Schumer Protected FB

[Me.]

“Equally important is the story the paper tells of how powerful liberal Democrats, one at the pinnacle of Facebook (Sheryl Sandberg) and another at the pinnacle of the Senate (Chuck Schumer), shielded the company from critics to preserve its fat bottom line. And in the process proved to be useful idiots for the Russians. Had Sandberg and Schumer not protected Facebook, it would have been harder for Russians to manipulate the 2016 election with impunity on its platform, and the presidential candidate Sandberg and Schumer supported, Hillary Clinton, conceivably might have averted narrow defeat.

As for Schumer, his water-carrying for Facebook, as documented by the Times, is mortifying: He even tried to shut down a fellow Democratic senator, Mark Warner, who dared question the company. (It will surprise no one that Facebook’s employees contribute more to Schumer, the Democrats’ Senate leader, than any other member of Congress.) It’s a cruel irony, I guess, that prominent Clinton supporters like Sandberg and Schumer in the end contributed to Trump’s victory by allowing Russian interference to play out unchecked at Facebook for much of 2016.”

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/frank-rich-trump-is-starting-to-panic.html

[MineralMan]

1. I'm not so sure about the accuracy of this story, actually.

I'm not going to trash Schumer on the basis of it. Nope.

[Vinca]

2. I've been surprised this hasn't been a bigger story. If Schumer actually did what was reported,

he needs a visit from the ethics people. Protecting Facebook because your daughter works there is outrageous given the Russian interference in our election.

[JudyM]

5. Our government seems to operate without restraint from the most basic conflict of interest rules.

This may be the #1 thing that, if changed, would render our government actually by the people and for the people.

[Me.]

6. It's Been Well Reported On MSNBC

That's how I first learned about it but it doesn't seem to have much traction in the public yet.

Business Insider

Sen. Chuck Schumer intervened on Facebook's behalf this summer, telling a prominent Democratic critic of the company to back off

“• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer intervened with one of his colleagues on Facebook's behalf this summer, amid growing sentiment against the company, according to a new report in The New York Times.
• Schumer told Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), one of the company's most prominent congressional critics, to tone down his criticism.
• He also kept Facebook's lobbyists informed of his efforts to protect the social networking giant, according to the report.”

https://www.businessinsider.com/chuck-schumer-facebook-mark-warner-2018-11

NY Times

“In Washington, allies of Facebook, including Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, intervened on its behalf. And Ms. Sandberg wooed or cajoled hostile lawmakers, while trying to dispel Facebook’s reputation as a bastion of Bay Area liberalism….cont

Mr. Schumer also has a personal connection to Facebook: His daughter Alison joined the firm out of college and is now a marketing manager in Facebook’s New York office, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In July, as Facebook’s troubles threatened to cost the company billions of dollars in market value, Mr. Schumer confronted Mr. Warner, by then Facebook’s most insistent inquisitor in Congress.

Back off, he told Mr. Warner, according to a Facebook employee briefed on Mr. Schumer’s intervention. Mr. Warner should be looking for ways to work with Facebook, Mr. Schumer advised, not harm it. Facebook lobbyists were kept abreast of Mr. Schumer’s efforts to protect the company, according to the employee.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-russia-election-racism.html

[Baitball Blogger]

3. The formula is there. If you want protection from investigations, hire a family member of one

of our Congressmen. Disgusting.

[sarcasmo]

4. Term Limits

[NBachers]

7. "Mortifying"

[malaise]

8. I am no fan of Schumer but his daughter works there

It was a bad move but that fact needs to be pointed out.