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#FARA
#InContempt #47: #Trump Administration Gears Up to Attack #AntiWar Movement
December 1, 2024
"Judging from what has been pushed thus far, there are several legal measures most likely to be used once Trump returns to Washington. One would be deporting foreign college students in the U.S. on a visa after they’re found to have openly advocated for #Hamas or another U.S.-designated terror group, or after they participated in an unauthorized campus protest and were suspended, expelled or jailed.
Another measure would be to pursue federal prosecutions of #demonstrators who block synagogue entrances or disrupt Jewish speakers at events. A third approach is to charge #protest leaders and nonprofits that aid in fundraising for protest groups with failing to register with the U.S. Justice Department as an 'agent of a foreign principal.' And a fourth avenue is to open investigations into protest leaders who are in direct contact with U.S.-designated terror groups while advocating on their behalf.
"…#AmericaFirstLegal has in the past year filed four lawsuits that provide a glimpse into how the Trump administration could differ from its predecessor. America First Legal alleges in the suits that the State Department, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Education have protected pro-Hamas extremists.
"In court papers and in letters to several federal oversight officials, America First Legal has also said it believes the Justice Department should have forced several leaders of pro-Palestinian groups to report themselves under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as #FARA, which requires individuals acting as 'an agent of a foreign principal' to register themselves."
Read more:
https://itsgoingdown.org/in-contempt-47/
#SilencingDissent #Authoritarianism #USPol #FreePalestine #HR9495 #Project2025 #ProjectEsther #ItsGoingDown
"the reliance on foreign financing and government actions leads him to question if Kushner’s business operations should be subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act."
#GiftArticle #GiftLink
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/us/politics/kushner-private-equity-saudi-arabia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Nk4.3MN7.IaV3Y5CMFMM7&smid=url-share#
At least 99% of the roughly $3B invested came from overseas, including $2B from #SaudiArabia’s Public Investment Fund [#PIF].
Most of the rest comes from the sovereign wealth funds of #Qatar & the #UAE, as well as a chunk from #TerryGou, Taiwan billionaire & founder of Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer.
But there is a 5th “mystery foreign investor Affinity has declined to identify,” acc/to the letter the cmte sent this week.
“Affinity’s investors may not be motivated by commercial considerations but rather the opportunity to funnel foreign government money to members of President #Trump’s family, namely #JaredKushner & #IvankaTrump,” Wyden wrote in a letter to Affinity this week, asking two dozen questions.
https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/7b79894d98990357/21a470fd-full.pdf
#Senate #Finance Cmte findings:
The private equity firm run by #JaredKushner has been paid at least $112 million in fees since 2021 by #SaudiArabia & other foreign investors, but it has not actually returned any profits to the governments bankrolling the firm.
#law #corruption #bribery #Trump #FARA
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/us/politics/kushner-private-equity-saudi-arabia.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
Last month, just a few weeks after the #TrumpMedia & #Rumble executives’ visit to #NorthMacedonia, #Grenell arrived in Skopje where he, too, met w/the new prime minister. Among the topics discussed was the desire for more foreign #capital in the country, in particular the potential for #US investment in a massive hydropower project.
#law #FARA #LoganAct #ethics #NationalSecurity #compromised #Kleptocracy #Trump #Balkans #ForeignPolicy
See boosted NYMag article:
“How to Buy a President”
Another fmr #Trump ofcl, Richard #Grenell, has been working w/ #Kushner on the #Balkans deals, The NYT reported earlier this year. When Trump was in the WH, Grenell was ambassador to Germany & acting director of national #intelligence [#ODNI], as well as a special envoy for #Serbia & #Kosovo. In the years since, Grenell has become a semi-official envoy for Trump, meeting & seeking to help foreign ofcls w/ #RightWing parties around the globe.
Images posted by the Macedonian govt, members of the #nationalist party…, show #DevinNunes seated across from the PM 1 day & beside the country’s president the next…. The govt minister in charge of “digital transformation” also hinted in a LinkedIn post at potential business dealings, saying that the “investment potential that these world-leading companies offer can revolutionize our digital infrastructure.”
…Scenes from the group’s trip to #NorthMacedonia show the #TrumpMedia executives being greeted almost as visiting heads of state, beginning w/what #Pavlovski described in an Instagram post as a “pretty cool … legit police escort” from the airport.
#law #FARA #LoganAct #ethics #NationalSecurity #compromised #Kleptocracy #Trump #Balkans #DevinNunes #NorthMacedonia #ForeignPolicy
#Pavlovski, a Canadian whose parents are from #NorthMacedonia, has long been a booster of the country. He also co-founded an #IT outsourcing firm that employs #software developers in NorthMacedonia & that has provided services to #TrumpMedia. ProPublica previously reported that #Trump Media has contracted w/Pavlovski’s outsourcing firm in the country & secured a special visa for a Macedonian coder who is now chief tech officer of the company.
#law #FARA #LoganAct #NationalSecurity #ForeignPolicy
The company has little revenue & TruthSocial has yet to catch on as a threat to other #socialmedia platforms. #Trump’s stake is currently worth ~$2B. In 1 week, he will be able to sell his shares for the first time.
Joining #DevinNunes on the trip were 2 other figures in Trump’s orbit: #Pavlovski, the #Rumble CEO, & #HowardLutnick, a Trump #donor & #WallStreet exec who helped Rumble go public & was recently named the co-chair of Trump’s #transition team.
#TrumpMedia launched just a few yrs ago, in 2021 [after he was banned from Twitter], but #Trump’s nearly 60% stake in the company now represents an important chunk of his personal fortune.
Trump Media’s stock [a worthless #MemeStock] is trading at about a quarter of the high it hit in March soon after it went public, but the company’s value remains around $3B, based in part on hype & speculation fueled by Trump fans.
If the Macedonian govt makes a deal w/ #TrumpMedia or its partners & #Trump is once again elected president, it could be another instance in which his private business interests intersect w/ #US #ForeignPolicy.
“They want an in w/Trump,” said a US govt ofcl who has been involved in #EasternEuropean issues, noting that #NorthMacedonia seeks US support in diplomatic disputes w/its neighbors.…
#Trump’s term in office was marked by concerns that foreign govts sought to curry favor by patronizing his businesses, including his DC, hotel [essentially indirectly bribing him]. Trump’s businesses had numerous dealings abroad even after his attorney pledged he would not enter into new foreign deals while he was president.
The spox provided [an #unserious & #flippant] statement saying only, “The ProPublica geniuses, much to our dismay, have discovered #DevinNunes’ secret plan to reconstitute Alexander the Great’s empire & get Chris #Pavlovski named King of Macedon.”
Spokespeople for the #Trump campaign, #Rumble & the Macedonian PM didn’t respond to questions.
Advertisers, vendors or investors who have #political agendas could use their business relationships w/the #SocialMedia enterprise to seek favorable treatment from a #Trump admin.
A #TrumpMedia spox didn’t respond to detailed questions, including about what role the company might play in such an agreement or whether one has been reached.
In his public comments, the prime minister boasted about the visiting delegation’s #political connections. He described #DevinNunes‘ another attendee as “two of the closest associates of fmr president of the #UnitedStates Donald Trump.”
As #Trump runs for a 2nd term, #ethics experts have warned that his valuable stake in #TrumpMedia & its Twitter-like platform Truth Social presents opportunities for #influence.