Tag: Ties

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Health

Dr. Ounceshas ties to hydroxychloroquine corporations as he backs Covid therapy

Dr. Oz has ties to hydroxychloroquine companies as he backs Covid treatment

Republican Senate candidate from Pennsylvania, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has financial ties to at least two pharmaceutical companies that supply hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug he circulated as a possible treatment for Covid-19.

Oz, a physician and veteran television host who is up against Democrat John Fetterman in the race for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, owns with his wife at least $615,000 in Thermo Fisher Scientific stock, according to its financial disclosure. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s website lists hydroxychloroquine sulfate as one of the available products. It’s unclear when Oz and his wife bought the stock or if they owned it, as Oz promoted hydroxychloroquine as a Covid treatment early in the pandemic.

Oz and his wife also own between $15,001 and $50,000 in McKesson Corporation stock, according to the disclosure. According to the FDA, the company labels and sells hydroxychloroquine sulfate. It’s also unclear when they bought McKesson stock.

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is the anti-malarial drug commonly known as hydroxychloroquine, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Doctors across the country, helped in part by support from former President Donald Trump and conservative media figures, have been offering the drug to patients as a Covid treatment, despite its questionable effectiveness against the virus.

Oz’s financial ties to a manufacturer and distributor of the drug, and his promotion of it as a potential Covid treatment, raise questions about what he would benefit from its wider use during the pandemic. If he wins the Senate election, he could also face conflicts of interest as Congress grapples with a still-evolving coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement responding to CNBC questions about Oz’s ties with companies that manufacture or distribute hydroxychloroquine, including when he and his wife bought shares in Thermo Fisher Scientific, Oz campaign spokeswoman Brittany Yanick, does not affect the financial interests of the candidate.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Mehmet Oz with healthcare professionals worldwide who are considering hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as viable treatment options for critically ill COVID patients. He offered to fund the clinical trial at Columbia University,” she said.

The FDA has approved hydroxychloroquine to fight malaria but warned that it “has not been shown to be safe or effective for treating or preventing COVID-19.”

Oz took bold steps early in the pandemic to promote its use as a treatment. He urged Trump administration officials in 2020 to support a study he wanted to fund at Columbia University Medical Center on the effect of hydroxychloroquine on Covid-19 patients, according to emails obtained by the select subcommittee of the House of Representatives on the coronavirus crisis have been received and published.

Oz also has ties to a third company, which it says has divested hydroxychloroquine from its US portfolio.

Sanofi, which is headquartered in France and previously manufactured hydroxychloroquine, supported Oz’s nonprofit HealthCorps for years, according to the group’s annual disclosure reports. Between 2009 and 2018, Sanofi was listed as either a sponsor or donor in kind to the Oz-funded group, which owns aims to help teenagers with their health and well-being. In 2013, Sanofi is listed as one of the group’s “School Sponsors”. HealthCorps’ website states that a school sponsor must donate $100,000 to qualify.

Sanofi announced in April 2020 that it would donate 100 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to 50 countries around the world as studies evaluated the drug’s effectiveness in treating Covid-19.

A spokesman for Sanofi told CNBC that the company was not involved in Oz’s comments about Covid-19 or hydroxychloroquine. He explained that Sanofi divested hydroxychloroquine from its US portfolio in 2013 and was investigating the drug’s use as a potential way to fight the virus early in the Covid pandemic. After it was deemed ineffective against Covid-19, the company’s work on it was suspended.

The spokesperson also explained that the company’s last financial contribution to HealthCorps was in 2011. The company representative later corrected himself in a follow-up email to CNBC after the publication of this story, saying that 2013 was actually the last year that Sanofi made a financial donation to HealthCorps.

Oz’s ties to companies that would benefit from wider use of hydroxychloroquine could pose problems for the Republican if he wins the Senate seat. Kedric Payne, an ethics attorney at the Campaign Legal Center, told CNBC in an email that Oz could choose to walk away from the companies if he defeated Fetterman in November.

“He could have a rude awakening if elected because ethics rules could bar him from the job. Senators cannot use their positions to promote goods or services that benefit them financially,” Payne said. “Oz could voluntarily divest the shares if elected or stop promoting anything tied to his shares.”

A spokesman for Thermo Fisher Scientific declined to comment. A McKesson representative did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.

Since launching his campaign late last year, Oz has downplayed warnings from the FDA and other experts against the use of hydroxychloroquine as a Covid treatment. He suggested political animus against Trump endorsing the drug as a treatment and Oz in the Senate election, motivating criticism of the drug as a way to combat Covid.

“Well let me say this real quick, I really don’t know if it works or not, we haven’t been able to prove to this day if it works [hydroxychloroquine] works or not, which is a shame because we should have known by now whether a cheap 70-year-old drug used by a billion people works or not,” Oz said at a campaign event earlier this year. “But we don’t know. t which is a problem in itself. However, I mentioned it and then President Trump mentioned it in a press conference and suddenly the whole world hated hydroxychloroquine without testing it, without knowing it.”

Before launching his campaign, Oz championed hydroxychloroquine more explicitly. During an interview with Fox News in March 2020 at the height of the pandemic, Oz said that “hydroxychloroquine has a role” in fighting the virus. An on-screen graphic while Oz was being interviewed called the anti-malarial drug “promising” as a treatment option for Covid-19.

Oz also sought White House help to get the hydroxychloroquine trial going, which he wanted to fund at Columbia, where he was once vice chairman of the department of surgery. He has since said the study never got off the ground.

The Pennsylvania nominee’s communications with White House officials were released last month by the House’s select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis. In an email dated March 2020 Deborah Birx, former Trump White House coronavirus response coordinator, told Oz he would recruit patients and pay for the hydroxychloroquine trial himself.

Also in March 2020, Oz Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner emailed that “we must make the completion of this study a national priority and insist on immediate enrollment,” according to correspondence obtained by the House Committee and has published. Kushner replied to Oz the same day, “What do you recommend to speed it up?”

The New York Post reports that Oz spent $8,800 on hydroxychloroquine tablets for the study at the time and offered to spend $250,000.

Oz, during his campaign for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, accused then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of stopping the study after effectively banning the anti-malarial drug as a Covid treatment.

Oz’s financial ties could pose a bigger problem for him if he wins the Pennsylvania race, one of a few contests to decide which party will control the Senate next year. A Real Clear Politics poll average shows Fetterman leading Oz by almost 7 percentage points.

Share ownership in Congress will come under increased scrutiny. Some lawmakers in Congress have proposed a ban on individual stock deals that would require lawmakers to invest assets in a blind trust or to divest them outright.

Business Insider has identified at least 71 lawmakers who have violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act. The law aims to prevent members of Congress from trading stocks using inside information gained from their work as legislators.

By and large, however, members of Congress had little impact on lucrative stock deals.

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Politics

Alphonso David Fired as Human Rights Marketing campaign President Over Cuomo Ties

Alphonso David Fired as Human Rights Campaign President Over Cuomo Ties

Alphonso David, the president of the human rights campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ organization, was fired by the group’s board on Monday night for a report revealing that he had advised former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on dealing with allegations of sexual harassment.

David, the first black president of the group, was dismissed “for an important reason” in separate votes by the boards of the human rights campaign and its affiliated foundation after the two boards held a joint meeting. After two abstentions on the Board of Trustees, the votes were unanimous.

The removal of Mr David is the latest fallout from the report by Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, describing Mr Cuomo’s allegations of sexual harassment and the efforts of his staff to take revenge against the former governor’s accusers. Mr. Cuomo resigned in August after the report made 11 allegations and described a toxic work environment.

Mr David, who had worked as an attorney in Mr Cuomo’s office, was identified in the James report as being involved in efforts to undermine Mr Cuomo’s first accuser, Lindsey Boylan. Although Mr. David no longer worked there, he had a memo containing confidential information about Ms. Boylan’s career. He shared the memo with Mr. Cuomo’s advisors, who hoped to provide details to reporters. Mr David has claimed that as a lawyer he has an obligation to do so.

Mr David also proposed changes to a letter slandering Ms. Boylan that circulated among Mr Cuomo and his aides, saying that he would collect signatures from former aides for it. However, he refused to sign it himself and later said that he did not know the extent of the allegations against Mr Cuomo. He called for Mr Cuomo’s resignation after the report was made public.

A person familiar with deliberations on the human rights campaign board said that when the allegations came to light, Mr. David never told the organization that he was providing advice to Mr. Cuomo. The person said that Mr. David did not consult the group’s attorney or tell them that he would be interviewed by Ms. James’ office.

In a statement, board co-chairs Morgan Cox and Jodie Patterson said they had decided to end David’s role “with immediate effect for violating his contract with the human rights campaign.”

The statement also touched on a public dispute that unfolded between Mr. David and the board over the weekend after Mr. David said he had been told that a review of his actions had been completed without any wrongdoing being found.

“Yesterday and today, Mr. David issued a statement containing significant untruths about the investigation and his status with the organization,” said Mr. Cox and Ms. Patterson. “At HRC we are fighting to bring full equality and liberation to LGBTQ + people everywhere. This also includes fighting on behalf of all victims of sexual harassment and assault. “

The review was carried out by members of the HRC Executive Committee. They determined that Mr. David had a conflict of interest in advising Mr. Cuomo’s office and that his efforts are damaging the organization’s reputation. Joni Madison, the group’s chief operating officer, becomes interim president while David’s successor is sought.

Mr. David is not the only liberal ally of Mr. Cuomo involved in the James report. Recently, prominent attorney Roberta A. Kaplan, a co-founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, whose mission is to fight for victims of sexual harassment, resigned after the James report revealed that she was with Tina Tchen, the executive director, spoke of Time’s Up, a letter written about Ms. Boylan by Mr. Cuomo’s staff. Despite denying the charge of advising Mr. Cuomo’s team on defamation of a victim, both Ms. Kaplan and Ms. Tchen recently resigned from their roles.

Mr David had been a Cuomo adviser for nine years when the human rights campaign hired him in June 2019. Announcing the appointment of Mr David, the group highlighted his work with the former governor on important advances in LGBTQ rights, including marriage equality and a ban on conversion therapy.

Divisions between Mr David’s supporters and those who believed he had crossed a line in helping Mr Cuomo tackle allegations of sexual harassment became even more apparent Sunday after Mr David posted his statement on Twitter. Along with stating that the review was completed without a finding of misconduct, he said that the co-chairs of the board “have now asked to consider resigning, not because of misconduct but because they believe that the incident was a ‘distraction’ to the organization. “

He said their plan was to “calmly resolve the matter this holiday weekend,” adding, “I have the support of too many of our employees, board members and stakeholders to go quietly into the night. I’m not resigning. “

“The idea that this is a distraction is just wrong,” said David. “I was not distracted, nor were my HRC colleagues who fight for human rights. The distraction would require my resignation without submitting the results of the review. “

Human rights campaign officials then released a statement to their own staff saying that the review had not been carried out and that Mr David misrepresented the information he was given about the results.

“We were very surprised and disappointed by the inaccuracies in his portrayal of events,” the two CEOs told their employees in an email. “This investigation will soon be completed,” the statement said, and the organization “will then have more to say.” The chief executives initially supported Mr. David in staying in his position, but when some staff asked if he should resign, they hired the Sidley Austin law firm to review his conduct.

The person familiar with the board’s decision said there was no written report of this review and that there never would be. Rather, there were oral presentations to the board of directors. Mr. David is said to have given the board of directors names in addition to the 10 hours he spent giving names for the interviews.

The CEO’s statement released late Monday showed that there were not just isolated calls for Mr David to step down, but hundreds of them, with staff, board members and allies wanting the group to separate from him.

“This is a painful moment in our movement,” they wrote. “While the board’s decision is not the result we ever imagined or hoped for with regard to Mr David’s tenure at HRC, his actions have placed us in an untenable position by violating the core values, guidelines and mission of Violate HRC. ”They said they were“ grateful for his guidance over the past two years, ”especially on initiatives related to the trans community.

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Business

Secret Sharers: The Hidden Ties Between Non-public Spies and Journalists

Secret Sharers: The Hidden Ties Between Private Spies and Journalists

Mr. Simpson loved trying reporters, rewarding them with war stories, and presenting himself as a journalistically wise man. At a conference of investigative journalists in 2016, he said he and Mr Fritsch formed Fusion to continue their work as reporters correcting injustices.

“I like to call it journalism rental,” he said.

Fusion GPS, like its competitors, was part of a broader network of enablers – lawyers, public relations managers, and “crisis management” consultants – serving the rich, powerful, and controversial. For their part, private intelligence companies take on jobs that others cannot or do not want to be caught.

Information gathered by private investigators is often laundered by public relations firms who then distribute the material to journalists. Jules Kroll, who founded the modern private intelligence industry in the 1970s, broke this mold by sharing information directly with reporters. Mr. Simpson went a step further. He sold Fusion GPS to customers by pointing out his connections to major media outlets and reassuring journalists that he really was still one of them.

“People who have never been a reporter don’t really understand the challenges of printing what you know because you can’t just say what you know – you have to say how you know and you have to prove it,” said Mr. Simpson remarked at the 2016 conference, “When you’re a spy, you really don’t have to get into that much.”

Fusion GPS has also mined an area that other private intelligence companies have shunned – opposition political research. And when Mr. Trump emerged as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, Hillary Clinton’s campaign lawyers hired Fusion to look into Mr. Trump-Russia relations.

In the fall of 2016, Fusion GPS invited selected reporters from The Times, The New Yorker, and other news organizations to meet Mr. Steele in Washington and learn about what he’d found out about the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. As is often the case in the private intelligence world, the meetings had a catch: when news organizations wrote about the dossier, they had to agree not to disclose that Fusion GPS and the former British agent were the sources of the material.

Journalists were told that Mr. Steele played a pivotal role in overturning major cases, including the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, and the FBI’s investigation into bribery at FIFA, the football association. And when he talked about Trump and Russia, he appeared calm, reserved and confident, according to reporters who attended the meetings.

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World News

Jane Austen Museum to Handle Ties to Slavery

Jane Austen Museum to Address Ties to Slavery

Austen’s novels are about a tight upper class of British society and are set in picturesque villages that are largely cut off from the problems of the outside world. “Jane Austen is now standing on a pedestal as an expression of something delightful, comforting, beautiful, clever,” said Paula Marantz Cohen, English professor and dean of Honors College at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Many of her fans, she said, want to enjoy her stories about a simpler time and place.

Some Austen scholars say passages in her novels “Emma” and “Mansfield Park” suggest that she supports abolitionism, others say it is unclear. Few of her letters survived. But her favorite authors – Samuel Johnson, Thomas Clarkson, and William Cowper – were abolitionists. Nevertheless, like almost all English families of all kinds in the 18th century, her family had ties to the slave trade, according to “Jane Austen: A Life”, a book by Claire Tomalin.

Addressing the issue of slavery, Sherard Cowper Coles, President of the Jane Austen Society, said, “This is England’s story and as we understand it we should relate and update it.”

But Mr Cowper Coles, a former diplomat who was Britain’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009-10, warned: “It is not fair to expect people to have awareness outside of their time. But even in our time we are aware of slavery and live with its consequences in Minneapolis and in many other places. “

Frances Brook, a tour guide in England who has taken groups to Austen sites, said she was in favor of the museum that presented more context about Austen’s time, but that it would have “woken up” to judge her for wearing cotton and taking sugar in their tea -is gone a little too far. “Like the rest of us, Austen did things in her everyday life that contradicted her broader views of the world,” said Ms. Brook, who last visited the museum in 2017.

Prof Johnson, of Princeton, said the museum’s attempt to add context to Austen’s life would not suppress readers’ enthusiasm for her.

“Just because you involve Austen in the mess of the story doesn’t mean you don’t love her,” she said.

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World News

As China forges international commerce ties, U.S. dangers falling behind

As China forges global trade ties, U.S. risks falling behind

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends the signing ceremony of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement following the fourth RCEP summit held on November 15, 2020 via video link. Chinese Trade Minister Zhong Shan signed the agreement on behalf of China.

Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

The biggest hole in the Biden government’s otherwise encouraging efforts to better compete with China – a loophole that could undermine all other parts – is the lack of an international trade strategy.

As President Xi Jinping’s China accelerates its efforts to negotiate multilateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements around the world, both Republicans and Democrats in the US have become allergic to such agreements.

“The Chinese firmly believe in the importance of the correlation of forces, and they believe the correlation is in their favor right now,” said Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser to President George W. Bush. If the US does not change this Chinese belief, it will not regain the leverage needed to deal with Beijing.

“The most important missing element in changing this Chinese rationale is a trade strategy,” says Hadley, which could gather global allies, create American jobs and growth, and counter the escalating Chinese efforts to organize the world economy around them.

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once called the US the “indispensable country” of the world, but Xi now positions China as the “indispensable economy” of the world.

By 2018, 90 countries in the world were trading twice as much with China as they did with the United States. By 2019, China surpassed the US as the world’s largest recipient of FDI. The underlying message now is that China’s market is so large, its liquidity so deep and its recovery from Covid-19 so dramatic (up 18% in the first quarter) that no sane country can resist its acceptance.

“In times of economic globalization, openness and inclusion are an unstoppable historical trend,” President Xi told the Boao Asia Forum this week. Without mentioning Washington by name, he said that “attempts to” build walls “or” decouple “are contrary to economic law and market principles. They would harm the interests of others without being of any use to yourself.”

It is far too easy to poke holes in Xi’s statement: China is still rich in market protection measures and government interventions at home and abroad are on the rise. Intellectual property theft and cybercrime continue.

But without a modern, future-oriented trade strategy, the US is entering this global crisis with one arm behind its back.

“The US and China are in a strategic competition that will determine the shape of world politics this century,” former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson Jr. wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “But when it comes to trade, a critical dimension of this competition, America is stepping down.”

This undermines the early successes of the emerging Biden approach to China.

First, Biden has benefited from a bipartisan consensus, rare in Congress these days, on the urgency to face the Chinese challenge.

Second, Biden has started gathering friends and allies in Asia and Europe who share his concerns about China.

In March, Biden called the first meeting of the heads of state and government of the “Quad”, in which the US, India, Australia and Japan participated, in order to balance China in the region. To address China’s far-reaching vaccine diplomacy, countries agreed to distribute 1 billion doses of vaccines by 2022.

Last week, Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as the first head of government to visit Washington. Their joint statement made no mention of China, but did promise that “free and democratic nations that work together” could act to withstand “challenges to the free and open rules-based international order”. You also spoke of ensuring cross-strait peace. This is the first mention of Taiwan by a Japanese prime minister in a joint statement with a US president since 1969.

And for the first time, on March 22, the EU imposed economic sanctions on China for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, which acted alongside the US, Canada and the UK.

Third, the Biden government’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus plan and its upcoming $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure-related investment will keep the US competitive through investment in human capital, physical infrastructure and advanced Improve technology.

The problem is that the same bipartisan consensus in Congress on the Chinese challenge comes with a bipartisan allergy to the kind of multilateral and bilateral trade and investment deals that are required to address Beijing’s dynamic.

Last November, China was one of 15 Asia-Pacific countries, accounting for 30% of global GDP, to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It was China’s first free trade agreement with its US allies Japan and South Korea, which formed the largest trade bloc in history.

China has also expressed an interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP). This was the trade deal that eleven countries signed after the Trump administration pulled out of the effort as one of its first acts of government.

Should the RCEP agreement enter into force, which is expected to be before January 2022, and should China be able to join the CPTPP, the international trade agreement in Asia would have largely ended and China would have won.

At the same time, China is making progress on other fronts.

In January, it signed the EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement (CAI), much to the dismay of incoming Biden administration officials. (The conclusion of this agreement has stalled in the European Parliament due to new Chinese sanctions against the EU.)

Whatever happens in Brussels, most European countries are eager to sign trade and investment deals with China, which became the EU’s largest trading partner for the first time last year.

The real problem lies in Washington’s lack of alternatives – fueled by the misrepresentation by both parties that globalization has worked against American interests and jobs.

When the Republican Party transformed into the Trump Party, it abandoned the kind of free trade policy that President Ronald Reagan saw as “one of the keys to our nation’s great prosperity.”

While President Barack Obama was negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership during his presidency, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton rejected the deal in 2016 after calling it the “gold standard” only three years earlier.

“Both Democrats and Republicans are now advocating ‘a trade policy for the middle class,'” writes Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute in a convincing foreign policy that exposes this approach. “In practice, this appears to mean tariffs and ‘Buy American’ programs aimed at saving jobs from unfair foreign competition.”

Instead, he writes: “Washington should conclude deals that increase competition in the United States and raise tax, labor and environmental standards. It is the self-deceptive withdrawal from the international economy that has failed American workers for the past 20 years , not globalization itself. “

While the Biden government has put its trade agenda on hold, China marches forward – closing deals and setting the standards that will shape the future.

Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, award-winning journalist, and President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of America’s most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked for the Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as foreign correspondent, assistant editor-in-chief and senior editor for the European edition of the newspaper. His latest book – “Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place in the World” – was a New York Times bestseller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter @FredKempe and subscribe here to Inflection Points, his view every Saturday of the top stories and trends of the past week.

More information from CNBC staff can be found here @ CNBCopinion on twitter.

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Politics

Biden’s closest advisors have ties to huge enterprise with some making thousands and thousands

Biden’s closest advisors have ties to big business with some making millions

United States President Joe Biden speaks on vaccination status during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 18, 2021.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

President Joe Biden’s closest advisors are tied to big business and Wall Street. Some make millions of dollars in their careers before joining the White House.

Senior Biden personnel listed in the disclosures include Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, Senior Advisor Mike Donilon, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients, and Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese.

These figures show that many of the President’s closest associates are closely connected to the business community and have made more money in their previous corporate careers than previously known.

This information was made available to CNBC by the White House early Saturday morning after the documents were requested the day before. None of these positions have been confirmed by the Senate. Many of these advisors are already linked to Biden’s campaign or the administration of former President Barack Obama.

A White House spokesman did not return a follow-up request for comment.

Deese was previously Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock before becoming head of the National Economic Council. During his tenure with the investment firm, Deese’s disclosure reveals that he has made over $ 2.3 million in salaries and bonuses. Its disclosure also suggests that Deese could have made an additional $ 2.4 million through BlackRock’s restricted share plan.

Klain, who was an executive at the venture capital firm Revolution prior to joining the White House, had a salary of $ 1.8 million. He started with the company in 2005.

O’Malley Dillon, who led Biden’s campaign before joining the White House, co-founded the consulting firm Precision Strategies. The company’s founders are credited with supporting Obama in the re-election in 2012.

O’Malley Dillon’s new financial disclosure provides a glimpse into the business advice she provided to the company before joining the White House. The file lists Gates Ventures as a client of O’Malley Dillon when she was with Precision Strategies.

According to PitchBook, Gates Ventures is a venture capital company founded by billionaire Bill Gates. The current White House Deputy Chief of Staff also advised the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic arm of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.

Other companies that saw their leadership were General Electric and Lyft. O’Malley Dillon’s deferred compensation and severance payment from Precision is reported to be in excess of $ 420,000.

Prior to joining the White House, Donilon was an executive member of MCD Strategies, a media consultancy. His filing shows that he has generated over $ 4 million in revenue as the head of his consulting firm. Donilon lists the Biden Campaign and the Democratic National Convention Committee as two of his clients.

Zients was the CEO of Wall Street investment firm Cranemere before becoming senior advisor to the White House in Biden on the coronavirus pandemic. His financial disclosure shows that he had a combined salary and bonus of $ 1.6 million. As a board member of Facebook, the new report reveals that he made over $ 330,000.

Categories
Politics

Justice Dept. Is Stated to Be Inspecting Stone’s Potential Ties to Capitol Rioters

Justice Dept. Is Said to Be Examining Stone’s Possible Ties to Capitol Rioters

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is investigating communications between right-wing extremists who violated the Capitol and Roger J. Stone Jr., a close associate of former President Donald J. Trump, to see if Mr. Stone played a role in the extremists’ plans To disrupt the confirmation of President Biden’s election victory, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Should investigators find any news that Mr. Stone knew about or was participating in these plans, they would have a factual basis to launch a full criminal investigation into him, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss continued investigation. While this is far from certain, prosecutors at the U.S. law firm in Washington will likely if they find this connection.

Mr. Stone, a self-described fixer for Mr. Trump, escaped a 40-month sentence when the former president commuted his sentence in July and pardoned him in late December. Mr Stone had been convicted of seven offenses, including obstructing a House of Representatives investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, lie to Congress and manipulate witnesses. However, this pardon does not protect Mr. Stone from future law enforcement actions.

Justice Department officials have been debating for weeks whether to open a full investigation into Mr. Stone, the person said. While Mr. Stone was speaking at an arson rally the day before the attack, right-wing extremists serving as his bodyguards and standing outside the Capitol, these actions are not crimes themselves.

But the FBI also has videos and other information suggesting that in the days leading up to and including the day of the attack, Mr. Stone was linked to men who eventually stormed the building and broke the law, those with the investigation said familiar person. This has given investigators a window in which to examine communications to see if Mr Stone knew of any plans to break through the complex.

The Washington Post previously reported that the Justice Department was investigating Mr Stone’s possible links with right-wing extremists at the Capitol.

The New York Times has identified at least six members of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing extremist group formed by former military and law enforcement officials who guarded Mr. Stone and were later seen in the Capitol after a pro-Trump mob violently builds the building. Prosecutors have accused two of these men of plotting to attack Congress.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. Mr. Stone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement posted online this month, Mr. Stone denied any role in the “lawless attack” and said that members of the Oath Guards “should be prosecuted” if there is evidence that they have broken the law. He added that he “saw no evidence of any illegal activity by members of the group”.

A day after the Capitol attack, Michael Sherwin, the US attorney in Washington, told reporters that he would not rule out bringing charges against Mr. Trump or his associates for their possible role in inciting or otherwise encouraging the mob.

“We look at all of the actors, not just the people who entered the building,” Sherwin said. When asked if such goals would include Mr. Trump, who admonished supporters during a rally near the White House on Jan. 6, telling them that they “could never retake our country with weakness,” Mr. Sherwin stood by his testimony . “We all look at actors,” he said. “If the evidence fits the elements of a crime, they will be charged.”

Another member of Mr. Sherwin’s office soon appeared to be tracing those remarks back to them, suggesting that individuals in Mr. Trump’s orbit were unlikely to be examined. But Mr. Sherwin later said he stood by his original statement.

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Business

These Companies and Establishments Are Reducing Ties With Trump

These Businesses and Institutions Are Cutting Ties With Trump

Sie haben Präsident Trump die Ehrentitel entzogen, eine wichtige Grundlage für Kampagnenbeiträge, und in einem stechenden Schlag für das Resortgeschäft des Präsidenten eines der vier großen Golfturniere, die 2022 für einen Trump-Club angesetzt wurden.

Dies sind nur einige der Strafmaßnahmen, die eine wachsende Zahl prominenter Institutionen gegen Herrn Trump und seine Mitarbeiter ergriffen hat, seit die Anhänger des Präsidenten am Mittwoch im US-Kapitol tödlich tobten.

Ähnlich wie Social-Media-Unternehmen Herrn Trump von ihren Plattformen verbannt haben, haben sich Unternehmen, Universitäten und Wahlkampfakteure schnell von den Bemühungen des Präsidenten, die Wahlen zu stürzen, distanziert.

Hier ist eine Liste von Entitäten, die seit den Unruhen im Capitol, bei denen fünf Menschen ums Leben kamen, die Verbindung zu Mr. Trump abgebrochen oder sich distanziert haben. Viele der Institutionen wurden durch den Newsletter Popular Information identifiziert.

Die PGA of America gab am Sonntagabend bekannt, dass ihr Board of Directors beschlossen hatte, eine Vereinbarung zur Teilnahme an der PGA-Meisterschaft im Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, im Jahr 2022 zu kündigen.

“Es ist klar geworden, dass die Durchführung der PGA-Meisterschaft in Trump Bedminster der Marke PGA of America abträglich sein und die Fähigkeit der PGA gefährden würde, unsere zahlreichen Programme zu liefern und die Langlebigkeit unserer Mission aufrechtzuerhalten”, so Jim Richerson, Präsident der PGA of America, sagte in einem Video Statement.

Die Trump-Organisation antwortete am Sonntag mit den Worten: „Wir hatten eine wunderschöne Partnerschaft mit der PGA of America und sind unglaublich enttäuscht von ihrer Entscheidung. Dies ist ein Verstoß gegen einen verbindlichen Vertrag und sie haben kein Recht, den Vertrag zu kündigen. “

Die Entscheidung, Mr. Trumps Resort für die Ausrichtung des zweiten von vier großen Turnieren im Kalender der Tour zu entkleiden, war ein schwerer Verlust für einen Präsidenten, der sein Portfolio an Golfresorts betont und während seiner Amtszeit viel Zeit auf dem Platz verbracht hat.

Der persönliche Anwalt von Herrn Trump, Rudy Giuliani, läuft Gefahr, aus der New York State Bar Association ausgeschlossen zu werden, teilte die Organisation in einer Erklärung am Montag mit.

In den letzten Monaten habe der Verband Hunderte von Beschwerden über die Unterstützung von Herrn Giuliani für die falschen Behauptungen von Herrn Trump über weit verbreiteten Wahlbetrug erhalten. Letzte Woche forderte Herr Giuliani in einer Rede in Washington wenige Stunden vor dem Sturm auf das Kapitol einen “Prozess durch Kampf”.

“Herr. Giulianis Worte sollten ganz klar die Trump-Anhänger ermutigen, die mit dem Wahlergebnis unzufrieden sind, die Angelegenheit selbst in die Hand zu nehmen “, sagte der Verband.

Die Satzung des Vereins verbietet es den Mitgliedern unter anderem, “den Sturz der Regierung” zu befürworten.

Es wurde eine Untersuchung eingeleitet, um festzustellen, ob Herr Giuliani entfernt werden sollte. Herr Giuliani, der nicht sofort auf eine Bitte um Stellungnahme antwortete, durfte weiterhin als Anwalt tätig werden, wenn er seine Mitgliedschaft in der freiwilligen Vereinigung verlor.

Facebook sagte am Montag, dass es seine politischen Ausgaben zumindest vorübergehend einstellen würde.

Das riesige Technologieunternehmen wird alle seine Beiträge an politische Aktionskomitees – die beide Parteien vertreten – bis mindestens März pausieren, bestätigte das Unternehmen in einer Erklärung unter Berufung auf die Notwendigkeit, seine Richtlinien zu überprüfen.

Die Ankündigung erfolgte vier Tage, nachdem das Unternehmen Herrn Trump zumindest bis zum Ende seiner Amtszeit verboten hatte, auf seiner Plattform zu veröffentlichen. Diese Entscheidungen waren ein Aufbruch für die Social-Media-Plattform, die sich lange Zeit geweigert hat, die Posten des Präsidenten zu stören, und sich als Verteidiger der Redefreiheit und der öffentlichen Diskussion positioniert hat.

Die Online-Zahlungsplattform Stripe wird keine Zahlungen mehr für die Kampagnen-Website von Mr. Trump verarbeiten, berichtete das Wall Street Journal am Sonntag. Die Zeitung zitierte mit der Angelegenheit vertraute Personen und sagte, das E-Commerce-Unternehmen habe Verstöße gegen seine Benutzerrichtlinien angeführt, die Benutzer daran hindern, Gewalt auf ihrer Plattform zu fördern.

Shopify, das Unternehmen, das E-Commerce-Websites für mehr als eine Million Händler betreibt, gab am Donnerstag bekannt, zwei mit Mr. Trump verbundene Online-Shops geschlossen zu haben, darunter die von der Trump Organization und der Trump-Kampagne betriebenen.

Mehrere digitale Plattformen – darunter Snapchat, YouTube, Twitch, Reddit und Twitter – haben kürzlich auch die Dienste von Mr. Trump eingeschränkt oder ausgesetzt. Die bei Konservativen als Alternative zu Twitter beliebte Social-App Parler wurde am Montagmorgen dunkel, nachdem Amazon sie von seinen Computerdiensten abgeschnitten hatte.

Vier der größten Banken des Landes, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup und Morgan Stanley, sagten, sie würden vorübergehend keine Spenden mehr von ihren politischen Aktionskomitees senden. Die Banken haben Hunderttausende von Dollar gesammelt und an Kandidaten beider Parteien gespendet.

JPMorgan Chase stoppt die Spenden an Republikaner und Demokraten über das PAC für sechs Monate. “Später bleibt genügend Zeit für Kampagnen”, sagte Peter Scher, Leiter Corporate Responsibility der Bank.

Goldman Sachs friert Spenden durch sein PAC ein und wird “eine gründliche Bewertung des Verhaltens der Menschen in dieser Zeit vornehmen”, sagte ein Sprecher, Jake Siewert, gegenüber DealBook.

Die Citigroup verschiebt alle Kampagnenbeiträge um ein Viertel. “Wir möchten, dass Sie sicher sein können, dass wir keine Kandidaten unterstützen, die die Rechtsstaatlichkeit nicht respektieren”, schrieb Candi Wolff, Leiterin der Regierungsabteilung der Bank, in einem internen Memo.

Das Visa PAC hat letzte Woche vorübergehend alle seine politischen Spenden ausgesetzt, da es die Richtlinien für Kandidatenbeiträge überprüft, sagte ein Sprecher.

American Express sagte am Montag, dass sein politisches Aktionskomitee keine Kongressmitglieder mehr unterstützen würde, die gegen die Bestätigung der Wahl gestimmt hatten, und fügte hinzu, dass es zuvor 22 der 139 Mitglieder des Repräsentantenhauses unterstützt hatte (aber keinen der Senatoren).

Und Morgan Stanley wird die PAC-Beiträge für Kongressmitglieder aussetzen, die gegen die Bestätigung der Wahlergebnisse gestimmt haben, aber die Beiträge nicht auf breiter Front ausgesetzt haben, sagte ein Sprecher.

Große Unternehmen spenden an beide Parteien und sagen, dass ihre Unterstützung an enge Themen gebunden ist, die für ihre Branche von besonderem Interesse sind. (Oft scheinen die Beiträge der Unternehmen im Widerspruch zu ihren öffentlichen Äußerungen zu stehen.) Jetzt überprüfen eine Vielzahl von Unternehmen ihre Spendenpraktiken.

AT & T, einer der größten Mitwirkenden an politischen Kampagnen in den Vereinigten Staaten, sagte in einer Erklärung am Montag, dass sein politisches Aktionskomitee beschlossen habe, Beiträge an Kongressmitglieder auszusetzen, die letzte Woche gegen die Zertifizierung der Stimmen des Wahlkollegiums gestimmt hätten.

Comcast, eines der größten Kabelunternehmen und Internetanbieter des Landes, gab am Montag bekannt, dass es nach dem erfolglosen Versuch, die Wahlergebnisse umzukehren, dieselben Maßnahmen ergreifen werde.

“Der friedliche Machtwechsel ist eine Grundlage der amerikanischen Demokratie”, sagte Comcast in einer Erklärung. „In diesem Jahr wird dieser Übergang unter den schwierigsten Bedingungen der modernen Geschichte und vor dem Hintergrund der entsetzlichen Gewalt stattfinden, die wir letzte Woche im US Capitol erlebt haben. In dieser entscheidenden Zeit müssen wir uns darauf konzentrieren, zum Wohle der gesamten Nation zusammenzuarbeiten. “

Der Chemiekonzern Dow sagte auch, er setze alle PAC-Beiträge aus, “für jedes Mitglied des Kongresses, das gegen die Zertifizierung der Präsidentschaftswahlen gestimmt hat”. Die Suspendierung dauert einen Wahlzyklus – zwei Jahre für Vertreter und bis zu sechs Jahre für Senatoren.

American Airlines gab bekannt, dass ab Montag alle politischen Spenden für drei Monate unterbrochen werden, während das Unternehmen seine Spendenpraktiken überprüft.

“Wenn wir weitermachen, werden wir sicherstellen, dass wir uns auf eine überparteiliche Gruppe von Gesetzgebern konzentrieren, die die US-Luftfahrt, die Mitarbeiter von Fluggesellschaften und unsere Werte unterstützen, einschließlich der Zusammenführung von Menschen”, sagte American Airlines in einer Erklärung.

Der britische Ölriese BP sagte in einer Erklärung am Montag, dass sein politisches Aktionskomitee für Mitarbeiter seine Beiträge für sechs Monate einstellen wird, während es seine Kriterien für die Unterstützung von Kandidaten bewertet.

Das politische Aktionskomitee der Grußkartenfirma Hallmark hat zwei republikanische Senatoren – Josh Hawley aus Missouri und Roger Marshall aus Kansas, die beide dafür gestimmt haben, die Wahlergebnisse umzukehren – gebeten, alle Wahlkampfbeiträge des Komitees zurückzugeben. Vertreter der Senatoren reagierten nicht sofort auf Anfragen nach Kommentaren.

Die Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, eine der größten Verbände von Versicherungsunternehmen des Landes, gab am Freitag bekannt, dass sie die politischen Beiträge an die Republikaner im Kongress aussetzen werde, die versuchten, die Wahlstimmen für den gewählten Präsidenten Joseph R. Biden Jr. zu blockieren.

Der Hotelriese Marriott International sagte, er habe ähnliche Maßnahmen ergriffen.

“Wir haben die zerstörerischen Ereignisse im Kapitol berücksichtigt, um eine legitime und faire Wahl zu untergraben, und werden die politischen Spenden unseres politischen Aktionskomitees an diejenigen unterbrechen, die gegen die Bestätigung der Wahl gestimmt haben”, sagte ein Sprecher.

Die Coca-Cola Company sagte in einer Erklärung, dass sie auch das politische Geben aussetzen würde: „Diese Ereignisse werden lange in Erinnerung bleiben und in unsere zukünftigen Beitragsentscheidungen einfließen.“

Das kurzfristige Vermietungsunternehmen Airbnb sagte, sein politisches Aktionskomitee werde “seinen Rahmen aktualisieren und die Unterstützung derjenigen zurückhalten, die gegen die Zertifizierung der Ergebnisse der Präsidentschaftswahlen gestimmt haben”.

Und die Reederei FedEx sagte in einer Erklärung, dass sie die Gewalt in Washington letzte Woche verurteilt und die Ergebnisse der Präsidentschaftswahlen unterstützt habe. “Wir überprüfen alle zukünftigen politischen Beiträge”, fügte er hinzu.

Letzte Woche gaben zwei Institutionen bekannt, dass sie die Ehrentitel, die sie zuvor an Herrn Trump verliehen hatten, aufgehoben hatten, und eine andere sagte, sie erwäge, dasselbe für Herrn Giuliani zu tun.

Die Lehigh University in Pennsylvania verlieh Herrn Trump 1988 einen Abschluss, nachdem sein Präsident den Immobilienentwickler als “Symbol unserer Zeit bezeichnet hatte – all den Wagemut und die Energie, die das Wort Tycoon hervorruft”. Am Freitag, zwei Tage nach dem Angriff auf das Kapitol, erklärte die Universität in einer Erklärung, dass ihr Kuratorium “dafür gestimmt habe, den Ehrentitel aufzuheben und zu widerrufen”.

Das Wagner College auf Staten Island – dem Stadtteil von New York City, in dem Herr Trump nach wie vor beliebt ist – gab am Freitag bekannt, dass sein Kuratorium dafür gestimmt hat, den Abschluss, den es Herrn Trump im Jahr 2004 verlieh, aufzuheben. Es wurde keine Erklärung gegeben.

Im Jahr 2017 erwogen sowohl Lehigh als auch Wagner, die an Herrn Trump verliehenen Abschlüsse zu widerrufen, lehnten dies jedoch ab, nachdem Herr Trump sagte, es gebe „auf beiden Seiten sehr gute Leute“, die in Charlottesville, Virginia, wegen der Bemühungen gewaltsam zusammenstießen eine Statue von Robert E. Lee zu entfernen.

In Vermont überdenkt das Middlebury College seine Beziehung zu Herrn Trumps Anwalt, Herrn Giuliani. Vier Jahre nach seiner Führung als Bürgermeister von New York City während der Terroranschläge von 2001 hatte das College Herrn Giuliani eingeladen, eine Eröffnungsrede zu halten und einen Ehrendoktor der Rechtswissenschaften zu erhalten.

Aber am Sonntag sagte Laurie L. Patton, Präsidentin des Kollegiums, sie habe den Prozess eingeleitet, um den Widerruf dieses Abschlusses in Betracht zu ziehen, weil Herr Giuliani die Rolle gespielt habe, “den gewaltsamen Aufstand gegen das Kapitol unserer Nation zu schüren”, den Frau Patton “nannte”. ein Aufstand gegen die Demokratie selbst. “

Jacey Fortin, Alan Feuer, Jenny Gross und Lauren Hirsch haben zur Berichterstattung beigetragen.

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Politics

Biden’s Alternative for Pentagon Faces Questions on Ties to Contractors

Biden’s Choice for Pentagon Faces Questions on Ties to Contractors

WASHINGTON – Three weeks ago a naval ship launched a military contractor’s experimental missile off Hawaii to intercept and destroy a decoy pretending to be an incoming nuclear weapon for the first time in space.

The same company, Raytheon Technologies, that accomplished the feat was selected for another contract this year in a program that could cost up to $ 20 billion to build a new generation of nuclear-armed cruise missiles for the United States .

And Raytheon, whose 195,000 employees make warplanes, weapons, high-tech sensors, and dozens of other military products, has sold billions of dollars in weapons and radar systems to allies in the Middle East in recent years, some of which have been used to help To wage war in Yemen.

Now, Raytheon could soon have another differentiator: one board member, retired Army General Lloyd J. Austin III, has been named the next Secretary of Defense by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Raytheon isn’t General Austin’s only connection with military contractors. He was also a partner in an investment firm that bought small defense firms. And his move from the arms business to a leadership role in the Pentagon continues a pattern that President Trump has begun in recent years.

Mr Trump elected James N. Mattis, also a retired four-star general, who then served on the board of General Dynamics, another major military entrepreneur, as its first secretary of defense. Mark T. Esper, a former Raytheon chief lobbyist, succeeded Mr. Mattis.

This is a departure from the norm. Defense ministers who had served prior to Mr Trump’s tenure – at least three decades until President George Bush’s tenure – did not come directly from boards or executive suites of contractors, although some, like Ashton Carter, President Barack Obama’s last Secretary of Defense, did served as an industry advisor.

Mr. Biden’s decision to appoint General Austin has raised a new wave of questions about the corporate relationships of people Mr. Biden selects to serve in his administration.

These links are especially relevant when it comes to the Pentagon, which spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year on weapons and other supplies. During Mr. Trump’s tenure, the military budget increased by about 15 percent, reaching $ 705 billion in the last fiscal year. This is one of the highest values ​​in constant US dollars since World War II.

“It is important for the defense minister to bring independence of thought into this role, and it is deeply worrying when a candidate comes straight from one of the major military contractors,” said Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the arms control association, who pointed out urges reducing nuclear weapons and military spending.

He added, “I would note that Raytheon has a tremendous financial stake in upcoming decisions by the Biden administration, Congress and the Secretary of Defense.”

At Raytheon, officials are said to be excited about the prospect of a board member becoming secretary of defense, according to a person who works with the company. However, that person and another person working with Raytheon warned that the appointment could result in an undesirable audit of the company.

Even members of Mr. Biden’s own party had urged Mr. Biden to refrain from nominating anyone for the job of Secretary of Defense who came directly from the military business world.

“US national security should not be defined by the bottom line of Boeing, General Dynamics and Raytheon,” Democrat Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin said in a statement last month.

As Secretary of Defense, General Austin would have to sell any stock he holds in Raytheon or other defense companies, or companies that do business in the industry, and would most likely be prohibited from directing contract decisions or other “special matter” directly affecting companies with whom he has had financial relationships for the past two years if Mr. Biden follows the ethical guidelines first adopted by Mr. Obama.

General Austin joined Raytheon Technologies in April as part of a merger between Raytheon Company, known as a manufacturer of Patriot and Tomahawk missiles, and United Technologies, a manufacturer of commercial and military jet engines and avionics. General Austin joined the board in June In 2016 after leaving the military.

According to Raytheon records, General Austin owned more than $ 500,000 in Raytheon stock as of October. As a member of the United Technologies board of directors, General Austin received a total of $ 1.4 million in stock and other compensation over a four year period.

Raytheon is now one of the largest military contractors in the world. Raytheon boasts in an earnings report to Wall Street that it has a record federal government order book totaling $ 73 billion.

His aggressive drive over the past five years to sell billions of dollars in precision-guided bombs and bomb parts to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which weaponized civilians in a catastrophic war in Yemen, sparked an outcry from human rights groups and some members of Congress who repeatedly tried to block sales.

But Raytheon, who pays an army of well-connected lobbyists, overcame the opposition and sold the weapons – thanks in part to his close relationship with the Trump administration.

General Austin was also a partner in an investment firm called Pine Island Capital, which he joined on the board of directors in July. The company was recently on a buying spree from small military contractors including Precinmac Precision Machining, which sells specialty parts for missile launch systems and machine guns.

By the time General Austin joined Pine Island, Pine Island said he was “already fully committed, working with us on new investments and bringing his experience and judgment to our portfolio companies,” including InVeris Training Solutions, the virtual gun firing training service offers.

General Austin, Anthony J. Blinken, the election of Mr. Biden as Secretary of State, and Michèle A. Flournoy, who had been Mr. Biden’s other nominee for Secretary of Defense, were made clear because of their connections with the Pine Island team competed in the past few months prior to the sale of $ 218 million worth of stock in preparation for buying other defense industry targets.

Pine Island has a partnership with WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm founded in part by Mr. Blinken and Ms. Flournoy. Another Raytheon board member, former Pentagon official Robert O. Work, was also involved with WestExec and advised Mr Biden’s transition to national security planning.

While WestExec advised at least one defense contractor, a WestExec spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether Raytheon was a customer, stating that the company has nondisclosure agreements with many customers and “does not comment on potential customers.”

When asked about General Austin’s relationships with defense companies, Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Mr. Biden’s transition, said, “Every cabinet member will comply with all disclosure requirements and strict ethical rules, including withdrawals as appropriate.”

He added that General Austin and Mr. Blinken, if confirmed, would sell all of Pine Island’s shares.

It’s not clear how much equity they have in Pine Island.

Mandy Smithberger, a director of the Project on Government Oversight, which tracks federal contract decisions, said the problem with hiring former industry executives as senior Pentagon officials is broader because they often bring with them an industry-friendly mindset.

As a result, Mr Biden’s administration may find it more difficult to make the tough decisions that will be necessary as the United States faces large budget deficits and growing demands for public health programs to increase to better prepare for the next global world to be pandemic.

“The defense industry is already way too close to the Pentagon, and if the Biden administration is to reform the department the way we know, that must change,” Ms. Smithberger said. “What is in the best interests of our national security may not be the same as what is in the best interests of the defense industry.”