Tag Archives: Conflicts of interest

Acting NIH Director Admits Appearance Of Conflict Of Interest In Secret Royalty Payments To Fauci, Scientists, by Mark Tapscott

Posted on May 13, 2022 | 1 comment

There is no way to put an innocent gloss on this story; it reeks of corruption. From Mark Tapscott at The Epoch Times via zerohedge.com:

Undisclosed royalty payments estimated at $350 million from pharmaceutical and other firms to Dr. Anthony Fauci and hundreds of National Institutes for Health (NIH) scientists do present “an appearance of a conflict of interest,” according to the agency’s acting director.

Acting Director of National Institutes of Health Lawrence Tabak testifies during a hearing before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of House Appropriations Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 11, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Dr. Lawrence Tabak, who took over as NIH Director following the December 2021 resignation of the agency’s long-time leader, Dr. Francis Collins, told a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee that federal law allows the royalty payments but he conceded they don’t look ethical.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) told Tabak that “right now, I think the NIH has a credibility problem and this only feeds into this, and I’m only just learning about this. People in my district say ‘well, so-and-so has a financial interest, or they don’t like Ivermectin because they aren’t benefitting from that royalty …

“You may have very sound scientific reasons for recommending a medicine or not, but the idea that people get a financial benefit from certain research that’s been done and grants that were awarded, that is to me the height of the appearance of a conflict of interest.”

Continue reading→

1 Comment

Posted in Business, Crime, Cronyism, Government, Horseshit, Medicine, Politics, Propaganda

Tagged , , , , ,

The Defense Industry’s Ukraine Pundits, by Aditi Ramaswami and Andrew Perez

Posted on April 13, 2022 | Leave a comment

Mainstream media often demands full disclosure, but often fails to disclose the ties many of its newscasters and commentators have to the defense industry. It’s not a stretch to suggest those ties might skew their outlook on the U.S.’s various military engagements. From Aditi Ramaswami and Andrew Perez at levernews.com:

To explain the crisis, corporate news networks are leaning on hawkish ex-military officials — without disclosing their current defense industry ties.
 
Last week, CNN brought on former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his fourth recent appearance to talk, once again, about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deadly invasion of Ukraine.
 

“I think we need to understand that there is only one thing that Putin understands, and that’s force,” said Panetta on Newsroom.

The former CIA director added: “I think the United States has to provide whatever weapons are necessary to the Ukrainians, so that they can hit back, and hit back now.”

At no time did Panetta nor CNN mention that he’s a senior counselor at Beacon Global Strategies, a defense industry consulting firm that has reportedly represented weapons manufacturer Raytheon. The firm doesn’t disclose its clients, but Raytheon and the defense industry generally stand to benefit from the conflict in Ukraine.

Continue reading→

Leave a comment

Posted in Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Government, History, Media, Military, Politics, Propaganda

Tagged , , , ,

Conflict Of Interest? AG Garland’s Family Getting Rich Selling Critical Race Theory Materials To Schools, by Tyler Durden

Posted on October 6, 2021 | Leave a comment

This one isn’t quite as rancid as Joe and Hunter Biden’s corruption, but it’s certainly odiferous. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:

When it comes to conflicts of interest, Attorney General Merrick Garland appears to have a huge one.

Merrick’s daughter, Rebecca Garland, is married to the co-founder of an education resource company that pushes critical race theory – which angry parents across the country are protesting. Taking matters into his own hands, AG Garland tapped the FBI on Monday to huddle with local leaders to address a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against teachers and school board members.

As the Conservative Treehouse writes:

Well, well, well… This is interesting.  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently instructed the FBI to begin investigating parents who confront school board administrators over Critical Race Theory indoctrination material. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum to the FBI instructing them to initiate investigations of any parent attending a local school board meeting who might be viewed as confrontational, intimidating or harassing.

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s daughter is Rebecca Garland.  In 2018 Rebecca Garland married Xan Tanner [LINK].  Mr. Xan Tanner is the current co-founder of a controversial education service company called Panorama Education. [LINK and LINK]  Panorama Education is the “social learning” resource material provider to school districts and teachers that teach Critical Race Theory.

Conflict of interest much?

Yes, the Attorney General is instructing the FBI to investigate parents who might pose a financial threat to the business of his daughter’s husband.

Continue reading→

Leave a comment

Posted in Business, Education, Government, Morality, Politics, Propaganda, race relations

Tagged , , ,

Nancy and Paul Pelosi Making Millions in Stock Trades in Companies She Actively Regulates, by Glenn Greenwald

Posted on July 16, 2021 | 2 comments

How the Corruptocracy operates, from Glenn Greenwald at greenwald.substack.com:

The Speaker, already one of the richest members in Congress, has become far richer through investment maneuvers in Big Tech, as she privately chats with their CEOs.
U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (L) and businessman Paul Pelosi attend the Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Jay-Z on January 27, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the sixth-richest member of Congress, according to the most recent financial disclosure statements filed in 2019. As the California Democrat has risen through party ranks and obtained more and more political power, her personal wealth has risen right along with it. Pelosi “has seen her wealth increase to nearly $115 million from $41 million in 2004,” reports the transparency non-profit group Open Secrets. Even by the standards of wealth that define that legislative body — “more than half of those in Congress are millionaires” — the wealth and lifestyle of the long-time liberal politician and most powerful lawmaker in Washington are lavish.

And ever since ascending to the top spot in the House, Pelosi and her husband, Paul, keep getting richer and richer. Much of their added wealth is due to extremely lucrative and “lucky” decisions about when to buy and sell stocks and options in the very industries and companies over which Pelosi, as House Speaker, exercises enormous and direct influence.

The sector in which the Pelosis most frequently buy and sell stocks is, by far, the Silicon Valley tech industry. Close to 75% of the Pelosis’ stock trading over the last two years has been in Big Tech: more than $33 million worth of trading. That has happened as major legislation is pending before the House, controlled by the Committees Pelosi oversees, which could radically reshape the industry and laws that govern the very companies in which she and her husband most aggressively trade.

Continue reading→

2 Comments

Posted in Business, Crime, Financial markets, Law, Politics

Tagged , , ,

Rosenstein conflicts undermine legitimacy of Mueller’s investigation, by Sharyl Attkisson

Posted on July 3, 2018 | 2 comments

Looking at the tangled web between Rod Rosenstein and the Mueller investigation, there is no way the results, no matter what they are, will ever be free of the taint of partiality and bias. From Sharyl Attkisson at thehill.com:

In his recent testimony to Congress, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein undoubtedly intended to sound reassuring. “I am quite confident,” he proclaimed, “about my conduct throughout this investigation.”
Rosenstein may have reason to feel confident. He’s in a difficult position and his conduct may indeed be above board. And, under normal circumstances, Congress and the public might be comforted by his guarantee.
But that’s the rub: These circumstances are far from normal.
We’re in the midst of one of the most important scandals in memory: Our intel agencies and some public officials within them are suspected of abusing power and misusing sensitive tools under their control as political weapons. The allegations reach far beyond the 2016 campaign and transcend party politics, which makes them all the more insidious in nature.
Combine that with the probes into Trump-Russia “collusion” and Hillary Clinton’s classified email practices, and the result may well be the most tangled web of overlapping investigations and competing conflicts of interest we’ve ever seen.
In this context, it seems unreasonable to be expected to uncritically accept assurances from Rosenstein or other figures and federal agencies — such as the CIA, the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) — whose behavior is under the microscope. Yet, they currently control much of the evidence at issue and are making crucial determinations about everything from what to turn over to Congress and what to withhold or redact, the propriety of wiretaps and other surveillance, possible prosecutions, whether they should recuse themselves for conflicts of interest, to appointment(s) of special counsel(s) who could investigate their conduct.
For his part, Rosenstein has several potential conflicts of interest— at least in perception. And in the realm of legal ethics, perception counts.
Rosenstein recommended that President Trump fire FBI Director James Comey — then handpicked Robert Mueller to investigate why Trump fired Comey. It’s akin to you or I being allowed to hire the guy who’s going judge our own actions. Not only that, Rosenstein’s pick — Mueller — is a longtime colleague of Comey’s, whose own behavior was found to be “extraordinary and insubordinate,” according to the recent DOJ’s inspector general report.

2 Comments

Posted in Crime, Cronyism, Government, Intelligence, Investigations

Tagged , ,