Posted on 06/07/2017 8:11:56 AM PDT by Hojczyk
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.
Sessions said the money should, instead, go to the Treasury Department or victims.
“When the federal government settles a case against a corporate wrongdoer, any settlement funds should go first to the victims and then to the American people—not to bankroll third-party special interest groups or the political friends of whoever is in power,” Sessions said in a statement.
Conservatives have long fought the policy introduced under the Obama administration. Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that would prohibit the Department of Justice from requiring defendants to donate money to outside groups, after concerns that the settlements bypass congressional appropriations processes.
“This bill is oversight and action. Congress must not tolerate Justice Department political appointees using settlements to funnel money to their liberal friends,” Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who introduced the bill, said in a statement. “This is also an institutional issue. Once direct victims have been compensated, deciding what to do with additional funds recovered from defendants becomes a policy question properly decided by elected representatives in Congress, not agency bureaucrats or prosecutors.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Wow. Giving victims’ money to cronies and Democrat donor groups was certainly a well-kept secret. Why didn’t the GOP Congress members scream to O’Reilly and Hannity about this rip-off? It’s amazing what we are learning about the crooks in the Obama administration and the cowards in the Republican Party.
Now go back and collect those illegal payments
This is good news. I suspect both parties do this when they can get away with the practice. One of many ‘unwritten rules’ of the government system.
After the 2018 midterms, attempts to restart these money-pipelines is likely to start again, like clockwork.
“What? Don’t you want the money? Then don’t worry about where it comes from. Just take it to your Boss, and be quiet about it. Everybody does it. Everybody. even Hillary!”
This crap has been going on all through the Obama years.
Another thing to add to the Regime’s list of Crimes Against the American People.
Everything the Clintons(now Obamas) turns to feces.
Every time I read something else, another disaster.
Yet, Trump is the problem.
Freepers the contrast is stark.
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Obama and Congressional Democrats----with a huge assist from then-AG Eric Holder----have given NeighborWorks America (formerly ACORN) and La Raza a huge funding source of tax dollars to achieve Obama's dream of a permanent Democrat majority.
Obama/Holder/Dems are forcing taxpayers via DOJ litigation WRT bank settlements----into paying off these nefarious organizations.
DOJ went after CitiCorp and ordered them to pay $50 million to La Raza and NeighborWorks America as part of the settlement.
Another clause in the agreement makes it possible for La Raza and NeighborWorks America to rake in even larger amounts of money.
Of the remaining money the banks needed to pay in settlements, the banks were able to contribute additional money to La Raza and NeighborWorks America. For every dollar they contribute, it reduces their debt to the government by 2 dollars. That’s some mighty powerful incentive to give generously.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling have questioned why this money was sent to the ACORN clone and the blood-thirsty LaRaza----rather than to the alleged victims of the bank’s crime.
The administration of course declined to answer. Here's part of the Congressmen's letter to Holder: “It seems that the alleged victims are not the primary beneficiaries of these multi-billion dollar settlements. Instead, the terms in the Justice Department’s two latest settlements look less like consumer relief and more like a scheme to funnel money to politically favored special interest groups.” “This makes donations to activist groups far more attractive to banks than providing direct relief to injured consumers. As a result, the settlements appear to serve as a vehicle for funding activist groups rather than as a means of securing relief for consumers actually harmed.”
About time! WINNING!
I would say that the DOJ needs to go back to court and END any such agreements.
Winning!
Well said. So many crooks....
How did such evil get started? What is US government, some kind of mob? The _district_ is overrun with corruption.
Gather the names of all involved and charge them using the RICO act.
“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.”
I guess Sessions was successful in taking his morning crap and tying his shoes today! We should be reading daily about actions taken like this. I am betting he could do something like this every day and not run out of things requiring action on his part for the next four years!
They should have screamed to the Courts that O.K.d the deliberate, clearly unconstitutional, subsidies to special interest groups. O’Reilly & Hannity are media journalists, not office holders able to do something about the travesty.
“What is US government, some kind of mob?”
Answer: YES, it is!
Well, this is obviously fake news. ABC reported yesterday that Sessions was going to resign.
Pure corruption. It shouldn’t have been allowed to begin with.
I’m surprised it took so long for Sessions to end this Democrat bribing and payoffs to favored groups.
They need to put legislation in place to make that illegal in case the rats ever get back into office.
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