Free Republic

@RudyGiuliani : A meeting is coming out in 1-2 days in State Dept. in which Hunter snuck in the back door ... That meeting took place with Tony Blinken."

Former government officials Tony Blinken, Michele Flournoy & Lloyd Austin may run Biden’s national security agencies — their firm is telling investors it expects to profit off ties to those officials. Two former government officials who may now run President-elect Joe Biden’s national security team have been partners at a private equity firm now promising investors big profits off government business because of its ties to those officials, according to government documents reviewed by The Daily Poster. Pine Island Capital Partners lists former Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy and retired General Lloyd Austin as a partner in the firm,...

Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. signed a contract to pay Wayne Lee $50 million for a "consulting agreement" after he quit as chief executive officer of the Orange-based subprime lender in 2005. Lee's five-year deal barred him from competing with or disparaging Ameriquest while requiring him to work a maximum 25 hours every three months. That meant Lee was paid $100,000 an hour – about half as much as the $237,000 Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant earns per regular season game. Many people have heard of Bryant, the National Basketball Association's 2008 most valuable player. Lee is less famous. In fact,...

BY GREG FARRELL and FRANCESCO GUERRARA New York. Bank of America played a role in Merrill Lynch’s controversial decision to pay $4bn in bonuses in December just as mounting losses were threatening to derail BofA’s takeover of the Wall Street firm, according to people close to the situation. BofA has said that the payment of $4bn in compensation in a fourth quarter in which Merrill racked up $15bn in losses was sanctioned by John Thain, Merrill’s chief executive. Ken Lewis, BofA’s embattled chief executive, ousted Mr Thain on Thursday after news of the bonus payments appeared in the Financial Times....

Merrill Lynch CEO Thain Spent $1.22 Million On Office /snip The following is a list of the items in his suite: Area Rug $87,784 Mahogany Pedestal Table $25,713 19th Century Credenza $68,179 Pendant Light Furniture $19,751 4 Pairs of Curtains $28,091 Pair of Guest Chairs $87,784 George IV Chair $18,468 6 Wall Sconces $2,741 Parchment Waste Can $1,405 Roman Shade Fabric $10,967 Roman Shades $7,315 Coffee Table $5,852 Commode on Legs $35,115 /snip