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Mitchell Button Accused of Sexual Assault in Lawsuit

Mitchell Button Accused of Sexual Assault in Lawsuit

A pair of professional dancers filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing a former dance teacher of sexually assaulting and abusing them, and accusing his wife — an internet-famous ballerina who has danced with the Boston Ballet — of participating in some of that abuse.

The former teacher — who has been known by several names, but is called Mitchell Taylor Button in the suit — is married to Dusty Button, who was a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet and who has amassed more than 300,000 Instagram followers and several corporate sponsorships with viral photos and videos of her dancing.

The suit, filed in United States District Court in Nevada, claims that “the Buttons abuse their positions of power and prestige in the dance community to garner the loyalty and trust of young dancers” and said that the couple would “exploit those relationships to coerce sexual acts by means of force and fraud.” Mr. Button is a defendant in the lawsuit; Ms. Button is not, but is described as a “non-party co-conspirator.” A lawyer for the couple said that they denied the charges.

The suit asserts that one of the plaintiffs, Sage Humphries, now a dancer with the Boston Ballet, met the Buttons in 2016 when she was in the company’s apprenticeship program and that the couple sexually and verbally abused her, forced her to live with them and isolated her from her family.

“They had control over my phone and passwords to my Instagram, my email,” Ms. Humphries, now 23, said in an interview. “They had complete control over me. If I wanted to do anything, I had to ask them first.”

A second plaintiff in the lawsuit, Gina Menichino, alleges that several years earlier, Mr. Button sexually assaulted her when she was 13 years old and he was her 25-year-old dance instructor in Florida.

The lawsuit says that Mr. Button used several names, including Mitchell Moore, Taylor Moore and Mitchell Button.

A statement sent through a lawyer who is speaking for the couple, Ken Swartz, said, “Taylor and Dusty Button categorically deny these baseless claims and they look forward to the opportunity through court proceedings to disprove all of the plaintiffs’ false and fraudulent allegations.”

According to the lawsuit, Ms. Menichino, now 25, said that she met Mr. Button when she was a student at a Centerstage Dance Academy in Tampa, Fla., where she knew him as Taylor Moore. On two occasions in 2010, the suit says, she and Mr. Button were sharing a blanket while watching a movie with other dancers from the studio when Mr. Button sexually assaulted her.

Mr. Button regularly sent sexually explicit text messages, photos and videos to Ms. Menichino, the lawsuit said, and solicited the same from her. Ms. Menichino had aspirations of becoming a professional dancer, it said, and Mr. Button would reward her “compliance” with special dance opportunities, such as assistant teaching at a dance convention.

“The whole game was to keep him happy,” she said in an interview. “Don’t get him angry, or I was unworthy and I would lose my dance career.”

Ms. Menichino, now a dancer, teacher and choreographer, said in an interview that she had reported her experiences to the police in 2018 but that they told her they had found insufficient evidence to pursue a criminal case. According to police records provided by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, another dancer from the same Tampa studio reported to police in 2012 that Mr. Button had sexually assaulted her numerous times, some of them at her home; that case did not result in criminal charges, either, in part because of a lack of supporting physical evidence, the records said.

Ms. Menichino’s mother said in an interview that her daughter told her there had been “inappropriate interactions” involving her and Mr. Button after he had left the studio job.

In Ms. Humphries’s case, her mother and father said in an interview that they had sensed something was wrong with their daughter’s living situation and had flown to Boston to “rescue” her.

Ms. Humphries said in an interview that she had been in awe of Ms. Button, who was a principal dancer with Boston Ballet, and started spending concentrated amounts of time with her and her husband in 2017. But their behavior toward her became increasingly controlling, the lawsuit said.

According to the court filing, the couple insisted that Ms. Humphries sleep at their apartment regularly and eventually forced her to live there full-time and paid for her meals and personal expenses; Mr. Button told her that if he had access to her social media account, he could “make her famous like Dusty.”

“If Sage ever attempted to distance herself or disobey the Buttons,” the lawsuit said, “they would threaten to revoke their financial support and sabotage her career.”

One evening, Mr. Button sexually assaulted Ms. Humphries in his apartment, the lawsuit said, starting a pattern of sexual abuse that sometimes included violent sex acts that she did not consent to. The filing said that on several occasions Ms. Button held her down to immobilize her while Mr. Button had sex with her. And at one point, the suit says, the husband and wife got into a physical altercation that ended with him “striking Dusty across the face” because he was angry that she had had sex with Ms. Humphries.

In August 2017, Ms. Humphries, then 19, received abuse protection orders against both Ms. Button and Mr. Button, the lawsuit said.

The Boston Ballet said in a statement on Thursday that Ms. Button’s employment had been terminated in May of 2017 but declined to say why.

“Boston Ballet supports Sage Humphries who is bravely coming forward, sharing her experience to protect others, and seeking accountability and justice,” the company said in a statement.

Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer representing the two plaintiffs, said that there is a trend of predation in the dance world because of ingrained power dynamics and the desire on the part of dancers to gain approval from authority figures.

“Grooming in that environment is particularly easy for a perpetrator,” she said, “because he has full access to very young victims for long periods of time.”

Kitty Bennett contributed reporting.

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Politics

Man accused of bomb plot in opposition to Democrats abused steroids, proclaimed ‘REVOLUTION’

Man accused of bomb plot against Democrats abused steroids, proclaimed 'REVOLUTION'

Two California men have been indicted for allegedly plotting to attack the Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento with explosive devices following last year’s presidential election. 

The men were charged Thursday in a San Francisco federal court with conspiracy to destroy a building affecting interstate commerce and other related crimes, in a scheme to attack the John L. Burton Democratic Headquarters in Sacramento. 

Ian Rogers, 45, of Napa, and Jarrod Copeland, 37, of Vallejo, began plotting a series of “specific, detailed, and serious” plans to attack Democrats with incendiary devices after the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents. The men also attempted to gain support from militia groups in hopes that their attack would spark a movement to overthrow the government. 

The charges come as authorities are on heightened alert for potential political violence following the Jan. 6 invasion of Capitol Hill by supporters of then-President Donald Trump who sought to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

“Do you think something is wrong with me how I’m excited to attack the democrats?” Rogers asked Copeland on a messaging app last December.

Copeland, who was arrested Wednesday, later told police that he didn’t take Rogers’ statement seriously and was only listening to him “blow off steam.”

But court records indicate that Copeland encouraged Rogers’ discussions about violence with messages stating that they would take action to keep Trump in office. 

“If we see [Trump] can’t win we strike,” Copeland said in one message. “If they don’t listen to trump they will hear us.” 

Copeland also contacted the Proud Boys and Three Percenters, two extreme anti-government militia groups, and attempted to recruit individuals to join their plot in late December, authorities said. 

Court records state that Copeland had joined the military in 2013 but was arrested for desertion twice and was discharged in 2016 in lieu of court martial. He then joined the Three Percenters and later became an officer within the militia group, court records say.

The two men continued discussions of violent attacks on Democrats after election results were certified on Jan. 6, according to the charges. Prosecutors alleged that the insurrection at the Capitol had inspired them, citing Copeland’s excited messages on that day that fantasized about violence. 

“REVOLUTION,” “REVOLUTION,” “REVOLUTION,” Copeland said about the insurrection. “I’m f—— juiced!!!!!”

“Damnit I wanna roll into sac geared up,” another message of his said, referring to Sacramento and his military-style tactical gear and weapons. 

The Democratic headquarters in Sacramento was selected as their first target to attack with explosive devices, and the two men had discussed attacking the Twitter and Facebook headquarters next, prosecutors charged. 

“Heads must be taken,” Copeland said. “I don’t like to think it but I think we will have to die for what we believe in.”

Rogers was arrested on Jan. 15 accused of possessing five pipe bombs and remains in state custody in Napa County on multiple weapons charges. In addition to the pipe bombs, authorities seized nearly 50 firearms and about 15,000 rounds of ammunition from his home and business, according to a criminal complaint. 

Materials used to make destructive devices were also found at his business, including black powder, pipes and end caps and several manuals, such as “The Anarchist Cookbook,” the “U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook” and “Homemade C-4: A Recipe for Survival,” the complaint said. 

Authorities also reported discovering a sticker on Rogers’ vehicle window that is commonly used by Three Percenters. 

A day after Rogers’ arrest, Copeland purged all past communications with Rogers in fear of being traced. 

Court records also allege Copeland abuses anabolic steroids, noting a $1,200 purchase of steroids in December and the seizure of steroids from his home in January.

“The danger he poses to anyone with opposing political views is obvious,” the court records said. 

If convicted, the two men could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge, according to the Department of Justice.

Rogers also faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for his additional weapons charge, and Copeland faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for his destruction of evidence charge. 

Rogers’ attorney declined CNBC’s request for comment, and Copeland’s attorney could not be reached for comment. 

“Firebombing your perceived political opponents is illegal and does not nurture the sort of open and vigorous debate that created and supports our constitutional democracy,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds. “The allegations in the indictment describe despicable conduct. Investigation and prosecution of those who choose violence over discussion is as important as anything else we do to protect our free society.”

Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, called their alleged plot “extremely disturbing.”

“We are relieved to know the plot was unsuccessful, the individuals believed to be responsible are in custody, and our staff and volunteers are safe and sound,” Hicks said in a statement Thursday. “Yet, it points to a broader issue of violent extremism that is far too common in today’s political discourse.”

— CNBC’s Dan Mangan and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

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Business

Mexican Factories Accused of Labor Abuses, Testing U.S.M.C.A.

Mexican Factories Accused of Labor Abuses, Testing U.S.M.C.A.

WASHINGTON – The AFL-CIO and other groups on Monday filed a complaint with the Biden government over alleged labor law violations at a group of auto parts factories in Mexico. This will be an early test of the new North American trade agreement and its deals with OSH.

The complaint is focused on the Tridonex auto parts factories in the town of Matamoros, just across the border with Brownsville, Texas. The AFL-CIO said workers there had been harassed and fired for their efforts to organize with an independent union, SNITIS, instead of a company-controlled union. Susana Prieto Terrazas, a Mexican labor lawyer and SNITIS leader, was arrested and jailed last year in an episode that received a lot of attention.

The trade deal, the deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada, was negotiated by the Trump administration to replace the North American free trade agreement and went into effect last summer. While negotiated by a Republican government, the deal had significant input from Congressional Democrats, who controlled the House and insisted on stricter labor and environmental standards to vote for the pact, which required Congressional approval.

The trade pact called on Mexico to make profound changes to its work system, where bogus collective bargaining agreements, so-called protection agreements, concluded with no worker involvement and with low wages, were prevalent.

The complaint is placed under the trade agreement under a novel “rapid response” mechanism that enables complaints of labor violations to be filed against an individual factory and penalties to be imposed on that factory. The complaint was made by the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, SNITIS, and Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.

“USMCA is asking Mexico to end the protection union government and its corrupt dealings with employers,” said Richard L. Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, in a statement using the acronym for the trade deal. “The ongoing harassment of Susana Prieto and SNITIS members is a textbook violation of the labor laws that Mexico is committed to complying with.”

The trade deal aims to improve working conditions and pay workers in Mexico, which proponents say would benefit American workers by discouraging factory owners from moving operations from the US to Mexico in search of cheaper labor. Enforcing the pact is one of the greatest trade challenges facing the Biden government.

Tridonex is a Philadelphia-based subsidiary of Cardone Industries and controlled by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, the AFL-CIO said. In 2016, Cardone announced plans to move its brakes division to Mexico and lay off more than 1,300 workers in Philadelphia. This is evident from news and public records.

The complaint contains several allegations of labor violations, including that workers were unable to elect their union leaders or ratify their collective agreement, and that more than 600 workers were dismissed by their employer for retaliation. She also accuses Tamaulipas State of denying workers the right to vote for the union they represent.

“There couldn’t be a clearer case,” said Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service Employees International Union, which represents Cardone employees in Philadelphia.

In a statement, Cardone said it was “obliged to conduct labor practices, cultivate constructive relationships with workers and fully respect the universal principle of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining”.

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“We are committed to fully complying with all applicable labor laws and regulations regarding our Tridonex facilities in Matamoros, Mexico,” the statement said. “Should an investigation be initiated to discuss this further, we would appreciate it and be fully transparent and responsive in handling all government information requests.”

The quick response mechanism in the trade agreement enables the United States to take action against a single factory in Mexico if workers there are denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. It was one of the provisions that the Democrats highlighted as an improvement on the final deal over the original version of the Trump administration’s trade deal.

If the United States decides there is enough evidence that workers’ rights are being denied, it would urge Mexico to conduct a review of the allegations. After this step, a panel could be set up to investigate the matter. As part of the quick response process, the factory could face fines and repeat offenders could even prevent their goods from entering the US.

Mexico approved a revision of its labor laws in 2019, but it will be rolled out gradually over several years, and implementation of the changes remains a major question mark.

A report released in December by an independent committee set up by the United States to monitor job changes said Mexico has made progress but significant obstacles remain. The report found that the protection contract system was still in place and that most unionized workers were still unable to democratically elect their leaders.

United Steelworkers’ director of international affairs and chairman of the board, Ben Davis, said the complaint filed Monday had “all elements of the structural problem we are facing over labor rights in Mexico.” The quick response mechanism is a way to hold companies accountable.

‘This is the first time we have had something like this in a trade agreement,’ he said, ‘and so we think it’s pretty important that it’s used, used effectively and hopefully something that we can apply. ” in other places. “

Democrats in Congress welcomed the complaint. “We expect and urge the Biden administration to use all available resources to take aggressive enforcement action in this case,” said Richard E. Neal from Massachusetts, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Earl Blumenauer from Oregon , Chairman of the panel’s trade subcommittee, said in a statement.

It remains to be seen how the Biden administration will react to the complaint. One administration official said the administration would “carefully examine” complaints about quick response mechanisms.

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai was previously the chief trade adviser to the powerful Ways and Means Committee. In this post, she played a key role in the negotiations between the House Democrats and the Trump administration over the revision of the trade deal.

Ms. Tai has said enforcement of the agreement is a priority and the first meeting of the commission overseeing the pact – made up of Ms. Tai and her colleagues from Canada and Mexico – is due to take place next week for the Mexican embassy in Washington, according to a spokeswoman .

At a Senate hearing last month, Ms. Tai said there were “a number of concerns about Mexico’s compliance with USMCA commitments,” without giving details.

“We have done our best to use the most effective enforcement tools we know,” she said at another point in the hearing. “And they might not be perfect, but we won’t know how effective they’ll be if we don’t use them.”

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Business

Amazon is accused of corrupting the union voting course of at an Alabama warehouse.

Amazon is accused of corrupting the union voting process at an Alabama warehouse.

The union, sensibly defeated in its efforts to organize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, is attempting to dismiss the election results and accusing the company of corrupting the voting process by intimidating and monitoring workers.

On Monday, the retail, wholesale and department store union appealed to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the voting process via email last month.

The union lost its offer to organize the camp at a ratio of more than 2 to 1. Many workers said the union had not convinced them of the benefits of the organization and that they were largely satisfied with Amazon’s wages, benefits and working conditions.

In a statement on Monday, Amazon said: “Instead of accepting the choice of these employees, the union seems determined to continue to misrepresent the facts in order to advance its own agenda. We look forward to the next steps in the legal process. “

At the center of the union’s complaint is a mailbox that Amazon installed in the warehouse parking lot, where workers can cast their ballot papers. The union said Amazon brought the collection box without permission from the labor authority. The company also used video cameras to monitor workers who cast their ballots there and encouraged them to toss the ballots in the box instead of mailing them from home, the union said.

The union said these actions by Amazon “created the impression that the collection box was a polling station and that the employer had control over the conduct of postal votes”.

The union also accused Amazon of other tactics that may have intimidated the workers, such as hiring local police to patrol the parking lot while the organizers were outside and possibly pulling union-friendly workers out of the “captured audience” meetings that did the Company had held to raise the issue of organizing the ride among employees.

The company “would require the employee to come forward, identify them and then remove them from the meeting in the presence of hundreds of other employees, thereby compromising and / or chilling the employees’ right to freely discuss issues related to the union organizing campaign will, ” said the union in its filing with the labor authority.

The union has asked the Labor Authority to hold a hearing on their petition in order to overturn the results. If the union succeeds in its legal challenges, the labor authority could order another election to be held.

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Entertainment

Liam Scarlett, Famed Choreographer Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Dies at 35

Liam Scarlett, Famed Choreographer Accused of Sexual Misconduct, Dies at 35

Alastair Macaulay wrote in 2012 for the New York Times about “Viscera,” the piece Mr. Scarlett later created for the Miami City Ballet, that its “images, constructions and textures” showed why Mr. Scarlett had “achieved the status of an important choreographer of classical ballet. “

Speaking to The Times about Mr. Villella in 2014, Mr. Scarlett said, “I owed Eddy a lot because I was very aware that American executives would all watch to see what the outcome would be. After this piece everyone called. “

Mr Scarlett ended his dance career in 2012 and became the Royal Ballet’s first artist in residence that same year. Over the next seven years, he not only created numerous pieces for his home company, but also choreographed works for the Norwegian National Ballet, New York Ballet, American Ballet Theater, England National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and the Royal New Zealand Ballet Queensland Ballet, BalletBoyz and Texas Ballet Theater.

Although he was invited to create abstract works as a guest choreographer, his pieces for the Royal Ballet showed his fondness for storytelling. With works such as “Sweet Violets” (2012), a story of Jack the Ripper and murder in Victorian England, “Hansel and Gretel” (2013) and “The Age of Anxiety”, a ballet on the subject of war based on the poem by WH Auden based Mr. Scarlett, who had the same title and was seated on Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, showed that he was part of a long tradition of dance drama at the Royal Ballet.

In 2016 he created his first full-length work, Frankenstein, a retelling of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel based on a score commissioned by Lowell Liebermann. It received lukewarm reviews both in London and when it was performed by the San Francisco Ballet in 2018. His new version of Swan Lake, performed for the Royal Ballet in 2018, was received with more warmth.

“It’s far from a radical reinvention – the setting and choreography remain close to the nineteenth-century original – but what sets it apart from so many other swan lakes is its attention to dramatic detail,” wrote Judith Mackrell in The Guardian.

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Politics

Potential Cuomo challenger Tom Reed accused of sexual misconduct

Potential Cuomo challenger Tom Reed accused of sexual misconduct

New York Republican MP Tom Reed was accused by a former lobbyist of rubbing her back while drunk, unhooking her bra and moving his hand over her thigh after a day of ice fishing in Minnesota at an Irish bar in 2017. This was the result of a new report on Friday.

The Washington Post allegation against Reed by today’s U.S. Army Lt. Nicolette Davis, arrives as Reed – co-chair of the so-called bipartisan problem-solving caucus in Congress – is considering running for governor of New York next year.

Current Governor Andrew Cuomo has been accused by more than half a dozen women, including a current employee, of sexually molesting them or of otherwise inappropriately touching or talking to them.

And Reed – who denied Davis’ report as “incorrect” – was one of those who harshly criticized Cuomo and called for the Democratic governor to resign or be charged.

The congressman, who represents New York’s 23rd district, has campaigned for years on behalf of women who have alleged sexual assault and misconduct.

“These incidents of sexual harassment and abuse patterns are heinous and have absolutely no place in our society, let alone in the highest levels of government. Such behavior is worrying and unacceptable,” Reed said of Cuomo last month.

Cuomo has refused to act inappropriately against women and has refused to step down despite leading Democrats calling for it.

A spokesman for Aflac, the insurance company Davis was lobbying at the time of the incident, told CNBC: “Aflac takes these allegations very seriously and above all values ​​the safety and dignity of our employees.”

“When this matter was raised to officers and colleagues who were absent from the event, we immediately provided support and advice to Nicolette so that she could personally determine how to proceed to bring this deeply troubling experience to light.” said the spokesman.

“Aflac continues to support Nicolette 100% as we strongly condemn any form of abuse or harassment.”

Davis told The Post that she was 25 in 2017 when she felt the then 45-year-old Reed’s hand on her back as she sat next to him in a Minneapolis pub after an ice fishing event and similar beneficial activities the campaign committee of the then representative. Erik Paulsen, a Republican from Minnesota.

She told the newspaper that Reed looked drunk during the fishing event and that he slipped and fell on the ice.

Later, when she was sitting next to him at dinner, she told The Post that Reed’s hands began to wander.

“A drunk congressman rubs my back,” said Davis after texting a staff member that evening. “HELP, HELP.”

The Post reported that Davis said she was frozen in fear but asked a person who was in her right to help. This man pulled Reed away from the table and took him out of the pub, she told the paper.

“Davis’ report of Reed’s actions in 2017 was supported by a person sitting at the table that evening,” the Post reported.

“The person said The Post Reed was visibly drunk and put his hand on Davis’ back before being led out of the restaurant while the rest of the group stayed. This person spoke on condition of anonymity and carried out possible career implications at.”

The paper also quoted the woman Davis posted from the bar, Jessica Strieter Elting, who said Davis described how Reed touched her and unhooked her bra. Strieter Elting heads Aflac’s Washington political affairs team.

Brad Knox, a senior vice president at Aflac who was an advisor to the company at the time, told The Post that he recalled Davis telling him that Reed drank and reversed an item of their clothes.

“I wanted to cry because nobody should be exposed to this, especially not a new young lobbyist,” Knox told the newspaper.

Reed’s office issued a statement to CNBC: “This report of my actions is inaccurate,” Reed said of Davis’ allegations. Reed also said, “I stand by my record” for voting on women’s issues.

Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

A spokesman for the House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment.

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Business

Michael Spavor, Canadian Accused of Spying, Stands Trial in China

Michael Spavor, Canadian Accused of Spying, Stands Trial in China

A Chinese court on Friday opened a lawsuit against a Canadian businessman who has been in custody for more than two years on charges of espionage. This case sparked a worldwide outcry and called on the US to intervene.

A court in Dandong, a northeastern Chinese city, tried the Canadian Michael Spavor, who campaigned for cultural travel to North Korea before he was arrested in late 2018, in retaliation for Canada’s decision to arrest a leading Chinese technology executive United States request.

The court said in a concise statement that Mr. Spavor had been tried for espionage and “illegally providing state secrets abroad”. It was said that a verdict would be pronounced at a later date.

As a sign of China’s efforts to control the trial, the authorities banned the public and the news media from participating in the trial. A group of 10 diplomats from eight countries, including Canada and the United States, tried to gain access to the trial in Dandong, a coastal city near China’s border with North Korea, but were turned away. The court said the trial, which lasted about two hours, was held in private because it contained state secrets.

“We are deeply concerned about the lack of transparency in these processes,” said Jim Nickel, a senior official at Canada’s Embassy in Beijing who attempted to participate in the process, in a statement.

Another Canadian, Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat who was also arrested in 2018, is expected to stand trial in Beijing on Monday.

Since their detention, Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig have been at the center of a heated international dispute between China, Canada and the United States.

China, accusing western countries of attempting to thwart its rise as a tech superpower, is urging the US to end a full-blown fraud case against Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei. The United States, requesting Ms. Meng’s extradition, has asked China to release Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig.

“The trials of the two Michaels are revenge for Ms. Meng,” said Guy Saint-Jacques, a veteran Canadian ambassador to China who was Mr. Kovrig’s boss when he was first secretary at the Canadian embassy in Beijing. “It’s a message to Canada and the world: ‘Don’t mess with China.'”

The Canadians question was about to come up when senior government officials from Biden met their Chinese counterparts in Anchorage on Thursday. Friends and relatives of Mr Spavor and Mr Kovrig have urged President Biden and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take steps to ensure their release.

American officials said Friday that they were “deeply alarmed” by China’s decision to continue the trials of Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig. “We stand side by side with Canada in demanding their immediate release,” a US embassy spokesman in Beijing said in a statement.

Any compromise with Beijing could be elusive as China has shown no signs of withdrawal but has used the persecution of the two men to project an image of strength and demand that the United States withdraw its extradition request for Ms. Meng.

“Beijing makes it clear that the two Michaels with Chinese characteristics will be tried: closed to the public and the media,” said Diana Fu, professor of political science at the University of Toronto. “His actions leave little doubt as to who will be the ultimate decider of the fate of the Canadians – the Chinese Communist Party, not Biden, not Trudeau.”

The detention of the two men has led to tougher measures against China in Canada. According to a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute, a leading polling company, only 14 percent of Canadians view China positively. A majority see the Chinese government’s liberation of the two Canadians as a prerequisite for re-establishing relations.

“There is a backlash against China in Canada and the process will only exacerbate attitudes,” said Gordon Houlden, director emeritus of the University of Alberta’s China Institute. He added that the case of the two Michaels underscored the limited leverage of a middle power like Canada in the face of an economic and political giant like China.

Legal experts and human rights defenders have denounced China’s treatment of Canadians and accused Chinese officials of using “hostage diplomacy”. The two men, held in separate prisons in northern China, are largely cut off from the world and sometimes forced to go months without diplomatic visits. They had limited access to defense lawyers.

“Like so many cases where Chinese authorities try to silence a critic or settle a bill, these cases have nothing to do with the law,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.

As a self-described consultant, Mr. Spavor ran an organization in Dandong promoting cultural trips to North Korea. There he made high-ranking contacts and once met North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un. In 2013, Mr. Spavor helped organize a visit to North Korea for Dennis Rodman, the former NBA star.

“Michael is just an ordinary Canadian businessman,” his family said in a pre-trial statement on Friday. “He loved living and working in China and would never have done anything to harm the interests of China or the Chinese people. We stand by Michael and keep his innocence in this difficult situation. “

Claire Fu and Albee Zhang have contributed to the research.

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Business

Highly effective German Editor, Accused of Misconduct, Takes Depart

Powerful German Editor, Accused of Misconduct, Takes Leave

The editor-in-chief of Bild, Europe’s largest newspaper and an influential force in German politics and society, has been on leave while a law firm is investigating allegations against him, the publication’s owner said.

Julian Reichelt, the editor, denies allegations of misconduct, said Axel Springer, Bild’s publisher, in a statement. Springer said there was no “clear evidence” of wrongdoing and instead hired the Freshfields law firm to investigate the allegations. It was not stated what they were.

The allegations were first reported by the magazine Spiegel, in which it says that the law firm questioned half a dozen female employees who worked for Bild and complained about coercion by Mr. Reichelt about complaints about coercion by Mr. Reichelt. Spiegel did not name the female employees. The magazine states that Mr. Reichelt was accused of abusing his position of authority and creating a hostile work environment, but did not provide any explicit information.

“In order to ensure that the investigation process can be seen through to the end undisturbed and that the editorial team can work without any further burdens,” said Springer, Mr. Reichelt, “the Axel Springer Management Board has asked to release him from his functions until the allegations are made.” have been clarified. “

Alexandra Würzbach, editor of the Sunday edition of Bild, will take over the tasks of Mr. Reichelt, said Springer.

The #MeToo movement has hit Europe with much less violence than the United States, and cases of powerful men overthrown on allegations of wrongdoing against women have been relatively rare.

Germany and most European countries protect the identity of suspects in legal proceedings, which makes it difficult for the media to report cases of harassment.

Dishes were often unsympathetic. In 2019, a French court ordered the leader of the country corresponding to the #MeToo movement to pay damages to a former television manager whom she accused of making brutal and humiliating advances.

With a circulation of 1.2 million copies, Bild is Europe’s largest newspaper, but like most publications it has seen a sharp decline in its print readership. In 2011, daily printing revenue averaged 2.8 million, according to the newspaper’s website, down from 4 million in 1965.

With its colorful graphics and the focus on scandal, celebrities and sport, Bild – which means “Bild” – is Germany’s populist daily newspaper. The readership distorts masculine. Until 2012, Bild published a photo of a topless woman on the front page every day and continues to publish photos of half-naked “Bild Girls” online.

Unlike Britain’s right-wing tabloids, Image is relatively impartial yet empathetic, with an aggressive tabloid style despite being printed on a broadsheet format. Because of the reach of Bild, it is often the publication that leaders use to communicate with voters and offer exclusive interviews or juicy leaks.

Mr. Reichelt, 40, a former war correspondent who became editor-in-chief of Bild in 2017, also frequently wrote opinion pieces. He recently railed against the federal government’s mismanagement of the pandemic crisis. Earlier this month, he complained that the authorities fined joggers for not wearing masks, while the federal and state governments botched the introduction of vaccines.

Axel Springer, the parent company of Bild, is one of the best-known media companies in Europe. Springer also owns Welt, a German daily newspaper; the Business Insider online news site; and Politico Europe. The private equity company KKR owns 36 percent of Springer’s shares and has three seats on the company’s nine-member supervisory board. Friede Springer, widow of the founder Axel Springer, remains the main shareholder and board member.

Springer said in a statement on Saturday that the investigation involving Mr. Reichelt would include “an assessment of the credibility and integrity of all parties involved”.

The publisher added: “Prejudices based on rumors are not acceptable for the corporate culture of Axel Springer.”

Categories
Politics

GOP teams quiet as donor accused of working largest tax fraud scheme ever

GOP groups quiet as donor accused of running biggest tax fraud scheme ever

The billionaire, accused of running the largest tax fraud program in US history, has been a prolific donor to Republican groups and causes. The leaders of these organizations have remained silent about the federal charges against him.

Robert Brockman, former CEO of Ohio-based software company Reynolds & Reynolds, was accused in October of running a $ 2 billion tax fraud program.

Justice Department officials at the time said the businessman had been hiding capital gains through various offshore companies in Bermuda and Nevis and secret bank accounts for more than 20 years. Brockman has pleaded guilty to the alleged crimes.

Brockman’s most recent contributions to Republican committees came in 2017, ahead of the congressional mid-term election the following year, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Representatives of the organizations that are still active did not respond when asked whether they would like to plan a refund following the allegations or donate the full amount of the contributions to charity. The articles for 2017 still had to be published in the media.

In 2017, Brockman donated more than $ 80,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the political campaign organization for House Republicans. The GOP lost the house to the Democrats, and Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Became a spokeswoman.

Reynolds & Reynolds is not listed as a Brockman employer on the FEC records showing the NRCC contributions, but the Texas address matches the location shown on other Brockman contributions. The mailing address is also listed on a CNBC-verified corporate registration form for Reynolds & Reynolds. The form, signed in April before Brockman was charged, lists him as CEO.

Brockman also gave more than $ 100,000 to companies affiliated with former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, including a six-digit check to the now-defunct joint fundraising committee of the Wisconsin Legislature. The Brockman NRCC donations were traced back to Ryan’s joint fundraising committee, which at the time helped raise funds for the Republican campaign arm.

Brockman also donated $ 5,000 to Prosperity Action, Ryan’s leading political action committee that has remained active since he left office. This contribution was transferred to Prosperity Action by Ryan’s joint fundraising committee.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Brockman and his legal team allege the 79-year-old billionaire cannot be tried because he has dementia and is unable to defend himself. Prosecutors reportedly replied that he could fake it and that a hearing on Brockman’s competence is due to take place in June.

A Brockman attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Democrats are already rushing to the lack of public GOP pushback against Brockman after funding some of their campaigns.

American Bridge, a Democratic super-PAC that specializes in opposition research and first featured on Brockman’s contributions to CNBC, used the episode to blow up the GOP.

“Congressional Republicans have spent the past four years coreing IRS enforcement and cutting taxes on billionaires while they were funded by the largest tax fraud in American history,” said Max Steele, a spokesman for American Bridge. opposite CNBC. “Even though they should return or donate the money, we know they won’t. How can a party blindly loyal to Donald Trump afford to stand up against billionaires who commit tax fraud?”

According to a report by Mother Jones, Brockman also funded a super-PAC in 2012 through companies he controls to support Mitt Romney as president.

All House seats will be available in the medium term in 2022, while at least 34 Senate seats are at stake, according to Cook’s political report. More than two dozen seats in the Democratic and Republican Houses are marked as raids.

Cook is considering the two open Republican Senate seats in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. No seats in the Democratic Senate are listed as an issue on the website, although seats in swing states of Arizona and Georgia are labeled “Lean Democrats.”

Both parties have been investigated in the past for receiving campaign contributions from controversial individuals and in some cases not returning them. John Childs, who was accused and plead guilty of soliciting prostitution in Florida, has continued to fund Republican campaigns.

Records show that Childs donated more than $ 3 million to Republican causes in 2020 alone, including committees affiliated with former President Donald Trump. There is also no record that these donations were returned.

Steve Wynn, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman, has been charged with sexual harassment, which he denied. The former CEO of Wynn Resorts has continued to contribute to Republican campaigns and there is no record of those contributions being returned.

Harvey Weinstein was a major Democratic donor for years before being accused and sentenced to jail for rape. The Washington Post reports that some Democrats contributed the donations for various purposes.

Categories
Entertainment

T.I. and Tiny Accused of Sexual Assault; Lawyer Seeks Investigation

T.I. and Tiny Accused of Sexual Assault; Lawyer Seeks Investigation

The night took a turn for the military veteran when TI and Ms. Harris invited her and a few others to join them as they left the club, she said. She believed that they would continue the party elsewhere and remembered that she had willingly joined in.

Instead, they went to a hotel room where, according to the attorney’s letter, the other guests were quickly told to leave, and the woman began to suffer from the effects of everything she had ingested – despite consuming less than two drinks, the letter said. Her friend, whom she had been separated from, never made it into the room; She threw up in the lobby toilet, she said in an interview.

According to the letter, Ms. Harris suggested that the military veteran “freshen up” and took her to the bathroom, where the woman, drunk and overwhelmed, allowed Ms. Harris to undress and bathe her and TI

When they got back to bed, all three were naked and the veteran vomited, the letter said. TI then tried “to put his foot in her vagina.” She said no, said the letter. The woman remembered TI laughing at her because she vomited and he went to get condoms.

“The next thing she remembers,” the letter went on, “was waking up naked on the couch with a towel thrown over her, with a very painful vagina.” A security guard knocked on the door and told her to go, she remembered.

The woman fled. When her friend picked her up, she recounted the rest of her night, they said in separate interviews. At home, the woman made her way to the bathroom and scrubbed her body with soap and Tide with bleach, she said. She was too embarrassed to see a doctor, she said, but later treated herself for an infection.