Archive for the ‘Eric Holder’ Category

Uber shakeup: Here’s everything that leaked about Eric Holder’s investigation this weekend – Fast Company

Uber's board met for hours on Sunday to discuss and make a decision about the results of Eric Holder's investigation into the company's culture, according to the New York Times. Here's what we know so far:

The report recommends axing Emil Michael, Uber SVP and crony to CEO Travis Kalanick. But the board hasn't made a final decision on whether to fire him. Michael has been involved in the mishandling of an Indian woman's medical records, was present at an outing to a South Korean escort bar with employees, and also once threatened to hire a team to dig up negative information on a journalist who had written unfavorable stories about Uber.

Kalanick has suggested he take leave of absenceto recover from a tragic event that took his mother's life. The board is allowing Kalanick to make this decision on his own.

A board representative says that it will accept all the recommendations put forth in Holder's report.

The report follows a series of departures, including Eric Alexander, who obtained the medical records of an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver. As Uber attempts to clean up its act, it's facing a major decision in Egypt. The government is looking to pass a law that would require Uber to share its live ride-hailing data, also known as "heaven," according to the New York Times. If parliament passes a law requiring companies doing business in the country to keep servers on Egyptian soil and share data with law enforcement, it may need to make a major decision about whether or not to stay in the country.

Stay tuned for lots more Uber news this week.

[Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images] RR

Continue reading here:
Uber shakeup: Here's everything that leaked about Eric Holder's investigation this weekend - Fast Company

Good Riddance to the Obama DOJ’s Scandalous Settlement ‘Slush Fund’ Policy – National Review

Some good news out of the embattled DOJ:

The Justice Department announced Wednesday it will no longer allow prosecutors to strike settlement agreements with big companies directing them to make payouts to outside groups, ending an Obama-era practice that Republicans decried as a slush fund that padded the accounts of liberal interest groups.

In a memo sent to 94 U.S. attorneys offices early Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he would end the practice that allowed companies to meet settlement burdens by giving money to groups that were neither victims nor parties to the case. [Fox News]

That such a policy was ever in place is extraordinary. To recap: Under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, the Justice Department regularly designed legal settlements in which well-heeled defendants were encouraged (read: forced) to donate money to third parties with no legal connection to the casebeing adjudicated. So, for example, the DOJ used mortgage-lending settlements with JP Morgan, Citi, and Bank of America to funnel millions of dollars to community redevelopment organizations, housing groups, and non-profit legal-aid organizations. Naturally, the beneficiaries wereselected by theDOJ.

Thereare several problems here.

First, this process constituted an end run around Article I appropriations procedures. By law, the House has the power of the purse; the body most responsive to the voters is tasked with allocating their money. However, the DOJs practice made it possible for unelected bureaucrats to funnel money to pet causes outside of the normal appropriations process. So, for fiscal year 2016, Congress appropriated $47 million to the Department of Housing and Urban Developments Housing Counseling program, but the program ended up having an extra $30 million to work with because of a windfall from mortgage-lending settlements. (The Government Accountability Office rationalized that this practice was not illegal because the money was provided voluntarily.)

Second, and to no ones surprise, this lack of congressional oversight has resulted in some questionable payouts. The National Council of La Raza received a seven-figure grant from mortgage-lending settlements on the grounds that it is urgently engaged in housing issues. Other groups with decided left-wing leanings the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and the National Urban League, for example also benefited handsomely.

Finally, so zealous was the Holder DOJ to channel cash to partisan allies that it disincentivized compensating actual victims. When it came to paying down settlement obligations, dollar-for-dollar credit was given for donations to legal plaintiffs in the cases, but dollars donated to third parties were worth double. So, third-party organizations that, again, had no legal connection to the case being adjudicated would compete against victims for settlement money, and companies had a strong financial incentive to pay them, instead of the actual victims.

In January, Virginia congressman Bob Goodlatte (R) introduced the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2017. A similar bill, sponsored by Oklahoma senator James Lankford (R), is awaiting action in the Senate. The Justice Departments decision to end this dubious Obama-rea practice is a good one, but Congress should pass this legislation nonetheless to protect its Article I prerogatives, and to preempt an effort by a future administration to reinstate this scandalous policy.

Continued here:
Good Riddance to the Obama DOJ's Scandalous Settlement 'Slush Fund' Policy - National Review

CA Assembly won’t renew contract with Eric Holder | The … – Sacramento Bee


Sacramento Bee
CA Assembly won't renew contract with Eric Holder | The ...
Sacramento Bee
The California Assembly will not renew its contract with Covington and Burling, the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder who Democratic ...
Eric Holder firm's contract with California Assembly will expireThe Mercury News
California Says Goodbye to Eric Holder Contract (Sort Of) | The ...The Recorder

all 3 news articles »

The rest is here:
CA Assembly won't renew contract with Eric Holder | The ... - Sacramento Bee

Uber’s board to receive Eric Holder report on Wednesday – Axios

Eric Trump's annual charity golf tournament, which has raised more than $11 million for St Jude's Children's Hospital, generated more than $1 million in revenue for the Trump organization, Forbes reported Tuesday.

Despite Eric Trump repeatedly claiming he was able to use Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, N.Y. for free, his charity was actually billed amounts that golf experts told Forbes far exceeded what would be normal for a one-day tournament. Two sources with direct knowledge told Forbes it was Donald Trump who insisted his son's charity be billed.

Forbes also reports that the Donald J. Trump Foundation "apparently used the Eric Trump Foundation to funnel $100,000 in donations into revenue for the Trump Organization."

Why it matters: President Trump's foundation has faced previous accusations of self-dealing, and questions have repeatedly been raised over the murky relationship between it and his for-profit business. The Washington Post's David Fahrentold is back on the case after today's story.

See original here:
Uber's board to receive Eric Holder report on Wednesday - Axios

Ralph Northam Falsely Claims to Eric Holder That He Was 2nd Virginia Elected, After Tim Kaine, to Endorse Barack … – Blue Virginia (press release)…

Seriously???

In a sign of how potent a force Mr. Obama remains with African-Americans, and the degree to which he could have upended the race, Mr. Northam telephoned former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to ensure the former presidents neutrality, according to three Democrats briefed on the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Acknowledging the conversation, Mr. Northam said he told Mr. Holder, a close friend of the former president, that he had been the second elected official in Virginia (after then-Gov. Tim Kaine) to endorse Mr. Obama in the run-up to the 2008 primary.

I just reminded Attorney General Holder that I had been very loyal, as has my wife, too, to President Obama, Mr. Northam said. That message got back to him.

OK, that is false in just about every way.

Simply astounding that Ralph Northam would claim this

Read more here:
Ralph Northam Falsely Claims to Eric Holder That He Was 2nd Virginia Elected, After Tim Kaine, to Endorse Barack ... - Blue Virginia (press release)...