Latest news with #FreedomOfInformationAct
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump justice department sued over legal memo on Qatar's luxury jet gift
The US Department of Justice is facing a federal lawsuit for refusing to release a legal memorandum that reportedly cleared the way for Donald Trump's acceptance of a $400m luxury aircraft from Qatar's government. The Freedom of the Press Foundation, represented by the watchdog group American Oversight, filed the Freedom of Information Act (Foia) lawsuit in Washington DC's federal district court after the justice department failed to produce the document despite granting expedited processing more than two months ago. The president's 'deal to take a $400m luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny – not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice', American Oversight's executive director, Chioma Chukwu, said in a press release. 'This is precisely the kind of corrupt arrangement that public records laws are designed to expose.' The case revisits Trump's decision to accept the extravagant foreign gift: a luxury Boeing 747-8 jetliner dubbed a 'palace in the sky'. Before the president's frustrated base would start to call for the release of all Jeffrey Epstein files, followed by renewed scrutiny of the convicted sex offender's friendship with Trump, what came to be known as 'Qatar-gate' was one of the first symbols of the new administration that even stalwart Trump allies shook their heads at when the deal first emerged in May. At the time, the US senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, warned the aircraft 'poses significant espionage and surveillance problems'. The senator Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican, said she would 'be checking for bugs'. Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, also a Republican, called accepting foreign gifts 'never a good practice' that 'threatens intelligence and national security'. The Democratic US House member Ritchie Torres called it a 'flying grift' that violated the constitution's emoluments clause prohibiting federal officials from accepting valuable foreign presents without congressional approval. The memo at the center of the lawsuit was reportedly signed by the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, in May, concluding that accepting the aircraft was 'legally permissible', and the White House accepted the jet just days after it was completed. Bondi previously worked at Ballard Partners as a lobbyist for Qatar, a Gulf country that the Biden administration labeled a 'major non-Nato ally' in 2022. The aircraft is set to be retrofitted as a replacement Air Force One at significant taxpayer expense before ultimately being transferred to Trump's private presidential library foundation when he leaves office. Aviation experts told NBC News at the time that converting the 13-year-old commercial jet into a functional Air Force One would cost well over $1bn and might only be completed after Trump's presidency ends. The timing has raised additional concerns, coming shortly after the Trump Organization secured a deal with Qatar for a luxury resort and golf course development outside Doha, the country's capital. Questions persist about whether Qatar initiated the aircraft offer or responded to approaches from Trump's team. The Freedom of the Press Foundation submitted its Foia request on 15 May. But the press release says the justice department estimated it would take more than 600 days to fulfill despite granting expedited processing. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion No documents have been released and no updated timeline has been provided. 'It shouldn't take 620 days to release a single, time-sensitive document,' said Lauren Harper, Freedom of the Press Foundation's chair on government secrecy. 'The government's inability to administer Foia makes it too easy for agencies to keep secrets.' The Department of Justice did not respond to the Guardian's request for comment.
BreakingNews.ie
21-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Inmates given almost €550,000 in 'bus money' over past five years after release from prison
Prisoners have been given almost €550,000 in 'bus money' to cover the cost of transport following their release from jail over the past five years, new figures have revealed. The annual amount spent helping inmates get to their desired destinations after leaving prison has more than doubled since 2022 due to rising transport costs and a 25 per cent increase in releases. Advertisement Last year, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) spent €182,121 on bus, train and taxi fares for inmates upon their release from jail. This was a 16 per cent increase from the previous year, and more than double the €87,598 that was spent in 2022. Prisoners receive 'pocket money' of up to €2.20 per day while serving custodial sentences, and can earn an additional €3.50 per week by engaging in work training activities. Nearly €6.8 million in taxpayers' cash was paid to inmates in pocket money over the past two years, while an additional €12.4 million was gifted to them by friends and family on the outside during the same period. There was more than €1.5 million held in back accounts managed by the IPS on behalf of inmates at the beginning of this year, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act. Advertisement However, if prisoners still need help getting to their desired destination following their release, the IPS can issue a travel voucher, which specifies a destination but not a monetary value. 'Upon release, the [IPS] provides support to assist prisoners in transitioning back into the community,' said a spokesman. 'One aspect of this support is the provision of travel vouchers for those who need assistance reaching their destination. The IPS is billed directly by transport providers, ensuring that 'released individuals can travel without needing to cover the cost upfront, reducing barriers to reintegration," he explained. The spokesman said the increase in the costs associated with post-release transport was likely attributable to price increases by travel providers, and a rise in the number of releases each year. A total of 34,592 prisoners were released during the five years, with the annual number increasing by 26 per cent from 6,438 to 8,113 between 2022 and 2024. The annual amount spent on 'bus money' for prisoners decreased from €78,200 in 2020 to €43,760 the following year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It increased to €87,598 in 2022 and soared to €156,791 in 2023. Last year, it increased by another 16 per cent to €182,121.
Malay Mail
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Anwar: Freedom of Information Act to be tabled by year end to boost transparency
PUTRAJAYA, July 15 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today confirmed that the government will introduce the much-anticipate Freedom of Information Act. He said the Bill will be tabled in Parliament by the end of this year. 'We will also introduce Freedom of Information Act to strengthen transparency and give the public real access to government decisions. This is a vital step in building public trust and encouraging informed participation in our democracy. 'We will bring this law to Parliament by the end of the year, so the public can hold us to account,' he said in his speech at the International Conference On Governance And Integrity 2025 here. MORE TO COME
Sunday World
17-06-2025
- Business
- Sunday World
Redacted FOI documents show how FBI opened investigations into Kinahan crime gang in 2018
While much of the information is withheld, it shows that the cartel had been in the crosshairs of the agency for at least seven years A crime blogger has published documents showing how the FBI opened investigations into the Kinahan crime gang as far back as 2018. The well-known 'Plastic Paddy' account published screenshots of the heavily-redacted files online, three years after a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted. While much of the information is withheld, it shows that the crime gang had been in the crosshairs of the agency for at least seven years. In the files related to their investigations into the 'Kinahan Criminal Enterprise' there are references to 'drug trafficking' and 'money laundering', as well as 'potential targets' of the gang. The documents also include a profile of 'Haizum Trading' which we revealed last year to be an umbrella company for three of five companies shut down in the wake of sanctions imposed on the Kinahan cartel by US authorities in April 2022. We reported how a network of front companies had been set up by exiled mob boss Daniel Kinahan and his brother Christopher Jnr to launder their drug money in the United Arab Emirates. News in 90 Seconds - June 17 Just two years after the US imposed sanctions on the cartel, a total of five of the Kinahans' Emirates-based companies had their licences cancelled. Three of the five companies shut down since the sanctions were imposed on April 12, 2022, do not appear on the US sanctions list but can be directly tied to the Kinahans through papers filed with the UAE's Economic Ministry. These three companies operated under the umbrella title 'Haizum Trading'. A profile of Haizum General Trading that appears in the FBI documents describes itself as a 'new trading company based in Dubai United Arab Emirates' 'We're a young company but between our staff we have amassed more than 100 years of trading experience,' it states. The profile reveals how they specialise in commodity trading, 'especially food commodities and we only trade physical commodities' with a 'client base in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.' A trove of documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2022 revealed how the ownership of the companies was structured to comply with UAE law which then dictated that a 50 per cent share of companies set up in the UAE must be owned by an Emirati. The documents show how Daniel and Christopher Kinahan Jnr planned to open an import-and-export food business, with a projected profit of $6.8 million, operating out of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). One of the redacted files A due diligence report showed how authorities in Dubai branded Daniel and Christopher Kinahan Jnr's business plan as 'low risk' adding that it was 'OK to proceed'. The DMCC area of Dubai is a free trade zone that was established in 2002. Another branch of their business, in a separate jurisdiction of the UAE, would trade clothing and textiles. Their business plan described how 'Haizum General Trading Co LLC' would import food from Brazil, Thailand, India, China and East Africa to Persian Gulf countries and beyond. 'We also hope to eventually expand into the trading of edible oil, pasta, and even poultry, if we happen to line up potential leads, prospective clients, and profitable deals for these products,' their business plan read. 'We plan to incorporate the company with a physical office from the get go, as we expect to employ a workforce of seven employees,' it added. They planned to make $6.8 million in the first year, and said that the shareholders had several other 'supporting' businesses in the UAE, and were 'keen on expanding the size and scale of their operations in the coming year.' According to records, the reason they chose to set up operations in the DMCC was to have an 'international sales office, promote the Haizum business and trade in various agro-commodities all over the world.' It also showed that Daniel was to own 30pc of their LLC company, with 19pc owned by Christopher Jnr and the rest by a UAE national, Hadif Al Ktebi. A copy of the contract, obtained by ICIJ, said that the company had a starting capital of approximately $100,000. Haizum International General Trading LLC was registered by the Kinahans with the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai on July 10, 2018, the same year that the FBI opened an investigation into the crime gang. Just one year before, in May 2017, Daniel Kinahan's wedding at the seven-star Burj al Arab in Dubai became a focus point for investigators. Attended by friends and associates of Kinahan, as well as senior underworld figures, the party took place as Dutch police began to investigate claims by a witness called Nabil B who linked underworld mobsters Ridouan Taghi, Ricardo Riquelme Vega, aka El Rico, caged assassin Noufal Fassih and Italian Camorra boss Raffaele Imperiale - who all attended the festivities. On the run Taghi had attended the wedding of Kinahan and it was later heard that when lawyers travelled to Dubai to meet him, undercover police watched as Daniel Kinahan arrived at the hotel reception instead. The manhunt for Taghi only began in early 2018 - six months after the wedding and after officers had started to get a grasp of how Taghi, Fassih and El Rico had joined together as a national force in the Netherlands and as a global force with Kinahan and Imperiale, along with a Bosnian outfit known as the Tito and Dino cartel. Infamous Mocro mafia boss and Kinahan Cartel associate Taghi is currently locked up in a high security prison from where he is appealing his convictions for murder. Dutch criminal Fassih, who was arrested in a Kinahan safehouse on Baggot Street in 2016, was extradited to Holland where he was jailed for various offences including ordering gang hits and political assassinations. Since he was extradited from his desert bolthole in Dubai to his native Italy in March 2022 Imperiale has been spilling the beans on his gangster pals as a super grass, telling investigators how one of them 'gave me 300 kilos of cocaine'. Meanwhile, Daniel Kinahan's right-hand man, Sean McGovern, was returned to Ireland last month, when he was charged with the murder of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan at the height of the Hutch/Kinahan feud in 2016. The father of two, who was extradited from Dubai in May, was also charged with directing a criminal organisation involved in the conspiracy to murder Hutch associate James 'Mago' Gately.
Fox News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Former Dem 'super mayor' pleads the Fifth after failing to produce public records in court
A Chicago suburb's former Democratic "super mayor" is facing yet another legal hurdle after failing to produce public records from her time in office after being held in contempt of court earlier this month. In a hearing on Friday, Tiffany Henyard's attorney Beau Bridley pleaded the Fifth on his client's behalf after she was ordered to hand over public records from her time in office. "The smear campaign against Tiffany Henyard, which began while she was in office, continues even now that she is out of office," Bridley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Bridley conceded that the former mayor does not have the requested document, with an Illinois judge allowing Henyard's legal team to submit an affidavit in its place. "The mayor has no document that the plaintiff seeks," Bridley said. "This matter is going to be resolved with a simple affidavit. The whole hearing was much ado about nothing." The hearing stems from a lawsuit filed by the Edgar County Watchdogs Inc., after the organization sued Henyard and the Village of Dolton for failing to produce financial records after the documents were requested under the Freedom of Information Act. "We had little doubt Ms. Henyard would use losing the election as an excuse not to produce the documents," Edward "Coach" Weinhaus, attorney for Edgar County Watchdogs, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Invoking the Fifth Amendment for a criminal investigation was an added wrinkle. The Watchdogs will keep looking for the documents even if the voters might have inadvertently thrown out the documents with the mayor." The embattled former mayor was unseated after losing her re-election bid to Jason House, who was sworn in last month. Henyard was also defeated by Illinois state Sen. Napoleon Harris in her attempt to keep her seat as Thornton Township supervisor. Henyard was thrust into the national spotlight in April 2024 after officials at Dolton Village Hall were served subpoenas from the FBI following a corruption investigation, FOX 32 Chicago reported. Henyard, however, was not charged with a crime. In response to the FBI looking into Henyard's administration, village trustees voted to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate the former mayor's spending. At the initial vote, supporters of Henyard clashed with her opponents as the meeting spiraled into a screaming match between groups. Lightfoot's investigation reportedly revealed the village's fund fell from its initial $5.6 million balance to a $3.6 million deficit, with the local government's credit card bills accumulating a whopping $779,000 balance in 2023. On the day Henyard lost the mayoral primary, the Village of Dolton was reportedly slapped with a federal subpoena as officials demanded records tied to a land development allegedly tied to Henyard's boyfriend. Henyard is required to return for a hearing on June 11, with a judge set to decide if she is to remain in contempt of court while being fined $1,000 per day.
