Latest news with #RonWyden
The Independent
4 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Top Democrat demands Trump's IRS investigate Epstein bank records in sprawling probe: ‘Follow the money'
The top Democrat on the Senate's powerful finance committee has been investigating the financial network surrounding Jeffrey Epstein for three years. Now he wants the IRS to find out what, exactly, the late sex offender was doing in exchange for $1.5 billion in wire transfers that passed through major financial institutions. An investigation, from the office of Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, uncovered more than 4,700 transactions dating to 2003, including payments to women from Russia and eastern European countries. More than $158 million came from Wall Street financier Leon Black between 2012 and 2017 for Epstein's alleged tax support, according to Wyden's report, and ultimately helped Black avoid more than $1 billion liabilities. 'None of these tax transactions Epstein performed were audited,' Wyden told reporters at a briefing Thursday. 'It could have blown the lid off Epstein's cover of being a financial genius … It looks like none of that ever happened … A bunch of federal officials were sleepwalking through this.' In a letter to Donald Trump's recently-appointed IRS Commissioner Billy Long, Wyden demanded a list of any and all audits involving Epstein, and whether the agency ever evaluated 'the full scope' of his alleged tax planning services. 'I want the IRS to go back and make sure that there was actually tax advice being given rather than what I suspect was going on, which is a lot of payments revolving around sex trafficking,' Wyden said. Wyden's financial probe has taken on new urgency in the weeks after the Trump administration failed to release any new revelations from the so-called 'Epstein Files' and concluded no further investigation was needed, much to the uproar of his supporters and Republican allies. Trump, whose friendship with Epstein spanned more than a decade, has insisted that the public and press should move on from questions about the case. Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, sparking conspiracy theories that the government is participating in a cover up to protect powerful public figures who exploited and abused young girls. Trump has repeatedly denied any connection to Epstein's infamous lifestyle, having ended their friendship before the disturbing allegations about the financier emerged in 2006. Earlier this month, the president sued The Wall Street Journal, its publishers and right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion over an article that reported he sent a 'bawdy' birthday card message to Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump called the report false and defamatory. Wyden's office uncovered "inexplicably large' sums that were funneled into Epstein's accounts as well as 'suspicious activity reports,' or SARS, which are recorded by banks as a means of detecting signs of illegal activity for federal law enforcement. Bank of America reported potentially suspicious payments involving Black in February 2020 and October 2020, following Epstein's death, according to Senate investigators. 'We've got paper trails, we've got account numbers, we've got federal files from where it all began with Leon Black,' Wyden told The Independent Wednesday. The Independent has requested comment from Black and his former asset management firm Apollo Global. Confidential bank reports, filed with the Treasury Department and IRS, could provide a vital look at the massive financing machine behind Epstein's sex trafficking operation, which spanned New York City, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Insights have previously been limited to testimony and filings in litigation against him. The Independent has requested comment from the IRS and Treasury Department. Filings uncovered by the senator's office include $1.5 billion in transactions through four big banks, including wire transfers from wealthy figures over the sales of artwork, fees paid to Epstein, and payments to several women. But the banks appeared to have waited until Epstein's arrest on federal charges to flag the transactions. The largest suspicious activity report was filed in 2019 by JPMorgan for $1.1 billion, according to the senator's office. Other suspicious activity reports include a payment through Deutsche Bank totaling $400 million, $78 million from Bank of New York Mellon and Bank of America's logs on Black's payments to Epstein. In 2023, JPMorgan paid $290 million to Epstein's victims and Deutsche paid $75 million to settle lawsuits that claimed the banks ignored red flags surrounding trafficking allegations. The Trump administration and Republican leadership on the Senate Finance Committee have stonewalled Wyden's office, according to the senator, leaving the senator hamstrung by confidentiality laws surrounding transactions. The impasse is why the Oregon senator wants the Trump administration to make the reports available to Congress, which can then subpoena banks for more information, he said. Wyden's office also laid out steps for the Department of Justice to begin investigating 'hundreds of millions of dollars in wire transfers' that passed through 'several now-sanctioned Russian banks.' 'It appears that these wire transfers were correlated to the movement of women or girls around the world,' Wyden recently wrote to the Justice Department. He also told the DOJ that it appears to have 'ignored evidence' from the Treasury Department. Trump has said Attorney General Pam Bondi can decide what files connected to the Epstein case could be made public. 'This is not about politics. It is not about red and blue. It is about an evil individual who committed horrific crimes and victimized an enormous number of women and girls,' Wyden told reporters. 'At a time when so many Americans think that the political system is rigged, this is about whether there's going to be accountability for the people who were involved and who enabled it, and the fact that so much money was being spent indicates that this was a global sex trafficking ring,' he added.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bessent calls Trump baby accounts 'backdoor for privatizing Social Security'
By Jasper Ward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday likened new savings accounts in a bill President Donald Trump this month signed into law to "a backdoor for privatizing Social Security," speaking at an event sponsored by Breitbart. The accounts, which were part of Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, are meant to encourage new parents by offering a one-time $1,000 government contribution. According to the White House, the accounts will track a stock index and allow for additional private contributions of up to $5,000 per year. Bessent said some details, including distribution dates and what funds could be accessed for, still needed to be worked out. "But in a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security," Bessent said. "Like, Social Security is a defined benefit plan paid out that - to the extent that if all of a sudden these accounts grow, and you have in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement - then that's a game changer too." The Social Security administration did not immediately comment. Social Security was launched in the 1930s as a federally administered system of social insurance and as a retirement program for U.S. citizens and some non-citizens. The program is due to run short of funds to pay full benefits in 2033, its annual trustees' report said in June. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee which oversees the agency, expressed concern over Bessent's remarks and accused the Trump administration of wanting to privatize Social Security. The Trump administration has not indicated a move towards doing so. In a post on X on Wednesday afternoon, Bessent said the "Trump Baby Accounts" will supplement Social Security's guaranteed payments. He said the Trump administration is committed to protecting Social Security. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bessent calls Trump baby accounts 'backdoor for privatizing Social Security'
By Jasper Ward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday likened new savings accounts in a bill President Donald Trump this month signed into law to "a backdoor for privatizing Social Security," speaking at an event sponsored by Breitbart. The accounts, which were part of Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, are meant to encourage new parents by offering a one-time $1,000 government contribution. According to the White House, the accounts will track a stock index and allow for additional private contributions of up to $5,000 per year. Bessent said some details, including distribution dates and what funds could be accessed for, still needed to be worked out. "But in a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security," Bessent said. "Like, Social Security is a defined benefit plan paid out that - to the extent that if all of a sudden these accounts grow, and you have in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement - then that's a game changer too." The Social Security administration did not immediately comment. Social Security was launched in the 1930s as a federally administered system of social insurance and as a retirement program for U.S. citizens and some non-citizens. The program is due to run short of funds to pay full benefits in 2033, its annual trustees' report said in June. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee which oversees the agency, expressed concern over Bessent's remarks and accused the Trump administration of wanting to privatize Social Security. The Trump administration has not indicated a move towards doing so. In a post on X on Wednesday afternoon, Bessent said the "Trump Baby Accounts" will supplement Social Security's guaranteed payments. He said the Trump administration is committed to protecting Social Security. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Bessent calls Trump baby accounts 'backdoor for privatizing Social Security'
WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday likened new savings accounts in a bill President Donald Trump this month signed into law to "a backdoor for privatizing Social Security," speaking at an event sponsored by Breitbart. The accounts, which were part of Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, are meant to encourage new parents by offering a one-time $1,000 government contribution. According to the White House, the accounts will track a stock index and allow for additional private contributions of up to $5,000 per year. Bessent said some details, including distribution dates and what funds could be accessed for, still needed to be worked out. "But in a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security," Bessent said. "Like, Social Security is a defined benefit plan paid out that - to the extent that if all of a sudden these accounts grow, and you have in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement - then that's a game changer too." The Social Security administration did not immediately comment. Social Security was launched in the 1930s as a federally administered system of social insurance and as a retirement program for U.S. citizens and some non-citizens. The program is due to run short of funds to pay full benefits in 2033, its annual trustees' report said in June. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee which oversees the agency, expressed concern over Bessent's remarks and accused the Trump administration of wanting to privatize Social Security. The Trump administration has not indicated a move towards doing so. In a post on X on Wednesday afternoon, Bessent said the "Trump Baby Accounts" will supplement Social Security's guaranteed payments. He said the Trump administration is committed to protecting Social Security.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Living in the shadow of shadow principles
Listen to article Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democratic Senator, when asked by investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill about his view on the lethal operations of the US government against American citizens, said, "It is almost as if there are two laws in America and the American people would be extraordinarily surprised if they could see the difference between what they believe a law says and how it has actually been interpreted in secret". I want to give a little perspective here. For centuries, the world of science and physics was dominated by Newton's gravitational principles. Yet, nobody could make sense of Mercury's movement around the sun, which moves in an elliptical path. Then came Einstein with his theory of gravity called the General Theory of Relativity, which predicted, explained and made sense of Mercury's movement. It was through the elliptical path of Mercury that Einstein confirmed his theory's accuracy. Once one understood Einstein's theory, Mercury's anomalous movement made all sense. That is true for politics and power globally as well. Politicians and those in power repeat the nice sounding causes and goals, but their actions make absolutely no sense when compared to their rhetoric. It all, however, starts making perfect sense when we understand the shadow principle with which they operate. Just like gravity works in the shadows without meeting the eye, these shadow principles and motivations of politicians and power systems drive their actions and policies. So, for example, politicians make claims to live and die for Pakistan but when they have the means and ability, all they do is to steal money and park it in Swiss banks or in the form of luxury properties overseas. But if we actually understand that these politicians are not driven by benevolence or patriotism but one simple shadow principle, greed and selfishness, then all their criminal activities and dark enterprises become quite easy to understand. American politicians get elected to Congress and publicly claim to work for Israel's safety. Notice that Israel is a foreign country, just like any country other than America. Anyone new to the study of American politics would find it ridiculous to hear such claims and assertions from American politicians. Anyone not fully comprehending the nuances of American politics and the shenanigans of the Israel Lobby inside America would be completely baffled to see how this one superpower country is always ready, willing and almost bowing to be at the service of this tiny country in the Middle East. It would be a mystery for anyone not knowing about the shadow rulebook to watch America always rescue Israel from the United Nations resolutions by using its veto power, by providing arms to Israel despite knowing that innocent children would be killed, by providing money to this tiny little terrorist state knowing that countless American citizens are homeless, without running water, without food, buried under massive credit card debt, killed due to terrorism that resulted from supporting this very extremist state and lack universal healthcare, while Israel does have one. However, it would all make unmistakable sense when we observe all these American actions from the lens where the Israel Lobby controls, coerces, scares, blackmails and dictates American politicians. Through a combination of mind control of the electorate, campaign donations using American money given as aid to Israel and, as conspiratorial as it may sound, through blackmail of powerful politicians, Israel manipulates and redirects American foreign policy where it only favours Israel even if it is at the cost of American national interests. Once these shadow realities are understood then it makes perfect sense to watch Ted Cruz say, "I came into Congress 13 years ago with the stated intention of being the leading defender of Israel in the United States — I've worked every day to do that". Make sense of it if you can without deciphering the shadow rulebook first.
