats had been responsible for a number of major ad purchases targeting anti-Trump candidates in recent weeks, apparently hoping that they could help prop those candidates up through their primaries. Then, when independent voters went to the polls in November, the hope was that they would see a choice between a Democrat and a far-right Republican and opt for the former.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;It&#39;s incredibly cynical and hypocritical,&quot; CNN&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnAvlon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JohnAvlon</a> blasts Democrats&#39; strategy of boosting far-right Republicans in primaries in the hopes they&#39;ll be easier to beat come November. &quot;It&#39;s a dangerous game.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/qmr6p6aW8t">pic.twitter.com/qmr6p6aW8t</a>
&mdash; Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) <a href="https://twitter.com/VAKruta/status/1552012003895660547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Anchor <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/next-week-harvey-weinstein-cnns-john-berman-blows-up-over-rudy-giulianis-masked-singer-debut/">John Berman</a> introduced <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/cnn-anchor-discussing-civility-misses-the-mark-when-it-comes-to-protesting-conservative-justices/">Avlon</a>, asking about the reported ad buys and noting that Democrats were effectively promoting pro-Trump Republicans in the hopes that they could effectively rig the primaries because they believed anyone tied to Trump would have a more difficult time beating a Democrat in a general election.
&#8220;There’s a lot of righteous talk, especially from Democrats, about how we need to build the biggest possible coalition to defend democracy,&#8221; Avlon began, noting that the Republicans who had only recently been lauded by Democrats as &#8220;<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/pelosi-producing-oppo-research-for-liz-cheney-adam-kinzinger-to-attack-republican-leaders-gop-source/">profiles in courage</a>&#8221; for standing against Trump and even voting to impeach him were the ones who were being targeted but this particular strategy.
&#8220;Talk is cheap, and the reality is that those brave folks, including Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, have been taking a lot of fire from the left and right this year,&#8221; Avlon continued. &#8220;And the most recent example is Peter Meijer, a young Army veteran and rising star from Michigan. A man whose independent-minded, common-sense conservative principles perfectly fit the district once held by Gerald Ford. But yesterday, with one week until his primary, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee decided to drop more than $400,000 ad buy in his district to boost the name of his Trump-backed far-right primary opponent because they believe he’d be much easier to beat in a district that Biden won in 2020.&#8221;
Calling the move &#8220;incredibly cynical and hypocritical&#8221; — because it assumes that Democrats are not willing to engage in a fair fight should an anti-Trump Republican win in any of these primaries — Avlon went on to explain just how dangerous a strategy it could be.
&#8220;It’s incredibly cynical and hypocritical, and also part of a trend — Democrats trying to meddle in Republican primaries, not to aid honorable Republicans but to try to kneecap them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’s a dangerous game to play because, with the gravitational pull of the midterms moving away from the president&#8217;s party, there’s a non-zero chance that some of the more extreme candidates could win, despite being objectively worse fits for their districts.&#8221;
&#8220;Look, I get that politics ain’t beanbags, right?&#8221; Avlon concluded. &#8220;But some principles are bigger than partisan gain. Instead of focusing their primary political efforts on punishing the 147 members of the sedition caucus, Democrats are targeting honorable outliers like Peter Meijer. Unfortunately, he’s not alone. Take Adam Kinzinger and John Katko. They both voted to impeach Trump. Both represent blue states Illinois and New York. And in that once-a-decade redistricting, Democrats essentially erased their districts.&#8221;

Collision 2018 – Day Two

‘Incredibly Cynical And Hypocritical’: CNN Torches Democrats For Strategically Funding Far-Right Candidates

CNN Torches Democrats For Strategically Funding Far-Right Candidates

Democratic Party

Donald Trump

Republican Primary

A Monday ruling from the Supreme Court will allow wealthy candidates to remake the cash they loan to their own campaigns — but only if they win.
Six of the nine justices ruled in favor of a challenge from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to a federal law that “limits how political campaigns can repay candidates for money they lend their own campaigns,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/us/politics/ted-cruz-supreme-court-campaign-finance.html">The New York Times</a> reported. “The ruling was the latest in a series of decisions dismantling various aspects of campaign finance regulations on First Amendment grounds.”
The law initially placed a $250,000 limit on the repayment of personal loans that politicians make to their campaigns using money from donations that come through after the elections. Cruz had intentionally lent $260,000 to his reelection campaign in 2018 to test the constitutional bounds of the law. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts argued that the law in question “inhibits candidates from loaning money to their campaigns in the first place, burdening core speech.”
As <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/17/supreme-court-makes-it-easier-for-rich-donors-to-bankroll-candidates">Axios</a> summarized, “Wealthy candidates who lend millions to their campaigns can secure public office, then go to their top donors for sums that could reach the millions.” The Supreme Court’s decision, which is retroactive, has implications for wealthy individuals who largely self-funded their 2022 midterm campaigns.
In the Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat, television host Dr. Mehmet Oz and former Bush administration official David McCormick have loaned roughly $15 million and $11 million to their campaigns, respectively. Other primary contenders across the United States — including Mike Durant, a Republican Senate candidate in Alabama; Jim Lamon, a Republican Senate candidate in Arizona; and Alex Lasry, a Democratic Senate candidate in Wisconsin — have also made multimillion-dollar loans to their campaigns.
Roberts wrote that the Supreme Court’s ruling would aid political outsiders, according to The New York Times.
“As a practical matter, personal loans will sometimes be the only way for an unknown challenger with limited connections to front-load campaign spending,” Roberts argued. “And early spending — and thus early expression — is critical to a newcomer’s success. A large personal loan also may be a useful tool to signal that the political outsider is confident enough in his campaign to have skin in the game, attracting the attention of donors and voters alike.”
Roberts — who noted that the usual $2,900 individual contribution cap will continue — also argued that there is no tangible evidence that repayment of loans after elections would lead to corruption. “If the candidate did not have the money to buy a car before he made a loan to his campaign,” he continued, “repayment of the loan would not change that in any way.”
Justice Elena Kagan disagreed with Roberts’ logic in her dissenting opinion.
“However much money the candidate had before he makes a loan to his campaign,” she wrote, “he has less after it: The amount of the loan is the size of the hole in his bank account. So whatever he could buy with, say, $250,000 — surely a car, but that’s beside the point — he cannot buy any longer. Until, that is, donors pay him back.”
The Republican primary race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat appears to be a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pennsylvania-gop-senate-primary-might-be-two-way-contest-between-oz-and-barnette-poll-suggests">contest</a> between Oz and conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, with McCormick trailing in third place. A survey from Susquehanna Polling &amp; Research released on Monday shows Oz with 28% of likely Republican voters, Barnette following closely behind at 27%, and McCormick with 11%. However, another poll places McCormick in a somewhat better position, with 21% of Republican voters as opposed to Oz’s 28% and Barnette’s 24%.

Dr. Oz Honored With Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Victorious Midterm Candidates Could Remake Money They Pour Into Their Own Campaigns, Thanks To New Supreme Court Ruling

Dr. Oz And Other Wealthy Midterm Candidates Could Remake Personal Loans To Campaigns, Supreme Court Rules

2022 Election

2022 Midterms

Dr. Oz

Supreme Court

Ted Cruz

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

A competitive battle in a Tennessee GOP mayoral primary has led to a three-way, million-dollar-plus battle to control the future direction of a key conservative region.
Republican candidates Matt Hullander, Sabrena Smedley, and Weston Wamp have collectively raised more than $1.23 million toward the Hamilton County primary race, with voting on May 3.
The vacant seat left by current Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, who is stepping down after this term, has become a conservative battlefield as the county of more than 367,000 residents fights to maintain its Republican identity after back-to-back mayoral contests won by Democrats. Hamilton County is located in the southern part of the state, borders Georgia, and its county seat is Chattanooga.
&#8220;Hullander, former CEO of the home-improvement company HullCo., raised and spent the most. He reported total receipts of $508,000, a figure that includes a $50,000 loan the businessman made to his campaign earlier in his effort, which began in mid-2021,&#8221; <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hamilton-county-gop-mayoral-candidates-150200256.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Hamilton County Commission Chairwoman Sabrena Smedley reported  $387,770 through the first quarter of 2022. Wamp, son of former Tennessee Republican Rep. Zach Wamp, reported $342,756.
Just one Democratic candidate, Matt Adams, is on the ballot in the Republican-heavy race. The Chattanoogan <a href="https://www.chattanoogan.com/2022/4/12/447051/Matt-Hullander-Has-Raised-Over-500000.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Adams raising just $8,433 through March 31.
Wamp, who has lost two previous GOP elections for his father&#8217;s former congressional seat, claims he is confident the outcome will be different in his latest campaign.
“In December, our campaign wrote a detailed, $330,000 budget that would allow us to do everything we needed to do to win. We are grateful to report that we fully funded our campaign in late March and have now raised more than $350,000 in donations for the primary. We have the resources needed to win,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.chattanoogan.com/2022/4/12/447051/Matt-Hullander-Has-Raised-Over-500000.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Chattanoogan.
Smedley also displayed confidence ahead of the competitive primary.
&#8220;Hamilton County wants a mayor who&#8217;s ready for the job from day one, someone with experience in both business and government,&#8221; Smedley <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hamilton-county-gop-mayoral-candidates-150200256.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Times Free Press, noting she is not a full-time politician.
Hullander, the current fundraising leader, has been endorsed by the district&#8217;s GOP Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.
“Matt Hullander is clearly the best choice to lead Hamilton County. In today’s political climate, it is rare to find a person with the character, business acumen, and devotion to Hamilton County which I see In Matt. Over the years I’ve watched Matt grow in his personal and professional life, expanding the Hullco business enterprise, and taking the Hullander name into new ventures for the benefit of our community. He holds the skills and temperament to succeed, and I believe he will lead our community in an exemplary form,&#8221; Fleischmann said in a <a href="https://www.chattanoogan.com/2022/3/9/444950/Chuck-Fleischmann-Endorses-Matt.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> in March.
Hullander has also been <a href="https://www.chattanoogan.com/2021/12/1/439325/Fulmer-Calls-Matt-Hullander-A-True.asp]" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed</a> by former University of Tennessee football coach Phil Fulmer, who called the candidate &#8220;a true Hamilton County success story.&#8221;

Chattanooga

Competitive GOP County Mayoral Primary Turns Into Million-Dollar Battle

Mayor

Republican Party

Tennessee

For at least 20 years, Colorado governors have been accepting millions of dollars in corporate and private foundation donations to be used to fund positions and programs without oversight.
CBS4 <a href="https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/06/11/corporate-donations-governors-office-john-hickenlooper-anadarko/">discovered</a> the donations and that former Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat now running for U.S. Senate, accepted the most money from corporations by far.
“Hickenlooper admits he took the public-private model to a new level, funding programs and even positions in his administration with no oversight,” the outlet reported. “Among the biggest donors was the former Anadarko Oil and Gas. The company donated $25,000 to the governor’s office in 2017, just days after a deadly explosion in Firestone was tied to a leaking underground pipeline owned by the company. Over the course of four years, it gave the governor’s office more than $330,000, money for which there is little accounting.”
For his part, Hickenlooper told the outlet that his administration “tried to be as transparent as we could be, we issued press releases.”
“He said the donations were for a variety of initiatives and provided flyers for some of them, showing Anadarko as one of many sponsors for Pedal the Plains and One Book Colorado, but there’s no way of verifying any of it,” the outlet reported of Hickenlooper.
CBS4 reported there was little public accounting for any of the corporate donations except for a website called the Transparency Online Project, but it took a “time-consuming, multi-step search” to find the Anadarko donation.
More from CBS4:
<blockquote>Hickenlooper said he doesn’t remember soliciting any of the money himself, “I would sometimes speak to the chamber of commerce or I would speak to the Colorado Association of Nonprofits.”
When asked if he approached certain organizations or private companies directly, Hickenlooper responded, “I can’t think of anything offhand.”
He said the donations were handled by the governor’s Community Partnerships Program and he provided annual reports that detail various public-private partnerships. In most cases, the private donors aren’t listed and CBS4 could find no public database for how individual donations were spent. According to former staff, there was also no written policy to avoid conflicts of interest and no formal vetting process. Safeway gave $10,000 the year the governor signed a law allowing full strength alcohol in grocery stores. The company says it was for One Book, One Colorado.</blockquote>
CBS4 noted it “found no evidence of a quid pro quo,” yet the director of the Brechner Center for the Freedom of Information, Frank Lamonte, said the potential was there.
“Even if it’s well-intentioned and there is no influence buying going on, it just raises all sorts of red flags that it could influence the direction of policy and it could influence what legislation is prioritized, it could give, at least if not influence, it could give preferred access to the governor,” Lamonte told the outlet.
The discovery of the corporate donations with little accountability comes on the heels of Hickenlooper being found in violation an ethics ban on accepting personal gifts while in office. The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission determined that Hickenlooper violated the ban when he accepted a flight on a campaign donor’s jet and using a Maserati limousine while attending a conference in Italy, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-senate-candidate-violated-ethics-by-accepting-personal-gifts-committee-rules">reported</a>.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

John Hickenlooper

Democrat Senate Candidate Received Millions In Corporate Donations While Colorado Governor To Fund Programs With No Oversight

Colorado

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