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Monthly archive

September 2016

Congress Poking Holes in Wells Fargo Claims About Not Violating Securities Law

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Members of the House Financial Services Committee cast doubt on Wells Fargo’s claims that it didn’t publicly disclose account falsifications in Securities and Exchange Commission filings because the information was “not material.” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) asked CEO John Stumpf at a hearing on Thursday why he personally sold $13 million worth of stock in late 2013–around the same time that he heard of accounts being systemically opened without consumer authorization. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), meanwhile, said that the bank’s stock price would have plummeted,…

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Justice Watchdog Rips D.E.A.’s Use of Confidential Sources

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The Drug Enforcement Administration is running a freewheeling confidential sources program that leaves the agency vulnerable to fraud and constitutional abuses, according to an audit by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General (OIG). While DEA officials boast that the use of informants is the “bread and butter” of their enforcement, the agency does not adequately oversee their activities. Nor does it sufficiently track the payments made to them, the investigation found. The lack of oversight, according to the report: “exposes the agency to an unacceptably…

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Obama Admin Allowing Debt Collectors to Hound Attendees of Bankrupt For-Profit College

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Debt collectors are pursuing payments from people who attended a for-profit college that went bankrupt after numerous fraud-related lawsuits, despite the Department of Education promising them avenues for debt relief. Only 5 percent of the 80,000 former students of Corinthian Colleges who are eligible for debt discharge under department programs formulated since 2015 have been granted that right, according to an investigation by the staff of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Of those 76,000 people being pursued for Corinthian-related obligations, over 30,000 have seen government benefits…

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Janet Yellen: “Possible” But “Extremely Challenging” For Big Banks to Follow Laws

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Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that she believes the largest banks in the country can legally exist, days before a handful of them are due to submit reports to the Fed that could lead to their breaking-up. “We believe it is possible, even though it is extremely challenging for [these] organizations to comply with the law,” she said, in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Yellen made the remarks in response to questions about Wells Fargo that had been asked by Rep. Brad…

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F.B.I. Chief Pleads Ignorance on Police Shooting Numbers

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The Director of the FBI claimed that he doesn’t know if there’s a problem of police killing civilians in the US because the government doesn’t collect enough data on the issue. James Comey told the House Judiciary Committee that he expects the FBI will have a database up and running within two years to track all incidents of individuals killed during encounters with law enforcement. Until then, though, the Director alleged that the current debate is “uninformed.” “We’re having passionate important conversations in this country about…

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Lawmakers Ask White House to Delay Kratom Ban, Claiming Improper Procedure

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Dozens of Democratic and Republican lawmakers are calling on the White House to thwart the Drug Enforcement Administration’s moves to ban kratom, claiming the herbal opioid substitute was rescheduled in violation of procedural law. The lawmakers, organized by Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), asked Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan on Monday to “use your statutory authority” to the delay implementation of the rule change. Fifty-one US Representatives, including 22 Republicans, signed the letter, according to The Huffington Post. Under…

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Wyden Demands Review of Government’s Mail Surveillance Program

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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sent a letter to the US Postmaster General on Wednesday requesting information about a domestic surveillance operation that logs information about letters in transit. The spy program, known as “mail covers,” allows postal workers to record the metadata on a letter–including “to” and “from” addresses–without a warrant, and turn the information over to state and federal agencies. A recent investigation by a Portland, Ore. news outlet, KGW, discovered that the government had submitted nearly 90,000 requests over the last decade to…

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Intelligence Whistleblower Award Created By Obama Administration

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The intelligence community is establishing an award to recognize whistleblowers, according to a report on open government released last week by the White House. Intelligence officials will now be recognized for “effectuating change by speaking truth to power, by exemplifying professional integrity, or by reporting wrongdoing through appropriate channels,” according to the paper. As Steven Aftergood noted in Secrecy News on Monday, there are already more than a dozen awards regularly given out to members of the intelligence community, but none are for flagging malfeasance.…

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Climate Denier Ad Blitz Targets Influential D.C. Court

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Radio ads are blanketing the nation’s capital ahead of proceedings in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case that could, literally, determine the fate of the world. On Tuesday, the appellate court will hear oral arguments in a suit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan—the Obama administration’s proposal to thwart rising global temperatures. The initiative would cut carbon emissions by nearly one-third by 2030 by imposing emissions caps on new plants. It is strongly opposed, however, by twenty-four states and the…

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Saudi Apologia Beginning to Crack in the Senate

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The bloody Saudi-led bombing of Yemen is having an effect on the psyche of US Senators, with more than a quarter of the upper chamber on Wednesday calling for a halt to weapons shipments to the Kingdom. Twenty-seven Senators voted in support of a resolution condemning a scheduled $1.15 billion arms transfer to Saudi Arabia that was announced last month. Although the resolution failed, the roll call vote was a sign that Riyadh’s inhumane bombing campaign in Yemen is fraying relations in Washington. “[The] very fact…

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Biden: Ramming TPP Through Lame Duck “Our Only Real Shot”

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Vice President Joe Biden said that “our only real shot” of Congress approving the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a vote during the upcoming lame duck session. Biden made the remarks on Wednesday at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, while conceding the agreement has a “less than even chance” of passage. “Sometimes when there’s no election to face and people are leaving and others who are staying, they may see the wisdom of TPP,” said Biden, according to Reuters. One consideration might involve post-Congressional…

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