Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
First on CNN: Treasury secretary nominee's foreign money links bring new scrutiny
Source: CNN
First on CNN: Treasury secretary nominee's foreign money links bring new scrutiny
By Phil Mattingly, CNN
Updated 2108 GMT (0508 HKT) January 31, 2017
Washington (CNN) - Senate Democrats are raising questions about whether Steve Mnuchin, President Donald Trump's treasury secretary nominee, deliberately misled lawmakers at his confirmation hearing.
The concerns center on the extent of foreign investment in a series of finance entities Mnuchin helped manage, including one based offshore in the Cayman Islands, aides tell CNN.
It's an issue -- which Democratic aides and lawmakers say hasn't been addressed in subsequent follow-up questions in the weeks since -- that has raised concern about the extent of the influence those investors may hold, and the potential for conflicts of interest not unlike what has tailed Trump throughout his campaign. On its face, it echoes a prime point of contention for Democrats probing all of Trump's Cabinet picks, many of whom boast extensive private business and finance ties.
But Mnuchin is slated to be the Trump Administration's top economic official, making those ties even more susceptible to potential conflicts, aides say -- the types of potential conflicts Mnuchin himself appeared to draw attention to inadvertently during his confirmation hearing.
The focus has trained on a series of finance entities, all offshoots of the hedge fund run by Mnuchin up until he was selected as Trump's pick to be the country's economic point person.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
By Phil Mattingly, CNN
Updated 2108 GMT (0508 HKT) January 31, 2017
Washington (CNN) - Senate Democrats are raising questions about whether Steve Mnuchin, President Donald Trump's treasury secretary nominee, deliberately misled lawmakers at his confirmation hearing.
The concerns center on the extent of foreign investment in a series of finance entities Mnuchin helped manage, including one based offshore in the Cayman Islands, aides tell CNN.
It's an issue -- which Democratic aides and lawmakers say hasn't been addressed in subsequent follow-up questions in the weeks since -- that has raised concern about the extent of the influence those investors may hold, and the potential for conflicts of interest not unlike what has tailed Trump throughout his campaign. On its face, it echoes a prime point of contention for Democrats probing all of Trump's Cabinet picks, many of whom boast extensive private business and finance ties.
But Mnuchin is slated to be the Trump Administration's top economic official, making those ties even more susceptible to potential conflicts, aides say -- the types of potential conflicts Mnuchin himself appeared to draw attention to inadvertently during his confirmation hearing.
The focus has trained on a series of finance entities, all offshoots of the hedge fund run by Mnuchin up until he was selected as Trump's pick to be the country's economic point person.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/31/politics/steve-mnuchin-treasury-secretary-trump/