Business
Trump Probe May Be Complicated By Documents At Biden Office
WASHINGTON — The U.S. The number of classified documents is vastly different, as are the discovery conditions.
But the revelation that President Joe Biden’s lawyers discovered a “limited number” of classified materials in a locked closet is an unexpected twist for a Justice Department already probing Donald Trump for the preservation of top secret documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Despite significant factual and legal disparities between the scenarios, Trump seized on the news to mitigate his vulnerability – at least in the eyes of the public. The information is unlikely to impact the Justice Department’s decision to charge Trump. However, it may make a criminal case more difficult to sell politically, increasing the mistrust of Republicans in Congress and others who have questioned the basis for a plausible prosecution.
“I don’t think it affects Trump’s legal judgment at all, but it certainly affects the political narrative going forward,” said a U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama during Trump’s presidency.
A special counsel is leading the Mar-a-Lago investigation, and the Biden situation is being looked into by the top federal prosecutor in Chicago, who is still working for the Trump administration. All of this is taking place as newly elected Republicans gain control of the House, with plans to target the agency with allegations of politicized law enforcement.
People Call for Raids Of Bidens Home
Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, who is the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has already asked the director of national intelligence for a damage assessment of the classified information that was leaked. And, in response to the FBI’s discovery of boxes of secret records at Mar-a-Lago in August, Trump wondered on Twitter, “When is the FBI going to raid Joe Biden’s numerous houses, possibly even the White House?”
DOJ investigating potentially classified Biden documents
The White House says the Justice Department is evaluating potentially secret materials discovered in President Joe Biden’s former institute’s Washington office space and swiftly turned over to the National Archives. (Jan. 10)
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He later questioned why “the ‘Justice’ Department” had not made the information public before the November midterm elections.
The Differences Between Biden and Trump
There are differences between the situations of Trump and Biden, especially regarding the seriousness of the ongoing Mar-a-Lago grand jury investigation.
The search for his property came after months of back-and-forth between government officials and Trump representatives about the keeping of presidential records.
After finding classified information in a Palm Beach, Florida, home, the National Archives and Records Administration took 15 boxes from the House and called the FBI in January. However, Trump representatives rejected the Archives’ demands to surrender all papers for months. Even though officials from the Justice Department sent a subpoena for classified information and went to Mar-a-Lago last spring, they say that the former president’s staff did not give them all the documents.
Unclear When A decision Will be Made
FBI agents returned in August with a warrant indicating that they were investigating crimes such as deliberate retention of national security information and attempts to hinder the federal investigation. They say they found more than 300 of these papers in the building. They found documents marked “classified” in a storage room and an office desk drawer.
It’s unclear whether Trump or anyone else will face charges or when a decision will be made. The former president will face criminal charges in a separate investigation in Atlanta, where a special grand jury probing efforts to alter Georgia election results has completed its work.
The White House is also trying to tell the difference between the Mar-a-Lago case and the secret information found in Biden’s old institute’s Washington office.
Richard Sauber, the president’s lawyer, said on Nov. 2 that the president’s lawyers found “a small number of classified documents” from the Obama administration when they were putting files in a locked cabinet to leave the Penn Biden Center.
The statement stated that the White House contacted the Archives that day, that the Archives took possession of the materials the next morning, and that the Archives had not previously requested the records – a clear contrast to how the Trump administration handled Archives requests.
Even still, major concerns remain, such as the substance and exact amount of the Biden records, how they got to the center, why they stayed there, and why the administration took more than two months to disclose their finding. The Justice Department has remained silent as well.
The Biden news was a stroke of good fortune for the former president, who had earned the nickname “Teflon Don” during his long business career for frequently escaping repercussions, and who had for months falsely compared his treatment of presidential records to that of his predecessors.
More Political accusations for Trump
Politically, the accusations come at a good time for Trump, who just launched a new presidential campaign at the end of last year and is getting ready to speed up his campaigning. More and more people are looking into how he handled sensitive documents and how he tried to change the results of the 2020 election. The new developments could give political cover, particularly among casual audiences who are too busy to dive into the specifics of either claim.
“Certainly, it offers him something to talk about. “Not that requiring something to be factual has ever stopped him before,” Tim Miller, a former Republican strategist turned Trump critic who worked on Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign, said.
When looking into Espionage Act crimes, like the one the Justice Department did about Trump, the focus is often on whether or not the action was done on purpose or by accident.
That was going to be the case with the Trump investigation, but proving Trump’s willfulness beyond a reasonable doubt is likely to be especially important now if the Justice Department is to ensure public trust in any indictment it brings — and to demonstrate that the allegations amount to more than simple misplacement or mishandling of government secrets.
SOURCE – (AP)
Business
Subsidies for Electric Vehicles Cut as Consumer Interest Fades
Pressure is building on Canada’s electric vehicle manufacturers, and several are rethinking their stance on E.V.s in favor of plug-in hybrids. Automobile manufacturers are now bracing themselves for an even more challenging era in the Canadian market for electric vehicles (E.V.s).
President Kristian Aquilina of General Motors Canada claims that support and expectations are misaligned because the Canadian government is reducing subsidies for electric vehicles while trying to phase out gas-powered cars.
Manufacturers find pushing for an all-electric future in Canada increasingly difficult due to fewer consumer financial incentives and increasingly strict sales targets.
With subsidies totaling up to C$12,000 (about $8,500), Canadian consumers may save a tonne of money on electric automobiles. The federal government offers a rebate of up to $5,000 Canadian, and the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia provide further incentives of up to $7,000 and $4,000, respectively.
Ontario, which eliminated rebates in 2018, had the lowest market share for electric vehicles compared to Quebec and British Columbia, two regions that offered bigger incentives and thereby drove E.V. adoption in Canada.
Although this backing is dwindling, the province of Quebec has now declared that all subsidies will end in 2027. In June, the British Columbia government restricted incentives to a smaller subset of E.V. purchasers for “available funding” and higher-than-expected E.V. sales growth.
These reductions indicate a larger pattern: provincial governments reevaluate the sustainability of taxpayer-financed incentives for E.V.s as budget deficits widen.
With lofty goals to cut pollution from gas-powered cars and increase sales of electric vehicles, the Canadian government has reduced subsidies for these vehicles. Electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles will be mandatory for all new light-duty vehicle sales in Canada by 2035.
To meet our intermediate goals, 20% of new sales must be electric vehicles (E.V.s) by 2026 and 60% by 2030. Car companies are already under a lot of pressure due to dwindling incentives and increasing demands, and the clock is ticking faster by the second.
In addition, these rules impose new forms of responsibility. Automakers that do not reach their provincial sales targets may be subject to financial fines imposed by provinces such as British Columbia.
Canadian manufacturers are already under financial pressure from federal compliance credit system standards, which they must meet or face deficits. This system gives them credit for electric vehicle sales and infrastructure improvements, but it’s not without its challenges.
“The timing is not necessarily lining up very well, in that the purchase incentive support comes off just as mandates and regulations start to bite,” GMC Canada President Kristian Aquilina told Bloomberg. “It must make a difference.
Therefore, we must consider that. Despite the cutbacks, Aquilina argued that the government’s investment in enhancing the charging infrastructure could benefit E.V. sales.
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Business
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows 3rd-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
Washington — Chewy shares fell about 2% overnight Wednesday after a regulatory filing showed that Roaring Kitty, a meme stock trader, sold his interest in the online pet retailer.
According to a beneficial ownership document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Roaring Kitty, whose legal name is Keith Gill, sold all his Chewy shares, totaling 6.6% of the company.
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows Third-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
Plantation, Florida-based Chewy dropped 1.9% after hours to $26.19 per share.
Gill, an investor at the core of the meme stock craze, bought more than 9 million shares of Chewy in July, making him the company’s third-largest stakeholder.
Gill built a name for himself in 2021 by rallying ordinary investors around GameStop. At the time, the video game shop was fighting to stay in business, and major Wall Street hedge funds and investors were betting against it or shorting the stock. But Gill and those who agreed with him altered GameStop’s direction by purchasing thousands of shares despite practically all acknowledged criteria indicating that the firm was in deep peril.
Chewy Slides After Filing Shows Third-Biggest Shareholder, ‘Roaring Kitty,’ Sold His Stake
That triggered what is known as a “short squeeze,” in which large investors who had bet on GameStop were obliged to buy its swiftly increasing stock to offset significant losses.
Gill has expressed confidence in GameStop Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen’s ability to revamp the company following his success at Chewy. Cohen cofounded Chewy in 2011 and stepped down as CEO in 2018.
SOURCE | AP
Business
Canada CBC News CEO Catherine Tait Recalled to Parliamentary Committee
Canada CBC News reports that MPs have voted to recall CBC CEO Catherine Tait to a Commons committee for questioning, only a week after her last appearance, over the awarding of $18 million in bonuses to Canada CBC news executives.
The Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, and the NDP joined forces to re-invite Ms. Tait, her successor Marie-Philippe Bouchard, and Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge to appear before the Commons Heritage Committee.
Ms. Tait, who will relinquish her position as CEO and president of CBC/Radio Canada in January, addressed the committee last week. The House of Commons has passed a motion recalling her before the conclusion of her term, and she is now subject to an additional two hours of interrogation, which includes inquiries regarding bonuses.
MPs also resolved to summon Quebec broadcasting executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard, appointed as the new chief of CBC/Radio-Canada last week, to appear before she begins her new job following a House of Commons chamber debate.
Catherine Tait Exit Package
Catherine Tait rejected the Conservatives’ requests to deny an exit package, including bonuses, when she departed the position in January during last week’s committee hearing.
She also defended the award of $18.4 million in incentives to 1,194 staff members for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which concluded in March, following the broadcaster’s achievement of performance indicators.
Kevin Waugh, a Conservative committee member who introduced the motion, stated that his party aimed to ensure Ms. Tait was “accountable to taxpayers” before her departure in January.
He informed The Globe and Mail that “Canadians are dissatisfied with the bonuses” and that Catherine Tait‘s exit package, which will not be disclosed, is a cause for concern.
“I am apprehensive that she has not received her bonuses in over two years, and that the Minister of Heritage or Privy Council will lavish her with bonuses when she departs in January,” he stated.
The Liberals opposed a portion of the motion that claimed that “the Liberal threat to cut funding” had resulted in the elimination of hundreds of jobs at CBC/Radio-Canada.
Defunding CBC News Canada
The Heritage Minister informed The Globe that the claim was “hypocritical,” as the Conservatives intended to completely defund CBC.
“The Conservatives’ actions today are a clear example of hypocrisy.” Ms. St-Onge stated that performance bonuses increased by 65% during the Harper Conservatives’ tenure, while CBC News Atlantic Canada experienced substantial budget cutbacks.
“As a government, we do not require any lessons from a party that has pledged to reduce the funding of CBC/Radio-Canada and the 8,000 jobs associated with it during its campaign.”
During the Tuesday debate, NDP MP Niki Ashton stated that her party endorses the “banning of executive bonuses” at CBC News Atlantic Canada but is opposed to “the Conservatives’ full frontal attack” on the broadcaster.
She stated, “We require a robust public broadcaster, but not one that distributes executive bonuses and eliminates positions.”
If the Conservatives establish the next government, they intend to deprive the CBC of public funding while maintaining French services.
Catherine Tait defended CBC and rebuffed MPs’ assaults during last week’s committee hearing. “It is evident that the members of this committee are making a concerted effort to discredit the organization and vilify me,” she stated.
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