Using your wealth to purchase other people’s loyalty is a game as old as humanity itself. ― Gregory F. Fegel
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TRUMP’S
LAWYERS
PETTIFOGGING
MOUTHPIECES
|
Obscure Fundraiser Rains Cash
on Trump Lawyer’s Group
Rudy
Giuliani has become the public face of the president’s personal legal team, but
Jay Sekulow the arguable mastermind of Donald Trump’s legal and
public-relations battle against special counsel Robert Mueller. And he brings
to the table a coterie of dedicated attorneys at the American Center for Law
and Justice, the Christian conservative legal advocacy group he leads.
A
number of ACLJ lawyers are also assisting with Trump’s legal work as he tries
to fend off legal jeopardy as part of the investigation into Russian meddling
in the 2016 presidential election. And while those lawyers aren’t assisting
Trump on ACLJ time, or using the group’s resources, the hefty sums donated to
the organization have built a formidable legal apparatus that’s now being
brought to bear on the president’s behalf.
Newly
released financial records show extent to which that apparatus relies on a
single, relatively obscure fundraising firm based in Akron, Ohio, and largely
unknown outside of Christian fundraising circles.
According
to ACLJ’s latest annual
financial filing, which has not been previously reported, the group took in more
than $22 million in its last fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2018. An audit
statement accompanying those financials notes that ACLJ is “primarily funded”
by another nonprofit, Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism. CASE also
recently released an annual
financial report, which has gone mostly unnoticed. That filing shows the group
steered about $20.5 million to ACLJ during calendar year 2017. Though the
filing periods don’t match up precisely, that indicates that upwards of 90
percent of ACLJ’s funding comes directly from CASE.
And
where does that funding come from? CASE took in a whopping $55 million last
year. Nearly $30 million of that sum came by way of a single fundraising
contractor, BBS & Associates. The company is primarily focused on raising
money for Christian ministries, and its executives are inarguably experts on
the topic. Its co-founder and president, Dale Berkey, is the author of 7 Deadly Diseases of Ministry
Marketing—Confessions of a Christian Fundraiser.
Despite
his renown in the field, and his firm’s obvious success on behalf of CASE and
ACLJ, the Akron-based BBS is apparently charging an astonishingly small fee.
BBS raised $29,531,622 for CASE last year, and was paid retainer fees of just
$45,480, or 0.15 percent the total haul. CASE’s other four paid fundraisers for
the year charged fees ranging from 10 percent to 44 percent of all money
raised.
With
a fundraising track record like that, it’s no surprise that CASE has re-upped
its agreement with BBS. It inked a new year-long
contract in
April retaining BBS’s fundraising services for an annual retainer of just
$38,000.
The
resulting fundraising will help pay the salaries of ACLJ lawyers working to
keep Trump out of legal jeopardy. And it will also support work that indirectly
advances Sekulow’s legal strategy on the president’s behalf. Though he is
careful to stress a clear line of division between his group’s legal advocacy and
his and his subordinates’ work for Trump, ACLJ’s recent
efforts to
go after the “deep state” dovetail with a Sekulow-crafted legal
strategy aiming
to undercut the credibility of Mueller’s investigation.
Get the data:
·
North Carolina
charitable registry [Daily
Beast, Pay Dirt , September 20,
2018]
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| TRADE |
HATCH SCHEDULES AUTO TARIFF HEARING: It's
been a while since we've written about the Commerce Department's investigation
into whether imported BMWs, Toyotas and Hyundais pose a threat to national
security, but the probe is back in the news again thanks to Senate Finance
Chairman Orrin Hatch. The Utah Republican, who has been one
of the biggest critics of Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and Chinese goods,
has scheduled a hearing Wednesday to look at the auto tariff issue.
"For a typical American family, a car is the second-biggest
purchase they will make. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses to learn
more about the potential harm tariffs could have on the industry and how they
may be passed along to consumers," Hatch said in a statement. "This
hearing will give Finance Committee members an opportunity to engage with
experts on what new tariffs on automobiles and automotive parts could mean for
families, job creators and U.S. economic growth."
At one point, it appeared the Commerce Department report would
be released in August. But now some in the auto industry think it may not come
until after the midterm elections. A Commerce Department official on Wednesday
did not comment on timing, but noted Trump promised European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker he would not impose new tariffs on EU cars as
long as EU-U.S. trade talks are making progress.
That could indirectly shield other suppliers as well since it
would be hard to restrict imports to protect national security if the EU is
exempt under a bilateral trade deal, and Canada and Mexico are exempt under a
revised NAFTA pact. [POLITICO's Morning Trade,
September 20, 2018]
POLITICO POLL: JURY STILL OUT ON USMCA: The trade deal formerly known as NAFTA — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement — may not be a slam dunk among voters, but it's getting a slightly favorable reaction in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released this morning.
Of the 2,189 voters surveyed, 32 percent said the new pact would have a much better or somewhat better impact on U.S. consumers. Twenty-three percent of respondents said it would have no change, 12 percent said it would be worse or much worse and 32 percent had no opinion on the question.
When it came to the new agreement's potential impact on manufacturing workers, 38 percent said it would be much better or somewhat better. Only 8 percent thought it would be worse or much worse, 21 percent predicted no change and 33 percent had no opinion.
USMCA in the news: A clear majority of 66 percent of respondents said they had seen, read or heard either a lot or some information about the USMCA. However, only 43 percent thought the deal was very or somewhat different from NAFTA. Twenty-four percent said it was not too or not at all different from the original deal, while 34 percent had no opinion.
Read the results here and full crosstabulation results here. (Morning Consult is a nonpartisan media and technology company that provides data-driven research and insights on politics, policy and business strategy.) [POLITICO's Morning Trade, October 10, 2018]
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| REPUBLICAN PARTY |
The fact that casino magnate and philanthropist
Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam are mega-donors to Republican causes is not
news. But I didn’t appreciate the scope of their buying power until I read
in Sunday’s New York Times that they are, according to publicly available campaign
finance data, “the biggest spenders in federal elections in all of American
politics.”
And what have they achieved? The unilateral move of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decimation of the Iran nuclear deal. The most irresponsible tax cut imaginable.
As a letter writer in today’s Times noted, “It is deeply disturbing that in our representative democracy wealthy people can use their money to buy a president and have their foreign policy wishes granted.” Domestic policy wishes, too. [Forward, Jane Looking Forward, September 25, 2018]
And what have they achieved? The unilateral move of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decimation of the Iran nuclear deal. The most irresponsible tax cut imaginable.
As a letter writer in today’s Times noted, “It is deeply disturbing that in our representative democracy wealthy people can use their money to buy a president and have their foreign policy wishes granted.” Domestic policy wishes, too. [Forward, Jane Looking Forward, September 25, 2018]
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| NSA |
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| READ |
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics
Unmasked FICTION
I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy's Golden Era
Washington Black FICTION
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| POLAND |
Wojciech Janowski, former honorary consul of the Republic of Poland in Monaco sentenced to life imprisonment
Duel in Warsaw
Poland graduates to “developed” country: FTSE
Poland breaks ranks from EU Brexit unity
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| TRINIDAD & TOBAGO |
Industry stakeholders join forces in Internet Week Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad judge orders secret Sandals deal disclosed
Trinidad PM denies allegations of financial impropriety
Trinidad and Tobago foreign ministry hosts security meeting for diplomatic corps
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| ETHIOPIA |
The EPRDF Council's action on economic issues and its focus areas
"If we agree on the issue of growing together in Ethiopia, everything is easy," said Tadah Tilahun, CEO of NOK and President of the Ethiopian Petroleum Companies Association
The new cabinet and the new prime minister
T’ej
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