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Monthly archive

December 2016

House Report Warns Congress Against Anti-Encryption Meaures

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A bipartisan working group on Capitol Hill is urging fellow lawmakers to abandon plans to mandate backdoors to encrypted information at the behest of law enforcement. The group—comprised of members from the House Energy and Judiciary Committees—has spent the past six month studying the issue of encryption. Efforts included conducting interviews with digital security experts and law enforcement officials. Their conclusion: “Any measure that weakens encryption works against the national interest.” The analysis is likely to ruffle FBI Director James Comey, who, on behalf of the…

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Goldman Sachs’ Stock, Influence in Trump Administration, Both on the Rise

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President-elect Donald Trump has yet to provide tangible assurances that he won’t use the presidency to boost his personal profits. Meanwhile, one major American bank, which doesn’t’ have to provide such assurances, is already cashing in “big league” on Trump’s win last month–an event followed by high-profile government appointments for executives of the firm. Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs has seen its stock prices ascend by 33 percent since Election Day, and is responsible for the lion’s share of the gains on the Dow Jones Industrial…

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DOJ Warns Problems Remain at for-Profit Prison that Hosted 2012 Riot, as Trump Looks Set to Boost Corporate Prison Industry

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The Justice Department’s internal watchdog said Tuesday that a privately-run federal prison in Mississippi is still plagued by the same systemic problems that preceded a deadly riot at the site in May 2012. An investigation published by the agency’s Inspector General concluded that the Natchez-based facility, run by a company now called CoreCivic, has neglected to address the prisons’s shortcomings, since the incident. “Four years after the riot, we were deeply concerned to find that the facility was plagued by the same significant deficiencies in…

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Kansas—Birthplace of #CrossCheck—Declines to Participate in Survey Showing Virtually No Voter Fraud

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A survey of nearly all fifty states in the country revealed that voter fraud was virtually non-existent during the 2016 election. Only Kansas refused to participate in the review, conducted by the New York Times, which showed that out of more than 137 million votes cast around the nation, there was very little evidence of significant fraud. The results strike a blow to claims often repeated by President-elect Donald Trump and Republican policymakers that millions of people are voting illegally in our elections every year.…

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If Dodd-Frank Survives Trump, Wells Fargo Might Not: Scandal-Plagued Bank Fails Second “Living Will” Test

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Wells Fargo has been temporarily banned by federal regulators from establishing foreign branches and acquiring non-bank entities. The troubled Wall Street behemoth was slapped with the penalties under the Dodd-Frank Act, for failing to submit adequate bankruptcy resolution plans–for the second time this year. If Wells does not produce sufficient plans by the end of March 2017, the ban will be extended and the bank will be subject to caps on its non-bank and broker-deal assets—limiting the firm to the amount it owned at the…

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Trump’s Billionaire Education Secretary Backed P.A.C. That Never Paid $5 Million in Fines

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Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education owes state regulators $5.3 million in fines for violating election laws, five left-leaning senators said Wednesday. Federal political action committees (PACs) run and financed, in part, by Betsy DeVos were hit with the penalties in 2006 by Ohio enforcement officials. The groups were found to have been in violation of exceeding legal limits on donations. “Rather than pay the fines for violating the law, the All Children Matter PACs simply ceased operation and never paid the significant sum…

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Intel Committee Chair Questions Existence of CIA Report on Russian Hacking

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The intelligence community rejected a request from House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) to provide a briefing to members on Russia’s alleged meddling in last month’s presidential election. The denial prompted Nunes on Wednesday to cast doubt on recent claims coming out of the CIA, including whether or not there really is an agency assessment that Moscow was aiming to help Donald Trump win the presidency. “The Committee is deeply concerned that intransigence in sharing intelligence with Congress can enable the manipulation of intelligence…

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Obama Drone Victims Suing for Apology Appear Before Appeals Court in D.C.

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Lawyers for Yemeni men suing the US government, for killing two relatives in drone strikes, made their case on Tuesday before federal appellate judges. Arguing at the DC Circuit in Washington, the attorneys said that a lower court erred in March, when it concluded courts shouldn’t “second-guess the Executive’s policy determination.” District Judge Ellen Huvelle threw out the lawsuit in February. “Plaintiffs are not challenging the prudence of drone strikes or attacking Al-Qaeda,” a brief filed by lawyers in support of the case stated. “Plaintiffs…

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Ahead of Confirmation Hearing, Feinstein Accuses Sessions of Withholding Key Records from Committee

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The man chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be the nation’s top prosecutor is playing fast and loose with disclosure requirements ahead of his confirmation hearing, a top Democrat alleged on Tuesday. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made the claims in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), calling for a delay in next month’s confirmation hearing of Sen. Jeff Session (R-Ala.), to be the next US Attorney General, according to Politico. Feinstein, who is set to be the highest ranking Democrat…

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Energy Dept. Resisting Trump Purge Efforts

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An “unsettled” workforce at the Department of Energy (DOE) has the backing of their leadership, which rejected a request from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team to identify staffers who worked on climate change issues. It is believed that the incoming Trump administration is preparing a purge of department scientists who helped forge the Paris Climate Agreement and studied the impacts of carbon pollution. Last week, transition officials sent a questionnaire to the department asking for the names of employees and contractors that worked on certain…

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Labor Secretary Perez, Handpicked by Obama Officials, Set to Challenge Ellison for DNC Chair

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Labor Secretary Tom Perez plans on entering the race for Democratic National Committee chair, buoyed by support from senior Obama administration officials. Perez plans on announcing his candidacy for the DNC chair this week, according to both The New York Times and The Huffington Post. “A source close to Perez, who said he will have an announcement later this week, said he’s talking to elected officials and party leaders to gauge their support,” The Huffington Post noted on Tuesday morning. The move would pit a…

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