Tag: corruption

Gavin Newsom’s Wife Pocketed $300K a Year from Political Insiders

California’s “First Partner,” Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has built a business empire that thrives on political connections. 

Public records reveal that the wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom runs companies filled with her husband’s former Democrat aides and confidants. 

At the same time, she collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from the state and lobbyists.

Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and activist, operates The Representation Project, a nonprofit that pushes progressive messaging in schools and public institutions. 

That nonprofit has accepted donations from corporations actively lobbying Gavin Newsom’s administration, raising serious concerns about influence peddling. 

Her companies and foundations have also benefited from the support of the governor’s political allies, creating a direct overlap between California’s government apparatus and the Newsom family’s personal ventures.

The financial entanglements are wide-ranging. 

In recent years, her nonprofit has received state contracts and corporate donations that coincide with policy interests before her husband’s office. 

Lobbyists and politically active firms saw their contributions rewarded with access to California’s decision-making machine. 

At the same time, Siebel Newsom’s family charity, the Siebel Family Charitable Foundation, directed tens of thousands of dollars back into her nonprofit, further blurring the line between charitable activity and personal enrichment.

This network of organizations and donors has allowed the Newsoms to advance a politicized agenda in California schools while financially benefiting from it. 

The Representation Project has been at the center of programs that promote progressive identity politics and diversity initiatives, often funded with taxpayer dollars. 

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Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Claims Antifa ‘Isn’t an Organization’ on MSNBC, But He Once Posed Grinning with Their Handbook Written by Professor Who Just Fled the Country

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison appeared on MSNBC on Saturday to downplay Antifa as nothing more than an “amorphous” idea without any real institutional structure, despite his own previous posts of support for the militant extremists.

Ellison’s comments come amid growing scrutiny of his own past flirtations with the militant far-left group, including an infamous 2018 tweet where he proudly posed with a copy of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” a book authored by Rutgers professor Mark Bray, who has now fled the United States.

During his MSNBC appearance, Ellison argued, “Because if there really is no Antifa as an institutional organization, then anybody who’s associated with Antifa-like ideas, you know, can be persecuted… The fact that there is no—nobody even knows what it is.”

The Minnesota AG claimed the first time he heard the term “Antifa” was from Trump himself during the Charlottesville controversy, dismissing the group as a vague concept that could be weaponized to suppress speech, deploy military forces, or arrest dissenters.

Conservatives and other logical people, however, point out that Antifa operates with clear hallmarks of an organized entity: flags, uniforms, local chapters, meeting places, email sign-ups, and member directives, a far cry from the intangible “idea” Ellison describes.

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Paper Chase: A Global Industry Fuels Scientific Fraud in the U.S.

In southern India, a new enterprise called Peer Publicon Consultancy offers a full suite of services to scientific researchers. It will not only write a scholarly paper for a fee but also guarantee publishing the fraudulent work in a respected journal.   

It is one of many “paper mills” that have emerged across Asia and Eastern Europe over the last two decades. Paper mills are having remarkable success peddling tens of thousands of bogus academic journal papers and authorships to university and medical researchers seeking to pad their resumes in highly competitive fields. 

These sophisticated outfits also engage in trickery to get papers published, infiltrating journals with their own editors and reviewers and even resorting to bribery, according to investigators and a white paper from Wiley, a New Jersey-based publisher. The scale of the fraud is eye-popping: One Wiley subsidiary, Hindawi, retracted more than 8,000 articles two years ago for suspected paper mill involvement. 

U.S. universities and regulators have been able to brush off the threat of paper mills because they have mostly sold their services in China, where research integrity standards are rarely enforced, according to experts. But these rogue operators are building on their success in Asia and expanding to the U.S. and Western Europe, where the prize is the prestige of naming an author on an article from a famous university. 

“Paper mills have become a huge business,” said Jennifer Byrne, professor of molecular oncology at the University of Sydney, who studies the enterprises. “If some journals are pushing back on papers from China, and they probably are, it makes sense that paper mills will try to diversify their clientele and start working with people in different countries.” 

 As paper mills expand from the fringe to the center of research, placing professional-looking articles in high-impact journals owned by major publishers like Springer Nature, experts worry about the potential harm to scientific discovery. Researchers willing to break the rules in a Darwinian world of ‘publish or perish’ may mislead other scientists who incorporate their false findings into their own work. “We know little about the actual impact of paper mills on research,” Byrne says. “But if scientists are building on bad information, they are wasting resources and not making progress in their fields.”

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Bureau of Prisons currently has 4,497 ‘unresolved’ employee misconduct cases, GAO reveals

Anew Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has failed to fully communicate its “employee misconduct” policies and procedures and about 37% of the 12,153 cases that are open as of February 2025 have been unresolved for 3 years or longer.

In its September 2025 report, GAO notes that while BOP updated its Standards of Employee Conduct in June 2024 and continues to offer training, the agency does not systematically collect or use feedback from staff about that training. The omission limits BOP’s ability to refine the design and effectiveness of its misconduct prevention efforts, according to the report.

Training material sub-par

The audit also points out shortcomings of BOP’s orientation handbooks. “BOP uses orientation handbooks and signs posted in facilities to inform incarcerated individuals how to report certain employee misconduct. However, the handbooks and signs discuss sexual misconduct rather than a broader range of allegations, such as contraband and physical abuse,” read the report. 

“Developing a communication strategy to fully inform incarcerated individuals about employee misconduct offenses that affect their health and safety could increase awareness about the standards BOP is trying to uphold and help ensure facility safety and employee accountability”, GAO added.

The watchdog found that while BOP tracks allegations of employee misconduct, the agency does not sufficiently analyze data trends over extended periods of more than two years. There are currently 4,497 unresolved cases.

“BOP increased staff and took other steps to reduce its employee misconduct caseload, but about 37 percent of the 12,153 cases open as of February 2025 had been unresolved for 3 years or longer. BOP’s approach to investigating and disciplining employee misconduct does not include establishing milestones or designating responsibilities to key officials,” the report read.

“Implementing a comprehensive plan with these elements would help BOP allocate the resources necessary for investigating and disciplining employee misconduct cases, achieve desired results, and enhance safety and efficiency,” the GAO also reported.

The GAO said in the report that the BOP remains on its “High‑Risk List,” given that “staffing gaps and leadership stability continue to be central concerns and affect BOP’s ability to monitor persistent issues such as employee misconduct.”

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Foreign Billionaire Pours Millions Into U.S. Politics to Push Radical Green Agenda

For more than a decade, British billionaire hedge-fund manager Christopher Hohn has quietly funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into American politics. 

Federal law strictly prohibits foreign nationals from directly or indirectly influencing U.S. elections, yet Hohn has become one of the most aggressive violators of that rule.

Through his London-based nonprofit, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Hohn poured more than $553 million into U.S. organizations between 2014 and 2023. 

These dollars didn’t go toward charity; instead, they went toward advancing radical left-wing policy campaigns: climate protests, anti-fossil-fuel litigation, and efforts to ban natural gas stoves. 

Much of this money flowed through the Arabella Advisors dark-money network, which bankrolls progressive activism nationwide.

CIFF’s ties raise even deeper concerns. The group has close connections to Communist China. 

Its CEO sits on the International Green Development Coalition, a program tied to China’s Belt and Road initiative. 

The coalition’s work is overseen by top officials in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

In fact, Hohn’s foundation has even honored CCP figures with “Friendship Awards,” further signaling its alignment with Beijing’s agenda.

While Democrats in Washington turn a blind eye, a foreign billionaire with ties to the CCP has been allowed to bankroll groups that shape America’s energy policy. 

By funding climate litigation and pressure campaigns, Hohn’s foundation has worked to dismantle U.S. energy independence, leaving America weaker and more reliant on foreign adversaries.

Democrats rail against supposed “foreign interference” in U.S. elections, but they have no problem cashing checks from foreign billionaires who bankroll their policy goals. 

From California to Washington, D.C., progressive nonprofits fueled by CIFF money have radicalized debates on climate and social justice, all while operating under the radar with little oversight or regulation.

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New Evidence Emerges Against Indicted Democrat Mayor of New Orleans in Corruption Case

A superseding federal indictment has unveiled new evidence against New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat already facing corruption allegations, and former NOPD officer Jeffrey Vappie. 

Prosecutors now claim the two engaged in a years-long fraud scheme that misused city funds to conceal their romantic relationship and bankroll luxury travel.

According to the filing, Cantrell and Vappie exchanged more than 15,000 WhatsApp messages, photos, and audio clips in just eight months. 

During that period, they coordinated at least 14 domestic and international trips, racking up more than $70,000 in travel expenses billed to the city.

Vappie allegedly claimed on-duty hours during the trips, while serving on Cantrell’s executive protection detail, even though prosecutors say much of the travel was personal.

The indictment goes further, alleging that Cantrell and Vappie used WhatsApp not just for personal communication but also to intimidate subordinates, harass a private citizen, delete records, and mislead investigators. 

Federal prosecutors say the pair attempted to obstruct justice by concealing evidence and offering false testimony to a federal grand jury.

Cantrell herself is accused of abusing her office to protect Vappie from scrutiny. 

Prosecutors allege she pressured then-Interim NOPD Superintendent Michelle Woodfork to halt an internal probe into Vappie, despite findings that raised concerns. 

Cantrell also allegedly demanded Vappie’s reassignment to her security detail, even after red flags had been raised, and concealed responsive WhatsApp records from a grand jury subpoena.

The 18-count indictment represents an escalation of a case that has dogged Cantrell for months, combining allegations of fraud, obstruction, and misuse of public funds. 

While Vappie previously entered a not-guilty plea, Cantrell has consistently denied wrongdoing and accused her critics of political motivation.

Still, the mounting evidence paints a damaging picture for the city’s top official. 

The indictment details patterns of excessive travel, manipulation of police resources, and alleged efforts to sidestep accountability. 

For residents of New Orleans, the charges revive long-standing concerns about corruption in City Hall and misuse of taxpayer money.

Cantrell, who first took office in 2018, has faced growing criticism in recent years over crime, public safety, and fiscal management.

 This latest legal development adds to those pressures, with prosecutors signaling they intend to make the mayor’s conduct central to the corruption case.

If convicted, Cantrell could face severe penalties, and the scandal could reshape the political landscape in New Orleans, where faith in city leadership has already eroded.

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New Complaint Calls for Investigation Into Southern Poverty Law Center’s Tax Exempt Status

Calls to investigate the tax-exempt status of the far-left extremists at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) are increasing with a new complaint filed with federal authorities. The complaint calls for a full review of the organization’s status as a “charitable” organization.  The charitable designation offers significant tax benefits to the organization.

The Federalist reports that the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) submitted a complaint to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Acting Commissioner Scott Bessent, requesting a full review in light of the SPLC’s “hyper-partisan political activity.”

CASA Director James Fitzpatrick told The Federalist, “American taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize an organization that engages in daily attacks on Republicans, compares those who hold mainstream conservative beliefs to the KKK, and who consistently labels conservatives as engaging in ‘hate’ without any reference to any other political parties or ideologies.”

“We believe the American people are entitled to a full investigation into this urgent matter.”

Per The Federalist:

Addressed to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent, the legal complaint obtained by The Federalist requests that the federal agency launch an investigation into the SPLC over “several serious concerns about [its] compliance with federal law regarding tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) including but not limited to it no longer fulfilling a charitable purpose and its partisan political activity.”

As described by the nonprofit watchdog InfluenceWatch, the SPLC is a “controversial left-of-center advocacy group that claims to be a watchdog of extremist groups.” The organization “has been criticized for its financial practices and for characterizing non-violent conventional conservative organizations as equivalent to violent extremists.”

As further noted by Fitzpatrick in CASA’s complaint to the IRS, the SPLC “liken[s] normal, mainstream, conservative beliefs, to that of the KKK” and labels “political candidates and government officials, only Republicans, on their hate lists or hate watch articles.” The leftist group notably characterized Turning Point USA — the organization founded by the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk — as a “hard right” group that embraces “white nationalist” conspiracies.

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Fitzpatrick went on to note that the SPLC’s status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt “charitable” organization allows it to “raise money or financing while avoiding state and federal income taxes, unemployment taxes, and in some cases property or other state taxes.” This also means that donors’ financial contributions to the group can be tax deductible.

A few months before Charlie Kirk’s political assassination, SPLC’s “Year in Hate and Extremism” report, named Turning Point USA (TPUSA) a “hate group.”

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CNN’s Kasie Hunt Suggests Every American Commits Mortgage Fraud… and Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte Wants Answers

CNN’s Kasie Hunt ran cover for Letitia James after a grand jury returned an indictment on Thursday.

Corrupt New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on Thursday.

According to the DOJ, Letitia James was charged with two crimes: Bank Fraud under 18 U.S.C. Section 1344 and False Statements to a Financial Institution under 18 U.S.C. Section 1014.

CNN’s Kasie Hunt suggested every American commits mortgage fraud on Thursday evening to water down the charges against Letitia James.

Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte wants answers after Kasie Hunt suggested every American commits mortgage fraud.

“We will start by requesting information into the VERY concerning public statements of Ms. Kasie Hunt that she has knowledge of individuals who are committing alleged mortgage bank fraud. If Ms. Hunt is aware of anyone committing fraud, we will need to know — and now,” Pulte said.

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Inside the Hunter Biden-linked proposal to sell off land around the US Embassy in Romania

Future first son Hunter Biden was tied up in an eyebrow-raising proposal to sell off land around the US embassy in Bucharest, Romania to a group that included a Chinese company — as part of an effort to help a local real estate tycoon beat corruption charges.

The scandal-scarred former first son — whose ties to Romania date back to when his father, Joe Biden, was vice-president — became involved in the proposal after he agreed in 2015 to help the developer, Gabriel Popoviciu, fight criminal charges, according to a forthcoming book by New York Times reporter Ken Vogel.

The would-be land deal, which came about shortly after Biden left office as vice president in January 2017, was floated in an apparent attempt to convince Romanian prosecutors to drop the real estate fraud case against Popoviciu.

The proposed deal centered on Popoviciu potentially handing over a portion of his land holdings around the US embassy to CEFC China Energy — a Beijing-linked firm that paid Hunter and his uncle James Biden millions in 2017 and 2018.

Under one apparent deal structure, CEFC would own as much as 47.5% of the joint venture, according to Vogel’s tome “Devil’s Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests.”

In an effort to sway prosecutors, it was suggested that the Romanian government could go on to collect revenue from the arrangement.

Hunter, now 55, acknowledged being involved in the potential deal in multiple ways — including as Popoviciu’s attorney and as part of the “purchasing group.”

The deal ended up folding in 2017 as Hunter and his partners battled it out.

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Pfizer Left COVID-19 Vaccine Data Out Of Submissions To FDA, Documents Show

Data on how parts of a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine spread in the bodies of mice were withheld from regulatory submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a new comparison of those submissions and similar documents sent to Japanese regulators.

Byram Bridle, who has a PhD in immunology and is an associate professor of immunology and virology at the University of Guelph in Canada, authored the comparison. It was dated Aug. 13 and released on Oct. 4 by Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccine adviser to the U.S. government.

“The findings of this report raise serious questions about the integrity of the health regulatory process during the declared COVID-19 pandemic,” Bridle said in his conclusions.

During a September meeting, under questioning by Malone, a Pfizer representative said that its studies of the spread of vaccine elements, known as biodistribution, were done in consultation with the FDA.

“Pfizer does not have a further comment other than we did our work in close consultation with the FDA on all our of biodistribution studies that were approved for our licensed product,” the representative said.

As Zachary Stieber details below, Malone told The Epoch Times that the images in the submissions appear to have been manipulated “to hide the fact that the biodistribution was much broader than the initial narrative that was promoted, which is that it stays at the site of injection and draining lymph nodes.”

He added: “That was clearly a lie, and it was a lie that we now know was supported by editing data that were presented to the FDA. And, according to what the Pfizer representative stated, that editing of data was done in cooperation and consultation between Pfizer and the FDA. That is completely unacceptable.”

Pfizer, BioNTech, and the FDA did not respond to requests for comment.

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