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Especially the "Trump Brand'
Clinton Strategist Mark Penn Pushes Democrats to Move to Center — And Quietly Profits From GOP Victories
DEMOCRATS WOULD DO best if they abandon broad economic reforms
Top photo: Mark Penn, chief strategist and pollster for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaks to reporters in the “spin room” after the Democratic debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 5, 2008.
Trump Treasury Ripped Its Tax Cut Recommendations Straight From The Chamber Of Commerce
Treasury Department recommendations for tax regulatory changes released Friday are almost entirely copied from a U.S. Chamber of Commerce memo on the same subject.
The five-page notice, released by the Internal Revenue Service, complies with Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13789, issued April 21. This order mandated a review of all tax regulations finalized since 2016. The interim report was to identify those regulations that imposed an “undue financial burden” on taxpayers, added “undue complexity” to the tax code, or exceeded the IRS’ regulatory authority.
The interim report was due June 20; Treasury did not release the notice publicly until seventeen days later. Delays like this have become a typical feature of federal agencies’ compliance with Trump executive orders.
The tardiness of the Treasury report looks even worse considering one additional factor: in May, the Chamber of Commerce released their own report, highlighting tax regulations they believed created significant burdens and complexities. Treasury treated this report the way a kid who didn’t prepare for a test in school would treat the smart kid’s answer sheet the next desk over.
The kid they cribbed from is more than just the class nerd. The Chamber of Commerce fronts as an organization pushing the broader interests of American business. But in reality, it is a gun for hire, advocating on behalf of individual companies who make largely secret contributions to the organization. It’s unlikely any of the Chamber’s recommendations wound up on that list free of charge.
Of the eight tax regulations cited in the IRS notice, seven of them were identified in the Chamber of Commerce report, a fact first noted by Richard Rubin of the Wall Street Journal. Moreover, they are not the kinds of tax changes from which the average Trump voter would benefit.
Rescinding these regulations would make it easier for cities to issue tax-exempt municipal bonds; open a loophole allowing tax-free transfers of property, including intellectual property, to foreign corporations (a favorite way to dodge U.S. taxes); allow partnerships to move around debt instruments; give foreign exchange traders a better chance to take losses from currency sales; let large estates discount assets to lower their estate and gift tax burden; and stop the IRS from retaining outside experts to participate in audits.
This last move would be a major boon to taxpayers, such as corporations, who file inordinately complex tax returns. The IRS often contracts with experts to audit such filings, as budget cuts have rendered the task difficult to do internally.
In short, the beneficiaries are all business owners, financiers, and wealthy individuals.
The biggest change would be to a rule aimed at preventing corporate tax avoidance through “inversions,” where a U.S. company merges with an overseas competitor and shifts its headquarters’ address to the foreign country, lowering its tax rate in the process.
Under section 385 of the tax code, the rule tries to stop “earnings stripping,” where the company makes internal loans to load up U.S. operations with debt. This gives the impression of corporate losses at the indebted U.S. operations, while the assets in the foreign subsidiary are subject only to the lower tax rate of the foreign country.
The Obama-era earnings stripping rule would have reduced the value of any tax benefits derived from inter-company loans. Rescinding the rule was a high priority of the Chamber of Commerce, who argued that it disrupted “normal business practices.”
The only tax regulation the IRS included in its report that the Chamber did not identify concerned corporate transfers of property into tax-sheltered real estate investment trusts (REITs), another tax avoidance tactic used by businesses and particularly real estate developers. Famously, the president has a real estate business.
Basing tax and regulatory policy on industry wishes is nothing new for the Trump administration. Treasury’s first report recommending changes to the financial regulatory system cited 244 different banking industry groups, and included entire sections cribbed from trade groups and industry-friendly think tanks.
Caroline Harris, vice president of tax policy for the Chamber of Commerce, told the Wall Street Journal that the rules Treasury highlighted “are some of the most burdensome to the business community, and we applaud Treasury’s recognition for the need for action on them.”
These tax regulations can all be rescinded through the regulatory process, without legislation from Congress. Two of the regulations, the estate tax and tax-exempt municipal bonds changes, haven’t taken effect yet, so they would be simpler to withdraw. The others would need to go through a lengthier notice-and-comment rulemaking process that could take a year or more.
“Treasury intends to propose reforms—potentially ranging from streamlining problematic rule provisions to full repeal,” according to the IRS notice. Those proposals are due in a report to the president by September 18. The agency is requesting public comments on whether to rescind or modify these rules, due by August 7. Commenters can email Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov, with “Notice 2017-38” in the subject line.
You can check the Trump administration’s record on complying with executive orders and memoranda at our interactive tracker.
Trump’s New CDC Chief Championed Partnership with Coca-Cola to Solve Childhood Obesity
Lee Fang — Jul. 8
Fitzgerald launched SHAPE, an effort to address obesity without cutting down on soda consumption.
Muhtar Kent, the chief executive and chairman of Coca-Cola Company, appeared with the governor and Fitzgerald to promote the initiative, along with a pledge of $1 million from his company to fund it. Clyde Tuggle, a Coca-Cola executive responsible for the company’s lobbying strategy, was initiallyappointed to the board overseeing the state anti-obesity strategy, including Fitzgerald’s SHAPE initiative. (Tuggle announced his retirement from Coca-Cola in March of this year.)
Coca-Cola, along with PepsiCo and other sugar industry interests, has worked obsessively to defeat attempts to regulate sugary beverages. Sugar industry interests, including Coca-Cola, have spent at least $67 million on campaign efforts to defeat sugar taxes and related labeling ballot measures. Emails hacked from Democratic officials during the 2016 presidential campaign revealed that executives from Coca-Cola, including Clyde Tuggle, the Coca-Cola vice president overseeing SHAPE, attempted to pressure the Hillary Clinton campaign to back down from voicing support for a soda tax. The company was also caught setting up a front group, called the Global Energy Balance Network, designed to downplay the health risks associated with sugary drinks.
While voters have continued to approve new limits on sugary drinks, Coca-Cola may have a new ally at the nation’s premiere public health agency.
California Single-Payer Organizers Are Deceiving Their Supporters. It’s Time to Stop.
Democratic Superdelegate, in Room Full of Health Insurance Executives, Laughs Off Prospect of Single Payer
Lee Fang — Jul. 1
Dick Gephardt, an influential party figure, stood before a crowd of insurance executives and lobbyists to make dubious claims against the plan.
Leaked Trump Tape Could Raise Diplomatic, Political Problems
Richard (RJ) Eskow — Jun. 30
The media overlooked much of the significance of Trump's remarks in leaked audio.
Trump delivered his remarks at a $35,000 per person event held at his own hotel, a location that drew inevitable (and warranted) accusations that he is using the presidency for personal enrichment. Attendees looked down from windows in the hotel’s imposing façade like grandees at an auto-da-fé as demonstrators chanted against the GOP’s plans for Dickensian health spending cuts in the streets below.
Here’s the Audio of Donald Trump’s Private RNC Fundraiser at His Own Hotel
Ryan Grim, Lee Fang — Jun. 30
Donald Trump held a private, $35,000-per-person fundraiser at his own Washington hotel. We got the audio and are making it free here.
Hacked Email Shows UAE Ambassador Lobbying the Obama White House on Yemen War
Alex Emmons — Jun. 30
Hacked emails reveal how the UAE sought to discredit reporting about its machinations and rights abuses — and how the Obama White House pushed back.
How Donald Trump Could Destroy the Global Fight Against Kleptocracy
Peter Maass — Jun. 30
The U.S. played a key part in putting the son of an African dictator on trial in Paris for corruption. Under Trump, that role is likely to end.
KLEPTOCRACY HAS MANY forms. The most common is an ethics-challenged family holding key positions in a nation’s leadership, exercising their power and influence in ways that enhance their business interests. Trump and his family members, especially his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have offices in the West Wing, have been criticized for nurturing their business activities while possessing public power. The president spends his leisure days at Trump-branded properties and is beingsued for violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which prohibits U.S. officials from receiving payments from foreign governments. There are regular reminders of the apparent shadiness of the family’s business habits: Ivanka Trump faces a deposition for stealing a shoe design; her father recently paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit over the fraudulent Trump University; and Kushner’s family-controlled real estate company had to back out of an unethical tax loophole it had tried to exploit in New Jersey.
The U.S. Government Has Become the Ultimate Extension of Donald Trump’s For-Profit Brand
EPA’s New Water Safety Official Is a Lobbyist With Deep Ties to the Dakota Access Pipeline
Lee Fang — Jun. 28
Dennis Lee Forsgren comes to the Environmental Protection Agency from HBW Resources, a lobbying firm for fossil fuel interests.
Intercepted Podcast: The House of Trump
Intercepted — Jun. 28
The royal family of the United States takes some heat as the fate of American health care hangs on a few votes.
Prominent Democratic Fundraisers Realign to Lobby for Trump’s Agenda
Lee Fang — Jun. 23
Fundraisers who raised cash for Clinton's campaign are helping corporations lobby to overturn net neutrality, deregulate finance, and build prisons.
Cable Industry Lobbyists Write Republican Talking Points on Net Neutrality
To Serve AT&T and Comcast, Congressional GOP Votes to Destroy Online Privacy
The PTA Mom Trump Unleashed on American Politics Is More Radical Than You Think
Ryan Grim — Jun. 19
Donald Trump unleashed a new force in American politics — thousands of women activists and organizers — by radicalizing networks that already existed.
Meet the Pastor Running as a Progressive Republican to Get Big Money Out of Politics
Republican Data-Mining Firm Exposed Personal Information for Virtually Every American Voter
Sam Biddle — Jun. 19
A California-based security researcher says Republican-linked election databases were inadvertently exposed to the entire internet, sans password.
Joe Manchin Was One of Five Democrats Who Saved Saudi Arms Sales. His Primary Opponent Is Furious.
Zaid Jilani — Jun. 19
Sen. Joe Manchin’s Democratic primary opponent says the West Virginia senator is “voting in favor of President Trump, like a Republican.
The History Channel Is Finally Telling the Stunning Secret Story of the War on Drugs
Jon Schwarz — Jun. 18
For decades the U.S. government has engaged in a shifting series of alliances of convenience with the world’s largest drug cartels.
Syrian Archives Add New Details to Henry Kissinger’s Disastrous Middle East Record
Charles Glass — Jun. 18
“The Edge of the Precipice” draws on official Syrian archives to tell the story of Henry Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
Trump Officials Overseeing Amazon-Whole Foods Merger May Face Conflicts of Interest
Lee Fang — Jun. 18
Amid the Amazon-Whole Foods merger, Trump administration officials have financial ties to both companies.
$15 for 15 minutes: How Courts Are Letting Prison Phone Companies Gouge Incarcerated People
Victoria Law — Jun. 16
Obama's Federal Communications Commission voted to cap prison phone call rates. But the courts sided with Trump's FCC in undoing some regulations.
Trump Officials Overseeing Health Care Overhaul Previously Lobbied for Health Insurance Firms
Lee Fang — Jun. 15
Former health care industry lobbyists hold senior political appointments in Trump's Health and Human Services Department.
The Murder of Mexican Journalists Points to U.S. Role in Fueling Drug War Violence
Jesse Franzblau — Jun. 15
The U.S. has spent billions on aid and equipment for Mexico’s military and police, but the killing of journalist Javier Valdez shows how impunity still reigns.
GOP Lobby Shop Courts Black and Hispanic Democrats in Vacuum Left by Liberal Establishment
Ryan Grim — Jun. 14
The Democratic Party has yet to figure out how to channel anger at elites, leaving an opening for conservative Republicans.
The Real Threat To Wall Street Reform Is The Treasury Department, Not Congress
David Dayen — Jun. 13
Forget the House Republican bill to repeal Dodd-Frank. The threat to Wall Street reform is in Treasury.
The Interior Department’s First Memo For Donald Trump Is A Real Howler
David Dayen — Jun. 13
The Trump administration's Interior Department is putting on a master class in term-paper padding.
IN APRIL, WITH an eye toward selling off public land, President Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of federal land set aside using the Antiquities Act of 1906.
There’s a New Way to Make Walmart Pay for the Food Stamps Employees Rely On
Zaid Jilani — Jun. 13
Walmart makes a ton of money from food stamps. A congressman wants them to pay up.
Virginia Power Company Pushing Employees to Protect Pipeline in Democratic Governor Primary
Ryan Grim — Jun. 12
Dominion Energy is encouraging employees and shareholders to get involved in a Democratic primary where the progressive opposes their pipeline project.
The Trump Administration Makes Its Case For Arming Saudi Arabia In Secret
Alex Emmons — Jun. 12
Sen. Mitch McConnell arranged a secret briefing for the administration to drum up support for its Saudi arms sale amid its brutal war in Yemen.
Clintonworld Reuniting To Boost One Of Their Own In A Democratic Primary
David Dayen — Jun. 7
Clinton alums are gathering with a purpose: to raise money for one of their own in a Democratic primary.
West Virginia’s Senate President Laid Off From Day Job After Supporting Bill Opposed By His Company
Zaid Jilani — Jun. 7
West Virginia State Sen. Mitch Carmichael ushered through a popular broadband bill that Frontier Communications, his employer, opposed.
Private Toll Operators Salivate Over Donald Trump’s Infrastructure Plan
Lee Fang — Jun. 6
As Trump rolls out an infrastructure plan focusing on concessions to private companies, toll operators are on a lobbyist spending spree.
Jared Kushner Still Has a Job Because Washington Only Fears Republicans
Jon Schwarz — Jun. 2
Try to imagine Clinton's son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky — like Kushner, a rich New Yorker with a convict father and no experience — in her White House.
Shadowy Chinese Conglomerate Cultivated Ties to the Most Powerful U.S. Politicians
Lee Fang — Jun. 2
HNA Group has pushed to open relationships with the likes of Jeb Bush, Bill Clinton, and officials from both the Trump and Obama administrations.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Wants People in Georgia to Self-Diagnose Before Heading to the Emergency Room
Zaid Jilani — Jun. 1
A Georgia insurance company is warning patients that their trip to the emergency room might not be covered. It all comes back to Obamacare.
Intercepted Podcast: There’s Something About Jared
Intercepted — May. 31
Jared Kushner is sort of like Donald Trump’s less savvy version of Don Corleone’s consigliere. But did he make the Russians an offer they couldn’t refuse?
Trump’s “America First“ Infrastructure Plan: Let Saudi Arabia and Blackstone Take Care of It
David Dayen — May. 27
A private equity firm run by a close Trump adviser is partnering with Saudi Arabia to privatize U.S. infrastructure.
Donald Trump’s Pick for EPA Enforcement Office Was a Lobbyist for Superfund Polluters
Sharon Lerner — May. 24
EPA administrator Scott Pruitt also named an unqualified banker who contributed to his campaigns to lead the Superfund Task Force.
Intercepted Podcast: Donald Trump and His League of Extraordinary Despots
Intercepted — May. 24
Donald Trump stood in a sea of tyrants, thugs, and dictators and joined in a bizarre group petting of a glowing white orb in Saudi Arabia. And he fit in just perfectly.
Media Falsely Claim White House Budget Spares Social Security From Cuts
Zaid Jilani — May. 23
The White House's proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget violates Donald Trump's promise not to cut Social Security benefits.
Cable Industry Lobbyists Write Republican Talking Points on Net Neutrality
Lee Fang, Nick Surgey — May. 23
The metadata of a document distributed to House Republicans shows it was created by a lobbyist for cable companies.
Steven Mnuchin Goes Through the Looking Glass-Steagall in Strange Exchange With Elizabeth Warren
David Dayen — May. 18
Donald Trump's treasury secretary supports a 21st century version of the 1933 bank regulation bill, except for the parts that did anything that matters.
Steve Mnuchin’s Old Company Just Settled for $89 Million for Ripping Off the Government on Dodgy Loans
David Dayen — May. 16
Mnuchin was chair of OneWest, whose reverse-mortgage subsidiary Financial Freedom "sought to receive financial gains that it was not legally entitled to."
The Real Roots of the Worldwide Ransomware Outbreak: Militarism and Greed
Sam Biddle — May. 16
Microsoft is right to blame the NSA for the WannaCry malware outbreak, but they're not blameless either.
Mike Pence Speaks to Religious Group. Next Day, They Banquet at Trump Hotel.
Mattathias Schwartz — May. 16
The president's intermingling of private business interests and official duties now appears to involve a religious group that hosted the vice president.
Oklahoma Governor Signs Anti-Protest Law Imposing Huge Fines on “Conspirator” Organizations
Alleen Brown — May. 6
A new anti-protest law implicates anyone “found to be a conspirator” with a convicted trespasser, threatening environmental groups with huge fines.
House GOP Just Voted to Slash Medicaid — Which Pays for 60 Percent of People in Nursing Homes
Jon Schwarz — May. 4
The American Health Care Act cuts $880 billion from Medicaid over the next ten years, leaving the elderly increasing vulnerable.
There’s Nothing Apple’s CEO Cares About More Than Not Paying Taxes
Sam Biddle — May. 4
The company is using a $1 billion U.S. jobs pledge as a way to promote an enormous tax break for itself.
How Much Does a Politician Cost? A Groundbreaking Study Reveals the Influence of Money in Politics.
Jon Schwarz — May. 4
Many academics claim, against all odds, that money doesn't matter in politics. Now we can see exactly what it costs to buy a congressional vote.
Private Prison Corporation Wrote Texas Bill Extending How Long Immigrant Children Can Be Detained
David Dayen — May. 2
GOP state Rep. John Raney admitted that the $4 billion company Geo Group wrote the legislation.
Barack Obama Is Using His Presidency to Cash In, But Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter Refused
Zaid Jilani — May. 1
“I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable, that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency,” said Truman, who retired to a quiet life.
Here’s Why We Shouldn’t Laugh at Donald Trump’s 100-Day Faceplant
Jon Schwarz — Apr. 29
Obama did not deliver true change and — fortunately — Trump seems unlikely to do so either. But America's desperation for change isn't going anywhere.
Photo Essay: A New Pipeline Encroaches on Florida’s Fragile Everglades
Rose Marie Cromwell, Alleen Brown — Apr. 29
Florida's Sabal Trail pipeline nears completion as the Trump administration threatens to eliminate Everglades restoration and water protection programs.
Wall Street Firm Paying Obama $400,000 Faced Internal Controversy After Pocketing Huge 9/11 Settlement
Jon Schwarz — Apr. 27
Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 of its 960 employees on 9/11. But a $135 million settlement with American Airlines went to the firm and its partners, not the families of the dead.
Tennessee’s Billionaire Governor Works With His Corporate Buddies to Privatize Government Jobs
David Dayen — Apr. 27
The sweetheart deal could privatize thousands of facilities and management jobs at colleges, prisons, and other public buildings.
Bush Already Tried Trump’s Proposed Corporate Tax Holiday and It Was a Total Failure
Zaid Jilani — Apr. 27
Most of the cash ended up being used by corporate executives to inflate the prices of their stocks, thereby enriching themselves and their biggest investors.
Donald Trump Is Slashing Programs Linking Climate Change to U.S. National Security
Alleen Brown — Apr. 26
The Trump administration proposes to eliminate programs that prevent flooding and other climate-related events from threatening public health.
Koch Industries and Other Corporations Lobbied for Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks, Filings Show
Lee Fang, Nick Surgey — Apr. 25
While public-interest groups were complaining, well-connected corporate lobbyists stalked the halls of Congress to make sure Trump's team was confirmed by the Senate.
Republican Candidate Opposed to Gun Registry Made Millions With Company Slated to Build Gun Registry
Lee Fang — Apr. 24
Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte made his fortune selling his computer company to Oracle, the massive database company.
“Fear City” Explores How Donald Trump Exploited the New York Debt Crisis to Boost His Own Fortune
Naomi Klein — Apr. 23
Kim Phillips-Fein’s “Fear City” documents how the remaking of New York City in the 1970s was a prelude to what would become a global ideological tidal wave.
Republicans Sell Access to Congressional Staffers, Flouting Cardinal Ethics Rule
Lee Fang, Nick Surgey — Apr. 20
Documents show that two Republican congressional campaign committees are offering donors meetings with legislative staff.
Donald Trump Expected to Pick Shadow Banker for Key Position at the Fed
David Dayen — Apr. 19
Randal Quarles worked at Carlyle Group, and is now said to be Trump's pick to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision.
Trump’s Indonesian Allies In Bed With ISIS-Backed Militia Seeking to Oust Elected President
Allan Nairn — Apr. 18
An army front group linked to ISIS wants to oust Indonesia’s president — and prominent associates of President Donald Trump are supporting them.
Happy Tax Day! Here’s How Corporations Plan to Screw You Over.
Jon Schwarz — Apr. 17
Top U.S. corporations now have $1.6 trillion in profits stashed overseas — which they hope to bring home soon at a special low tax rate.
Paul Ryan Raised $657,000 While Avoiding His Constituents During Recess
Lee Fang — Apr. 15
Activists placed a missing person advertisement on Craigslist. Ryan was jetting around the country, raking in a whopping $657,400 in contributions in just nine days.
Some Populist! Trump Caves to Big Business in Epic “Bank of Boeing” Flip-Flop.
Zaid Jilani — Apr. 13
On the campaign trail, Trump said of the corporate welfare program called the Export-Import Bank: "I don't like it." But now he likes it just fine.
Contractor Whose Business Model Is Price Gouging the Pentagon Has Powerful Wall St. Backers
David Dayen — Apr. 13
A congressman demanded an investigation of TransDigm for cornering the market on proprietary parts for military aircraft. But its investors are too blissed out to care.
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Big Pharma Funds “Independent” Advocacy Groups Attacking Drug-Price Reduction Bill
Lee Fang — Apr. 10
The American Conservative Union and Americans for Tax Reform share a longtime financial sponsor: the pharmaceutical lobby.
A Federal Reserve Bank Ignored Insider Trading Investigation When Re-Appointing Its President
David Dayen — Apr. 7
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker did not initially divulge his conversation with a Medley Global Advisors analyst.
Terrorism Smear Campaign Against Democratic Contender for Congress Run By Saudi Lobbyist
Zaid Jilani — Apr. 6
Former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman chairs the Congressional Leadership Fund — while simultaneously representing one of the countries most responsible for exporting extremism.
Environmental Groups Sue EPA to Force Ban of Pesticide Linked to Autism
Sharon Lerner — Apr. 5
When EPA chief Scott Pruitt reversed the agency’s decision to ban chlorpyrifos, he talked about businesses rather than children.
Intercepted Podcast: Trump’s Secret Little Prince
Intercepted — Apr. 5
Erik Prince is the most infamous mercenary in modern U.S. history. He’s also Trump’s shadow adviser and secret emissary.
An Enemy of the Wall Street Foreclosure Machine Is Running to Unseat a GOP Lawmaker in California
David Dayen — Apr. 4
"I took my energy and put it to work to stop big banks from ripping people off,” says Porter, a public interest lawyer.
Donald Trump’s Pick to Oversee Big Pharma Is Addicted to Opioid-Industry Cash
Lee Fang — Apr. 4
The FDA regulates prescription painkillers — and Trump's nominee to run it has raked in big speaking fees from the opioid industry.
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