Free Republic

When newly filed records showed the brother of a top adviser to President Joe Biden lobbied the National Security Council for a major automaker, it became the latest concern for ethics experts who see a porous firewall despite the president's ethics pledge. Jeff Ricchetti, whose brother Steve Ricchetti is a counselor to the president, was paid $60,000 during the second quarter of 2021 to lobby the council on "issues related to China" on behalf of General Motors, according to a recent disclosure. Under the Trump administration, the automaker sought to have tariffs removed from their Buick Envision, which is made...

The campaign of "Squad" member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has paid out over $100,000 for "fundraising consulting" to a Florida-based progressive firm founded and operated by a defund the police and anti-Israel activist, campaign filings show. Tlaib's campaign and PAC sent $96,000 in payments between March 2020 and March 2021 for "fundraising consulting" to Unbought Power LLC, a Florida-based firm that specializes in grassroots organizing and advocacy consulting. The campaign paid out another $18,000 to Unbought Power between April 2021 and June 2021, Federal Election Commission records released last Thursday show. Rasha Mubarak, the Palestinian-American activist who founded Unbought Power...

North Miami violated federal rules and must repay more than $150,000 for not disclosing that the recipient of a federally funded home was the mother of a councilwoman. The city was awarded $2.8 million under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehabilitate and sell foreclosed homes to first-time home buyers. The program is run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. One of the recipients who qualified for and later moved into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse was Councilwoman Marie Steril’s mother, Marie Charles-Brutus. According to HUD rules, elected officials must disclose any family ties to individuals who will benefit from...