Category Archives: Presidential campaign

Behind the Scenes at the DNC: Money, Meetings, Influence

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Do you ever wonder who is who? Do you wonder what people are doing when not on stage? What about the lobbying, the meetings, the rallies, the influence, the powerbrokers?

Here is an eye-opening insight into what else goes on behind the stage and around Philadelphia….anyone talking about the DNC email server hack? Yes….about policies? Yes….about who is seen with who? Yes….

Hat tip to the Center for Public Integrity

Buying of the President 2016

The influence diaries: Dispatches from the Democratic National Convention

An inside look at influence-peddling in Philadelphia

Editor’s note: The Center for Public Integrity’s money-in-politics reporting team is bringing you news from the Democratic National Convention — focusing on special-interest influence, big-money politicking and corporate schmoozing. Reporters Michael Beckel and Carrie Levine are on the ground in Philadelphia. Please check back regularly as this article will be updated throughout the week. Click here to read our coverage of the Republican National Convention. 

NUNS LOBBY TO ‘MEND THE GAPS’

11:58 a.m., Thursday, July 28: They may not look like lobbyists, but a gaggle of Catholic nuns have a distinct message to share in Philadelphia.

The Nuns on the Bus, a project of NETWORK, is calling on Congress to “mend the gaps in wealth, income and access.”

Amid the Democratic National Convention, Nuns on the Bus is conducting three, two-hour workshops to educate people about gaps in seven key areas — tax justice, living wages, family-friendly workplaces, healthcare, housing, citizenship and democracy — and inspire people to take action.

On Wednesday afternoon, about three-dozen people gathered in a room in the Philadelphia Convention Center as nine of the Nuns on the Bus described how the immense gains seen by the wealthiest Americans since 1980, the modest gains seen by middle class and the decline seen by the country’s poorest citizens.

Its cause, they said: President Ronald Reagan’s implementation of trickle-down economics, reduction of the top tax brackets and clashes with labor unions.

“Policies made the mess,” said Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of NETWORK. “Policies can fix the mess.”

It’s not that people in the top 1 percent are bad or evil, Campbell continued, but rather it’s that they are “so far away from the lived reality” of their less wealthy brethren.

The Catholic social justice group is making at least a few friends on Capitol Hill. At one point Wednesday, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., made a brief appearance at the event, praising the Nuns on the Bus and saying that “we are with you 100 percent.”

Lobbying records show that NETWORK spent $380,000 lobbying Congress and the federal government last year, and has spent $190,000 so far this year.

Since early July, the Nuns on the Bus bus tour has visited cities in 13 states and also made an appearance at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Along the way, they have been collecting pledge cards that will eventually be delivered to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to attendees Wednesday, Campbell stressed the importance of being engaged in 2016.

“We need you this election cycle probably more than ever,” she said. “It’s going to depend on we the people to form a more perfect union.”

— Michael Beckel

TWITTER’S CONVENTION NEST

11:52 a.m., Thursday, July 28: Exhausted by running all over Philadelphia in the searing heat? Twitter has a refuge for you.

On Locust Street in downtown Philadelphia, Twitter’s logos plaster the outside of a restaurant and event space they’ve converted into the #TwitterDistrict, home to free wi-fi, trays of Prosecco glasses, mini lobster rolls and other goodies.

The lounge is mainly reserved for people Twitter works with, including reporters, but that list also includes members’ offices who want training in how to better use Twitter and Twitter products.

Twitter also used the space to host panels, such as one on “Women, Power and Politics” Wednesday whose lineup included  Stephanie Hannon, the chief technology officer for the Clinton campaign.

A Twitter spokesman said the company had a similar space at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week. It represents the company’s largest presence at conventions so far.

— Carrie Levine


THE DONALD TRIES TO TRUMP DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

11:21 a.m. Thursday, July 28: It used to be that Republicans would more or less take a week off while Democrats conducted their once-every-four-years national convention — and vice versa.

But Donald Trump’s assertion Wednesday that Russia should spy on Hillary Clinton’s emails has overshadowed some of the events unfolding in Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention. (Democrats accused Trump of disloyalty; Trump says he was “being sarcastic.”)

Senior political reporter Dave Levinthal today dished about this and other convention developments with WBEN-AM 930 in Buffalo, N.Y. Listen here.

— The Center for Public Integrity

INCOME INEQUALITY, BROUGHT TO YOU BY …

8:27 a.m. Thursday, July 28: Income inequality is one of the most critical challenges facing the nation, and for $20,000 your company or organization could have been the “title co-sponsor” of an event today discussing the issue with Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and other Democratic mayors.

That’s according to promotional materials for the National Conference of Democratic Mayors event obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

In addition to the title co-sponsorship, a $20,000 contribution would have also given you six tickets to the discussion, a one-year membership in the National Conference of Democratic Mayors’ Alliance program and four tickets to each of the other discussion events the group was holding during the Democratic National Convention, among other perks.

Not feeling the need to the most conspicuous brand associated with the event? Give $10,000 as a “gold sponsor” or $5,000 as a “silver sponsor” and receive a smaller number of tickets and other perks.

Earlier in the week, the National Conference of Democratic Mayors also held discussions about economic innovation and transportation and infrastructure issues, with similar rewards for funders.

It also held a networking event called a “Taste of America’s Cities” on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.

— Michael Beckel

 

TOM STEYER IS COMING FOR YOU, MILLENNIALS

7:12 p.m. Wednesday, July 27: Three-ounce glasses of Left Hand Nitro Stout and trays of pretzel rolls lined the bar. One corner held platters of fried chicken, marinated vegetables, cheese and other goodies. And the millennials were in the house.

The event at BRU, a Philadelphia bar, put together by political nonprofit NextGen Climate, was all about drawing them in. Called “#WhyWeVote: Millennials and the Election,” and introduced by environmentalist and megadonor Tom Steyer, a panel was set up “to talk about what it means to get millennials to understand the importance of your voice and your vote,” Steyer said.

Millennials “often say, politics is too corrupt for me to vote,” said Svante Myrick, the mayor of Ithaca, New York and the youngest mayor in the history of New York state. “Politics is too corrupt for me to participate… You don’t go to a party unless you’re invited.”

The panelists were there to talk about convincing millennials to go to the polls, something that is a major initiative for NextGen Climate this cycle, Steyer told the Center for Public Integrity after the panel concluded.

“We’re trying to organize field operations for people under the age of 30 so that they are informed particularly on energy and climate, something they particularly care about,” he said. Steyer said the effort includes field and online outreach.

Steyer, who together with his wife is the top individual donor at the federal level this cycle, according to campaign finance data tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics, has given more than $31 million, nearly all of it to NextGen Climate Action Fund, a super PAC affiliated with NextGen Climate.

— Carrie Levine

Who’s funding the host committee of ? Some big donors featured prominently on flags downtown

FOR LOBBYISTS, CLEVELAND ROCKS … BUT SO DOES PHILLY

3:27 p.m. Wednesday, July 27: Think there’s less schmoozing to be had at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia compared to that in Cleveland at the Republican National Convention?

Think again.

Center for Public Integrity political reporter Carrie Levine tells Arnie Arnesen of WNHN-FM 94.7 in Concord, N.H.: “There are plenty of parties, plenty of concerts and lots of events to go to — we’re keeping a very full schedule.”

Listen here to Carrie’s full interview here.

— The Center for Public Integrity

WHERE THE REAL PARTIES ARE

11:44 a.m. Wednesday, July 27: While national political convention pageantry takes place inside a sports arena, the real (and often exclusive) parties — involving lawmakers, lobbyists and other special interests — are this month taking place within bars, clubs and restaurants across Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Senior political reporter Dave Levinthal, who attended the Republican National Convention, dishes about this dynamic in the latest DecodeDC podcast with host Jimmy Williams. Listen here.

— The Center for Public Integrity

Late night entertainment with & during

DON’T STOP … WORKING TO CURB GUN VIOLENCE

10:43 a.m. Wednesday, July 27: A party hosted Tuesday night in Philadelphia by left-leaning super PAC Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC mixed a festive atmosphere with a serious message.

Amid performances by Kesha and the Drive-By Truckers, organizers urged the crowd at the Theatre of Living Arts to support political candidates who support stricter gun control measures.

Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC — founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt, and her husband Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut — calls for people to “use every means available” to ensure Congress “puts communities’ interests ahead of the gun lobby’s.”

This election cycle, the super PAC is supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as well as a number of U.S. Senate candidates.

“Stopping gun violence takes courage,” Giffords told the crowd during a break in the nearly hour-long set by the Drive-By Truckers, a Georgia-based alt-country rock band whose latest albums has songs specifically dealing with gun violence and mass shootings. “Be courageous. The nation’s counting on you.”

Added Kelly: “Go out and vote on this issue.”

The party, following the Democratic Nationa Convention’s Tuesday session, was a hot ticket.

Even with one, admission wasn’t guaranteed: The venue filled up fast, with high-profile political attendees including the likes of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who resigned as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee earlier this week, and Jim Messina, President Barack Obama’s former campaign manager.

By around midnight, the line outside stretched down the block and security at the door was telling would-be concert-goers they couldn’t go in until someone left.

Taking the stage about 1:15 a.m., Kesha played for roughly 15 minutes. Her brief set included hit songs “We R Who We R” and “Tik Tok.”

The music arrived after Kesha was introduced by actress Elizabeth Banks, who described herself as the “hugest, hugest fan” of Giffords and called Kelly a “national hero.” On Tuesday night, Banks also served as de facto master of ceremonies during the Democratic National Convention’s proceedings.

For her part, Kesha also added her voice in support of the Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC’s cause, saying that while we may not be able to control who feels hurt or pain in this country, “what we can control is who we give f—ing weapons to.”

Since it was formed in January 2013, the Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC has raised more than $31 million, including $3.7 million so far this year, according to disclosures submitted to the Federal Election Commission. It entered July with about $5 million in the bank, according to its most recent campaign finance filing.

Roughly half of the money the Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC has raised over its existence is from small-dollar donors who have given $200 or less, records show.

But some wealthy donors are also among its supporters, including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the Texas law firm of Democratic super donors Steve and Amber Mostyn. All have made six-figure contributions to Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC.

— Michael Beckel and Carrie Levine

YOUR 15 SECONDS OF FAME

7:57 a.m. Wednesday, July 27: Wish you could have introduced the keynote speaker at the New American Leaders Project event today in Philadelphia?

The privilege could have been yours for a cool $15,000 — which would have also included photo-ops with elected officials, candidates, delegates and other special guests, along with other perks.

Other sponsorship packages existed at the $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 level, according to materials obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

The New York-based New American Leadership Project touts itself as the “only national, nonpartisan organization focused on bringing New Americans into the political process.” In its five years of existence, it has trained nearly 400 people to run for office, according to material on its website. Its focus is on first- and second-generation immigrants.

What it hasn’t done yet: rake in the big bucks. Tax records filed with the Internal Revenue Service show the New American Leaders Project has yet to raise more than $50,000 during a single year.

— Michael Beckel

Lead-up to securing nomination unofficially began 3 1/2 yrs ago — with a super PAC

— Dave Levinthal

 

ROOM FOR ALL KINDS OF INTEREST GROUPS

4:24 p.m. Tuesday, July 26: Fundraisers and corporate lobbyists aren’t the only ones who take advantage of the conventions to conduct events and make sure members of Congress hear about their issues.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which advocates for reproductive freedom and against restrictions on abortion, partnered with Cosmopolitan Magazine for a lunchtime panel on “Congress, the Courts and Your Body” this afternoon at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

The panel, which included U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, both Democrats, drew a crowd that lunched on salmon and grilled vegetables. Attendees lauded the Supreme Court’s decision last month in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstadt, which overturned Texas restrictions on abortion clinics, a ruling Blumenthal described as a “landmark.”

Spotted among the crowd: actresses Constance Wu and Eva Longoria, a Democratic party fundraising stalwart who introduced U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey at the convention last night (an assistant said she wasn’t giving interviews today). Several other members of Congress, including U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell of Michigan and Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts, also attended.

Blumenthal, the sponsor of legislation that he said would require clear medical proof of necessity for state restrictions on abortion, and Watson Coleman encouraged supporters to reach out to members of Congress.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the Whole Woman’s Health ruling is a “new tool” that will help the center and others take on other state laws. In addition, she said that in addition to such defensive work, advocates could now “push for affirmative laws.”

For example, she said it could be time to lay groundwork to “make sure that women who can’t afford abortion care can get it in federal programs.” Her comments appear aimed at the so-called Hyde Amendment, versions of which have for decades restricted the use of federal funds for abortion.

This year, the Democrats’ platform, passed yesterday, calls specifically for repealing the Hyde Amendment, a controversial proposal.

— Carrie Levine

Dem takes batting practice at park during charity event

 

CONCERNS ABOUT CORPORATE-SPONSORED DAY AT THE BALLPARK? ‘OVERBLOWN’ CONGRESSMAN SAYS

2:06 p.m. Tuesday, July 26: Batting practice during the Democratic All Star Challenge at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, was briefly interrupted this morning for a few words from the event’s hosts and biggest sponsor.

James C. Greenwood, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who now serves as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s chief executive officer, praised the House and Senate Energy and Commerce Committees for “working in a bipartisan fashion” to help cure diseases such as AIDS, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

“Bad policies,” Greenwood admonished, could “kill innovation.”

As the main sponsor of the charity baseball event — money donated by its corporate sponsors will go to three charities — the Biotechnology Innovation Organization had given $50,000, according to marketing materials obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

Other sponsors — including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Microsoft and Monsanto — had donated between $5,000 and $20,000.

Part of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the charity event was held “in honor of” the Democrats on the House and Senate energy and commerce committees. (A similar event was held in Cleveland last week during the Republican National Convention.)

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also spoke briefly at the charity fundraiser.

Sporting khaki shorts, a black Pittsburgh Pirates t-shirt and a yellow Pirates baseball cap, Doyle called the event “a great thing” and a chance to “benefit some great charities.”

Speaking to the Center for Public Integrity after the event, Doyle dismissed the idea that he, or any of the other lawmakers, would be unduly influenced by the companies’ charitable donations to support the event.

“It’s frustrating that people think we are somehow influenced by that,” Doyle said. “It’s really easy to believe that there’s always something bad going on,” he continued, calling concerns that any lawmaker would be swayed by these types of contributions “overblown.”

“We’re public servants,” he said.

He added that the best way to assess who was influencing him was to look at his voting record in Congress.

At one point in the interview, Doyle even pulled a list of the events’ sponsors out of his pocket to stress that he wasn’t beloved by many of them.

“There are a lot of people on that list that don’t like me,” he said.

Throughout the morning, a few dozen people milled about the stadium, in the dugout and on the field near home plate as guests with VIP tickets took a few swings during batting practice. Among them? both Doyle and Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, another member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who was also present at the event.

— Michael Beckel

 

THE MUSIC-LOVERS’ LOBBYISTS

2:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 26: Colorado’s Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper has played his banjo on stage with the likes of the String Cheese Incident and Old Crow Medicine Show. And today, he’ll be one of the featured panelists at an event in Philadelphia called ArtsSpeak, with the likes of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon.

Also featured at the event: entertainer Ben Vereen and musician Ben Folds, who will both perform.

ArtsSpeak will be hosted by the Arts Action Fund, in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Music Merchants and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

For its part, the National Association of Music Merchants has spent $160,000 lobbying Congress so far this year regarding access to music education programs in schools, according to federal records. Also among its concerns? Regulations that prohibit the sale of products containing ivory and that ban the importation of illegally harvested wood.

Not in Philadelphia? The discussion — and musical performances — will be broadcast online live here at 4 p.m. EDT.

— Michael Beckel

 

HUD SECRETARY HONORED AT LAVISH LUNCHEON

12:57 p.m. Tuesday, July 26: He may not have been selected as Hillary Clinton’s vice president, but Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro has at least received a leadership award by the Latino Leaders Network.

Castro collected the award — and give a speech to the group — at a luncheon today in Philadelphia at the lavish Crystal Tea Room, a venue complete with “carved columns and opulent crystal chandeliers.” (A wedding reception there typically runs between $20,500 and $33,550.)

According to promotional materials for the invitation-only event obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, “special guests” included Reps. Xavier Becerra of California, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Linda Sanchez of California, as well as former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson, former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Sponsors of the affair, meanwhile, included the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, GEICO, ComEd, PECO and Southwest Airlines, as well as NextGenClimate, an advocacy group formed by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.

On the Latino Leaders Network’s website, Anheuser-Busch, the world’s largest beer maker, is the sole company listed as a “premier sponsor” of the quarterly luncheon series. Tax records show the Anheuser-Busch Foundation has contributed $100,000 annually to the Latino Leaders Network in recent years.

— Michael Beckel

COURT SAYS CONVENTION DONORS’ IDENTITIES CAN STAY SECRET

9:45 a.m., Tuesday, July 26: Comcast’s logo is splashed across signs welcoming Democratic delegates to the Wells Fargo Center.

Tents in the “convention village” offering video games, cocktails, and buffets are sponsored by a series of firms and trade associations that want lawmakers’ attention and goodwill.

Unions have filed paperwork disclosing seven-figure contributions to the host committee of the Philadelphia convention.

The host committee itself has posted a thank-you to a list of especially generous corporate sponsors on its website.

And yet, despite all that exposure, the host committee has fought to keep its official donors list secret. State authorities have ruled the records should be public. But yesterday the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas handed convention planners a major victory, allowing the host committee to maintain donor anonymity for another two months.

The host committee is required to file reports about its finances with the city of Philadelphia because the city has extended a $15 million line of credit to the host committee as a backstop to its fundraising efforts. A state agency said the records had to be disclosed, but the host committee appealed.

The host committee’s executive director, Kevin Washo, and lawyers for the committee said the information is confidential and proprietary, and the committee is still fundraising, and releasing the information sooner could hurt their efforts. Federal election law allows the host committee to wait to disclose its donors until after the election.

Anna Adams-Sarthou, a spokeswoman for the host committee, said it has raised about $58 million in cash and pledges and $16 million in in-kind contributions so far, and is working to raise another $1 million in cash.

“We appreciate that the Court has recognized that the Host Committee is required to be among the most transparent of all organizations by federal law,” she said in a statement. “This ruling emphasizes the fact that we have been following federal guidelines for the last two years and will help us complete the work to put on a successful convention.”

— Carrie Levine

Charity batting practice w/ Dem lawmakers draws special interest $ at

THE ‘GRAND SLAM PACKAGE’

8:07 a.m. Tuesday, July 26: The Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Microsoft, AT&T, Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Consumer Technology Association and Monsanto are among the special-interest groups paying for the privilege of taking batting practice and socializing with lawmakers today at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, according to materials obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

The “Democratic All Star Challenge” charity batting practice event honors the Democratic members of the House and Senate’s Energy and Commerce committees, while raising money for the D.C.-based Washington Literacy Center, the Pittsburgh-based Center of Life and Phillies Charities, the charitable arm of the baseball team.

According to marketing materials obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, sponsorships range from $5,000 for the “sports fan package” to $50,000 for the “grand slam package,” which the Biotechnology Innovation Organization appears to have purchased.

Each tier includes a number of perks such as general admission tickets to the event, as well as tickets for either regular batting practice and VIP batting practice with former Phillies outfielder Milt Thompson. (Former Phillies pitcher Dickie Noles will also lead a pitching clinic during the event.)

Another apparent perk of being the top sponsor? Giving a speech to attendees.

James C. Greenwood, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who now serves as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s chief executive officer, is scheduled to deliver remarks during the event. So is Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who sits on its Communications and Technology subcommittee as well as its Energy and Power subcommittee.

Doyle is also the longtime coach of the Democrats’ congressional baseball team, which plays against a Republican team once a year each summer in Washington, D.C., for charity.

— Michael Beckel

 

CONVENTION MONEY … AND MAYHEM

11:57 p.m. Monday, July 25: How do the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention contrast?

And what about the money behind them both?

Center for Public Integrity senior political reporter Dave Levinthal today spoke with KALW-FM 91.7’s “Your Call” in San Francisco and TRT World’s “The Newsmakers” program about these and other convention-related issues.

Listen and watch.

— The Center for Public Integrity

Here’s what had to say about campaign finance issues & the Koch brothers in speech

So, says will fight ‘Citizens United’ decision But, this: &

Inbox: a Michelle Obama email to Clinton’s list, asking for donations.

More here from the Center for Public Integrity

North Korea Goes to War Footing

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North Korea is now developing BALLISTIC SUBMARINES to carry nuclear warheads

Madcap dictator Kim Jong-un has authorised a huge expansion of the country’s main military dockyards in preparation for the construction of a fleet on new submarines.

The move will raise fears that the mentally unstable dictator is attempting to construct an at sea nuclear deterrent to rival Britain’s Trident programme.

The mentally unstable dictator, who is attempting to develop viable nuclear missiles, has upped his rhetoric against the West in recent months and has persistently threatened to start World War Three.

Now analysis of the Sinpo South Shipyard, on the country’s eastern coast, shows that the North Korean navy is clearing a huge harbour and has put up a massive new construction hall.

Experts at 38 North, a program at the US-Korea Institute, have examined satellite imagery which shows the true extent of the secretive country’s ambitious naval plans.

 

At the moment North Korea has a single small, outdated Gorae-class submarine which is neither large nor technologically advanced enough to launch nuclear missiles.

But the analysts warned: “The status of work inside the hall remains unclear, but when it is finished North Korea will be able

But the analysts warned: “The status of work inside the hall remains unclear, but when it is finished North Korea will be able to build and launch new submarines much larger than the existing Gorae-class, including a new class of ballistic missile submarines.” More here from ExpressUK.

NoKO sub base NoKo submarine base

North Korea: U.S. has crossed red line; relations on war footing

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea’s top diplomat for U.S. affairs told The Associated Press on Thursday that Washington “crossed the red line” and effectively declared war by putting leader Kim Jong-un on its list of sanctioned individuals, and said a vicious showdown could erupt if the U.S. and South Korea hold annual war games as planned next month.

Han Song Ryol, director-general of the U.S. affairs department at the North’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview that recent U.S. actions have put the situation on the Korean Peninsula on a war footing.

The United States and South Korea regularly conduct joint military exercises south of the Demilitarized Zone, and Pyongyang typically responds to them with tough talk and threats of retaliation.

Han said North Korea believes the nature of the maneuvers has become openly aggressive because they reportedly now include training designed to prepare troops for the invasion of the North’s capital and “decapitation strikes” aimed at killing its top leadership.

Han says designating Kim himself for sanctions was the final straw. “The Obama administration went so far to have the impudence to challenge the supreme dignity of the DPRK in order to get rid of its unfavorable position during the political and military showdown with the DPRK,” Han said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The United States has crossed the red-line in our showdown”, he said. “We regard this thrice cursed crime as a declaration of war.” declaration of war.”

Although North Korea had already been heavily sanctioned internationally for its nuclear weapons and long-range missile development programs, Washington’s announcement on July 6 was the first time Kim Jong Un has been personally sanctioned.

Less than a week later, Pyongyang cut off its final official means of communications with Washington — known as the New York channel. Han said Pyongyang has made it clear that everything between the two must now be dealt with under “war law.” More here from the WashingtonTimes.

*****

WASHINGTON – A US policy institute said it may have located a secret facility used by North Korea in the early stages of building its program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, which if confirmed would be critical to the success of any future nuclear deal, according to a report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The report by the Institute for Science and International Security said there has always been doubt about whether North Korea has disclosed all of its nuclear facilities. Confirming their location would be critical to the success of any future agreement to freeze and dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, it said.

The site, 27 miles (43 km) from the nuclear complex at Yongbyon, may have played a key role in development of centrifuges that refine uranium hexafluoride gas into low-enriched and highly enriched uranium, the report said.

“It is necessary to identify where North Korea enriches uranium and part of that is understanding where it has done it in the past,” said David Albright, the institute’s president.

What may once have been the early centrifuge research and development facility is believed to have been inside an aircraft parts factory inside a mountain next to Panghyon Air Base. It was located using commercial satellite imagery, the report said.

It was unclear whether the aircraft parts factory was still operational but information from defectors indicates there may be three production-scale centrifuge manufacturing plants operating in the country although their locations have not been confirmed, said Albright.

Tensions have been escalating between North Korea and South Korea, the United States and Japan over Pyongyang’s fourth underground nuclear test in January and a series of missile launches.

North Korea’s nuclear program is based on highly enriched uranium and plutonium separated from spent reactor fuel rods.

The reclusive government, which for more than a decade denied having a gas centrifuge program, in November 2010 revealed the existence of a production-scale gas centrifuge plant at Yongbyon but insisted it had no other such facilities.

In June 2000, a Japanese newspaper quoted Chinese sources as saying a facility was located inside Mount Chonma, the report said. Information recently obtained from “knowledgeable government officials” suggested the undeclared facility was associated with an underground aircraft parts factory, it said.

Working with Allsource Analysis, which interprets satellite imagery, the institute determined it most likely was Panghyon Aircraft Plant, which made parts for Soviet-supplied fighters.

The report quoted an unidentified official as saying the site could have held between 200 and 300 centrifuges. More details here.

How Financially Rabid is the DNC Leadership?

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DNC Shared Its Donor Appointment List With White House

New details have emerged about a possible “pay-to-play” scheme that surfaced in the Democratic National Committee documents released by Wikileaks last week.

DailyCaller: The Democratic National Committee’s national finance director sent a White House official who handles personnel matters a list of Democratic donors that the DNC hand-picked for appointments to federal boards and commissions.

The Daily Caller reported earlier this week that Jordan Kaplan, the DNC finance director, sought guidance from his colleagues on what donors to choose for federal appointments. Names were collected, and a spreadsheet entitled “Boards and Commissions” was created.

(RELATED: Leakes DNC Documents Show Plans To Reward Big Donors With Federal Appointments)

Following up on that report, OpenSecrets, the blog of the Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors political spending, found an email from Kaplan to Amanda Moose, a special assistant to the President for presidential personnel, which appears to show coordination about the appointments between the DNC and the White House.

“For your review,” Kaplan wrote to Moose in an April 26 email which had the “Boards and Commissions — Final” spreadsheet attached.

As TheDC reported, most of those included on the list are major Democratic party donors. Most have donated to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. None contributed to Bernie Sanders.

“That is unethical, if not illegal,”Ken Boehm, the chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, told TheDC earlier this week of the apparent DNC quid pro quo.

One entry on one iteration of the DNC donor spreadsheet is telling as it suggests that one party donor expressed his desire to someone at the DNC about an appointment to the U. S. Postal Service’s board of governors.

Next to the name of Democratic donor David Shapira is the acronym “USPS.” The CEO of Giant Eagle, Inc., a supermarket chain, Shapira was nominated by Obama to the USPS board of governors last year. The pick was blocked by Congress, however.

TheDC emailed Kaplan asking whether Shapira specifically asked anyone at the DNC to be nominated again for the USPS position or if DNC officials assumed that he would want that position given his previous nomination.

The finance chief did not respond. DNC communications director Luis Miranda did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Other emails contained in the Wikileaks trove show that Kaplan and Moose likely discussed donor appointments over the phone.

Scott Comer, the DNC’s finance chief of staff, informed Kaplan on April 28 that he had missed a call from Moose. Kaplan asked for the number.

On May 3, Comer emailed Kaplan again saying that Moose wanted to set up a time “for a 20-minute conversation.”

In a comment to OpenSecrets, White House spokesman Eric Schultz denied that donors are given roles in the administration because of their political donations.

“Being a donor does not get you a role in this administration,” Schultz said, adding “nor does it preclude you from getting one.”

“We’ve said this for many years now and there’s nothing in the emails that have been released that contradicts that.”

The Obama administration has been accused of providing plush federal jobs — including appointments to federal boards and ambassadorships — for major Democratic and Obama donors.

As a presidential candidate in 2007, Obama specifically said that political patronage would be eradicated from his administration.

“The cynics and the lobbyists and the special interests have turned government into a game that only they can afford to play,” he said at the time. “They write the checks and you get stuck with the bills. They get the access when you get to write a letter. The time for that politics is over.”

As OpenSecrets notes, none of the donors picked by the DNC have been appointed to federal spots since Kaplan provided the spreadsheet to Moose.

Moose did not respond to TheDC’s request for comment.

Yup, there is more of course.

DWS Donor Convicted of Wire Fraud Relating to Horse Murder Not Allowed to Give to DNC

Hacked emails show George Lindemann Jr.’s past eliminated him as a DNC donor

FreeBeacon: A major donor to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D., Fla.) was forbidden from giving to the Democratic National Committee due to a past conviction on three counts of wire fraud following his electrocution of a horse to collect an insurance payout.

George Lindemann Jr., a Miami-based real estate developer and son of billionaire New York investor George Lindemann, was vetted earlier this year as a possible donor to the committee and to attend an event with President Barack Obama, according to an exchange contained within the latest batch of hacked DNC emails released by Wikileaks.

Clayton Cox, the DNC’s regional finance director in Florida, Georgia, and the Midwest, asked for a background check into Lindemann Jr. on May 9.

The same day, Chadwick Rivard, a senior research and compliance supervisor for the DNC, returned an extended report into Lindemann Jr.’s checkered past.

Lindemann Jr., a former equestrian who had Olympic aspirations, hired a man named Tommy Burns in 1990 to kill his horse, named “Charisma,” by electrocution so he could cash out on an insurance policy worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The insurance company ruled that the horse had died from natural causes. The plan had temporarily worked, as he was issued the $250,000 policy for the horse’s life.

However, federal investigators later uncovered a conspiracy between Burns and another person, named Barney Ward, to kill numerous horses for money. The practice allowed the horse’s owner to then collect the insurance policy, as Lindemann Jr. had done.

Burns provided information to the FBI on Lindemann Jr. It was discovered during this process that a man named James Druck had taught Burns how to electrocute horses to cash in on the insurance payout. Druck was the father of Rielle Hunter, the former mistress of John Edwards, who was born Lisa Druck.

During the trial, Lindemann’s defense argued that the $250,000 insurance payout did not matter to Lindemann Jr. given his family’s net worth. A U.S. attorney later described Lindemann Jr. as a “a very wealthy kid that has a toy that he doesn’t like or gets mad at and throws it on the floor and stomps on it.”

Lindemann Jr. was convicted on three counts of wire fraud in 1995 for his role in Charisma’s death. The judge presiding over Lindemann Jr.’s case ordered him to pay $500,000 in fines and $250,000 in restitution. He was sentenced to 33 months in prison, the maximum sentence.

Alan Reed, another DNC compliance officer, responded to the email chain saying, “I vote fail….again.”

Wasserman Schultz, who recently resigned as chair of the DNC following the release of the Wikileaks emails, accepted tens of thousands in donations from Lindemann Jr. to her leadership PAC and campaign committees in recent years.

Lindemann Jr. gave a $5,000 donation to Democrats Win Seats PAC, the leadership PAC of Wasserman Schultz, in February 2014. More than a year later, in April 2015, he contributed another $5,000 to the PAC.

Additionally, he gave $2,600 to Wasserman Schultz’s primary campaign in 2014 and added another $2,400 to her general election. He also combined to give $3,500 to the Democratic Executive Committee of Florida that year.

Lindemann Jr. donated $2,700 to Wasserman Schultz’s primary in 2015 and contributed $2,700 to her general, the maximum amounts allowed by law per election.

Lindemann Jr. has donated to both political parties throughout the years. He had failed previous background checks from the committee.

Wasserman Schultz’s office did not return a request for comment on the donations by press time.

 

 

 

 

Video: Ansbach, Germany Terrorist Details, Other Pledges

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Minister: Bavaria bomber in online chat before attack

BERLIN (AP) — A 27-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who blew himself up at a bar in the southern German town of Ansbach was chatting online with a still-unidentified person immediately before the explosion, Bavaria’s interior minister said Wednesday.

Attacker Mohammed Daleel died and 15 people were wounded when his bomb exploded in a wine bar Sunday night after he was denied entry to a nearby open-air concert because he didn’t have a ticket.

“There was apparently an immediate contact with someone who had a significant influence on this attack,” state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said on the sidelines of a party meeting in southern Bavaria, news agency dpa reported.

It wasn’t clear whether Daleel was in contact with the Islamic State group or where the other person in the chat was, Herrmann said. He said investigators checking the assailant’s cellphone came across the “intensive chat” and that “the chat appears to end immediately before the attack.”

“Because of witness testimony on what happened and also the course of the chat, there are indeed questions about whether he intended to set off the bomb at that moment,” Herrmann said.

On Tuesday night, the online magazine of the Islamic State group said the attacker spent months planning the attack, once even hiding his home-made bomb in his room in a state-supported asylum shelter moments before a police raid.

The weekly Al-Nabaa magazine’s report added that Daleel had fought in Iraq and Syria with a branch of al-Qaida and the IS group before arriving in Germany as an asylum seeker two years ago.

The Ansbach explosion was the last of four attacks in the country in the span of a week, two of which have been claimed by IS. Islamic extremism wasn’t the motive in the other two — including the deadliest of the series, Friday’s shooting in Munich in which nine people were killed.

The attacks have brought Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of welcoming refugees under renewed criticism.

Conservative lawmakers have called for an increased police presence, better surveillance and background checks of migrants — and new strategies to deport criminal asylum seekers more easily.

Al Nabaa’s Arabic-language report on the attacker said he initially fought against government forces with al-Qaida’s branch in Syria before pledging alliance to IS in 2013. He also helped the group with its propaganda efforts, setting up pro-IS accounts online.

In Germany, he started making the bomb, a process that took three months, al Nabaa wrote.

It added that German police once raided his asylum shelter in an unrelated case and searched Daleel’s room without noticing the bomb that he had hidden moments earlier.

IS earlier claimed the Ansbach attack, publishing a video it said was of Daleel pledging allegiance to the group and vowing that Germany’s people “won’t be able to sleep peacefully anymore.” It appears to be the same video as the one found by German investigators on the suicide bomber’s phone.

Daleel unsuccessfully sought asylum in Germany and was awaiting deportation to Bulgaria.

The recent attacks have heightened concerns about the government’s migration policy that saw more than 1 million people enter Germany last year.

A senior figure in the nationalist Alternative for Germany party, which has no seats in the national parliament but saw its popularity surge after last year’s migrant influx, suggested Wednesday that there should be “a halt to immigration for Muslims to Germany” until all asylum seekers now in the country have been registered, checked and had their applications processed.

“For security reasons, we can no longer afford to allow yet more Muslims to immigrate to Germany without control,” Alexander Gauland, a deputy party leader, said in a statement. “There are terrorists among the Muslims who immigrated illegally and their number is rising constantly.”

The Interior Ministry says Germany is not still seeing uncontrolled migration. Spokesman Johannes Dimroth said that “for some time” all new arrivals have been registered and checked against security databases.

As for whether people could be treated differently depending on their religion, “as I understand it that simply would be incompatible with our understanding of freedom of religion,” he said.

The bloodshed in Germany began July 18, when a 17-year-old from Afghanistan wielding an ax attacked passengers on a train near Wuerzburg, wounding five people before he was shot to death by police. The IS group claimed responsibility.

German train operator Deutsche Bahn said Wednesday it would invest heavily in increased security and hire hundreds of security staff to control trains and train stations across the country.

The city of Munich said it is re-evaluating its security concept for the annual Oktoberfest and is considering banning all backpacks from the popular beer fest.

Ex-Gitmo Detainee From Uruguay, to Brazil to Venezuela

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Ex-Guantánamo detainee who vanished from Uruguay turns up in Venezuela

   

Abu Wa’el Dhiab, who had disappeared last month in Uruguay where he and six others were resettled in 2014, showed up at the Syrian consulate in Caracas

Guardian: A resettled former Guantánamo prisoner who disappeared last month in Uruguay, setting off alarm bells in neighboring countries and recriminations in Washington, has reappeared in Venezuela.

The Uruguayan foreign minister, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, told the Associated Press that Syrian native Abu Wa’el Dhiab showed up at his country’s consulate in Caracas. Consulate officials refused to provide information or entry to AP journalists gathered outside.

Dhiab reportedly had last been seen in mid-July in Chuy, a small city on the Uruguay-Brazil border that is home to a small Arab community.

He is one of six former Guantánamo prisoners who were resettled in Uruguay after being released by US authorities in 2014, invited by then president José Mujica as a humanitarian gesture.

The men had been detained in 2002 for suspected ties to al-Qaida. They were held without charge like hundreds of others at Guantánamo Bay before the US government cleared them for release. There are no charges against Dhiab or order for his arrest, and Uruguayan officials had said that as a refugee he has the right to leave the South American country.

But Dhiab’s disappearance raised concerns, as well as questions about how closely countries that resettle former Guantánamo inmates should watch them and for how long, as the US prepares to release more prisoners.

US lawmakers trying to block Barack Obama from closing the detention center recently scolded his administration for losing track of Dhiab. The US envoy in Montevideo also expressed concerns about the lack of information on his whereabouts. Ambassador Kelly Keiderling said it’s up to Uruguay to say whether Dhiab can travel, though she added that she would prefer he stay in Uruguay. When questioned at a news conference, she said Dhiab “could be, yes, theoretically” a threat.

Colombia-based Avianca Airlines recently issued an internal alert saying Dhiab could be using a fake passport trying to enter Brazil, the site of the Summer Olympics. The airline said the alert was issued based on information provided by Brazil’s federal police, which had been looking for Dhiab.

The Uruguayan government has provided social services and financial support to Dhiab and the five other former detainees – three others from Syria, a Tunisian and a Palestinian. But the men have struggled to adjust and have complained about not getting enough help from Uruguayan officials.

Dhiab has been the most vocal about his unhappiness. Last year, he visited neighboring Argentina. In an orange jumpsuit like those Guantánamo prisoners have worn, he told news media in Buenos Aires that he planned to seek asylum for himself and the other detainees still held at the US naval base in eastern Cuba.

In an interview with the Uruguayan magazine Búsqueda, Dhiab said he was never a terrorist, but sympathizes with al-Qaida because of the torture that he endured in Guantánamo. He also has accused Uruguay of breaking its commitment to bring his family.

Jon Eisenberg, a US lawyer who represented Dhiab while he was detained at Guantánamo, said he has not been in contact with the former prisoner since a phone call in June but has heard from a contact in Uruguay that the report of his being in Venezuela is accurate.

Eisenberg said Dhiab was very concerned about his wife and three children, who fled the Syrian civil war for Turkey but then had to return to their homeland for financial reasons. They were in a Syrian village that was bombed by government forces in November 2015.

The lawyer said that when he last spoke with the former prisoner, Dhiab was hopeful that his family might be brought to Uruguay.

“That’s why I thought he wouldn’t leave Uruguay,” Eisenberg said.