Trump rolled back pipeline safety regulations, benefiting equity firm that loaned money to Kushner

[babylonsister]

Trump rolled back pipeline safety regulations, benefiting equity firm that loaned money to Kushner
An ethics lawyers told ThinkProgress "the whole things stinks to high heaven."
Danielle McLean
Mar 1, 2018, 5:48 pm


The equity firm magnate that advised the Trump administration on infrastructure and whose company gave a $184 million loan to Kushner Companies also benefited from three rule changes relaxing pipeline safety regulations.

Last year, Joshua Harris, founder of equity firm giant Apollo Global Management, advised the Trump administration on infrastructure policy and discussed a possible a White House job that never materialized, the New York Times reported Wednesday. During that time, Harris also met several times with White House advisor Jared Kushner. Shortly after those meetings, Apollo gave Kushner’s family real estate firm the nine-figure loan to refinance the mortgage on a Chicago skyscraper, according to the New York Times report.

Harris’ company also has a number of large investments in energy companies that stand to gain from three Trump administration rule changes, including EP Energy and Northwoods Energy. Those ties were first revealed in a January 30 report published by the progressive think tank Democracy Forward.

“It is a very serious conflict of interest when you have the president and other officials who work for him who are indebted to any business or any entity that wants something out of the United States government,” said Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under the Bush administration. “The whole thing stinks to high heaven.”

Painter added that Kushner should leave the White House due to, among a host of other concerns, his financial conflicts. Painter says the law should be amended to limit incoming high-ranking government officials’ ownership of businesses with large amounts of debt.

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-rolled-back-pipeline-safety-regulations-benefiting-equity-firm-that-loaned-money-to-kushner-ca1c372857d7/

[Fred Sanders]

1. All this corruption is making me ill. Banana Republic in which Republicans cheer on the bananaman

Dear Leader.

[babylonsister]

2. I'm feeling pretty sick myself. nt

[riversedge]

3. and nobody is doing anything about it. nothing. period.

[Hortensis]

6. Huh? What's this? Chopped liver? :)

Would you like to be in Kushner's position?

Btw, here's a link to the group formed by a bunch of the Obama administration's top attorneys. They monitor for illegal activity and file suits. They've also started publishing a democracy threat index.

https://protectdemocracy.org/

[Angry Dragon]

4. CONFLICT!!......CORRUPT!!.........CONFLICT!!...........CURRUPT!!..........the list grows larger

[Stuart G]

5. Yes....you are 100 percent ...Yes..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no text