Latest news with #political interference
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
The White House is trying to change the conversation about Trump's BLS scandal
President Donald Trump claims, without a shred of evidence, that the government's premiere economic data operation nefariously engineered negative statistics 'for political purposes.' His top economic advisers don't share that view, even as they continue to defend his stunning – and largely impulsive – decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a poor jobs report last week. Trump says 'rigged.' His advisers say 'reform.' The rhetorical sleight of hand, difficult as it may be to catch as Trump's economic team takes pains to defend a fixation untethered to reality, captures an important window into the internal West Wing discussions about the next nominee to serve as commissioner of the BLS. Trump's economic advisers are fully aware of the widely acknowledged necessity of insulating – or at least attempting to shield – the next BLS chief from the perception of political interference, according to people familiar with the internal debate. 'The efficacy and the believability of our economic projections are very important,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on MSNBC this week as he argued for a more efficient and accurate data collection process. 'I think the replacement is going to be a highly competent statistician or labor economist and it will be someone, you know, who won't have errors of this magnitude.' One week after the BLS commissioner was ousted, Trump and his economic advisers have tried to clean up the damage by making the narrative about the need to modernize the agency to make the data more reliable and accurate. But that's easier said than done, and the administration is working to find someone reputable who won't freak out markets. 'It is imperative that Trump's nominee be perceived by businesses and investors as nonpartisan and independent of the White House,' Michael R. Strain, the director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote this week. 'Because trust in the integrity of government data is a foundation of prosperity, it is in Trump's direct political interest to appoint an independent BLS chief.' Trump, at least publicly, isn't exactly making that process any easier and his political allies have pressed the White House to appoint an unabashed loyalist, people familiar with the matter told CNN. But Trump's economic advisers understand the bureaucratic constraints any nominee would face if confirmed for the role by the US Senate. The commissioner, after all, isn't responsible for collecting the data. That exceedingly arduous and labor-intensive process is conducted by hundreds of federal employees who Republicans and Democrats familiar with the process alike say pursue their mandate with an apolitical and dedicated approach. As the data comes into the agency, only about 40 career officials have access to the raw findings and are tasked with creating the final presentation for public release. The commissioner doesn't even see the data until it's largely locked in and complete – less than 48 hours before it publishes, according to Bill Beach, the conservative Republican Trump appointed to run the agency in his first term. 'Zero is the upper bound of that response,' Beach said when asked by CNN how much influence a commissioner has over the final numbers. 'There was no way for me to change the data. I could have said, oh, you people need to do a better job, the numbers are too low or too high and it would have made zero difference to that staff. In fact, they would have talked to me less.' That doesn't mean there has been a long-standing discussion about significant improvements that could be applied to the current process. The business response rate to the initial survey that comprises the jobs numbers has dropped dramatically in recent years. Technological upgrades have been weighed for years and are widely acknowledged as a necessity for an agency that has faced budget cuts and significant senior staff departures in recent years. 'There's always room for improvement,' Beach said. 'We need to have a better way of collecting these numbers in a more cost-effective way. That's what I hope the president does.' To this point, that hasn't happened. The administration has proposed an 8% cut to the agency's budget for the next fiscal year and has proposed cutting 150 positions. Lawmakers are set to dive into a fractious government funding debate when they return from their August recess and several senior Democratic aides say House and Senate appropriators plan to utilize Trump's decision to elevate the agency's work will turn it into an important part of the debate ahead. 'I wouldn't say try to do better with the same money,' Cathy Utgoff, who served as the agency's commissioner under President George W. Bush, told CNN. 'I would say you really need to have more money here, because you have to collect more data to make it more reliable.' For the moment, however, Trump's advisers are continuing the tenuous balancing act of highlighting the significant revisions without imposing long-term damage on a strained data operation often referred to as the 'gold standard' by economic policymakers around the world. 'What we need is a fresh set of eyes over the BLS,' National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said August 3 on NBC's Meet the Press. Hassett, in subsequent interview on Fox News Sunday, said that if he ran the BLS and had 'the biggest downward revision in 50 years, I would have a really, really detailed report explaining why it happened.' Reform and transparency have been the throughline of the evolving defense provided by Trump's allies – even if Trump has shown no interest in the more nuanced rationale for his unprecedented move. The awkward dynamic was on full display in the Oval Office on Thursday, as Trump hastily summoned the White House press corps to display a simplistic chart displaying annual employment revisions under his predecessor. The data was delivered to Trump by Stephen Moore, the conservative economist who has served as an outside adviser to Trump at various points during his first and second administration. As Moore detailed the data making up the posterboard displayed for reporters, he was careful not to ascribe political motives – only to be interrupted by Trump after calling it a 'gigantic error.' 'I don't think it's an error,' Trump said as he cut in. 'I think they did it purposefully.' Moore recalibrated on the fly – carefully and with visible discomfort. 'You may well be right, but even if it wasn't purposefully, it's incompetence,' the senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation said in a hedged effort to avoid contradicting Trump's assertion. Trump has said he will announce his pick to lead the agency as soon as Friday. The nominee will face an intense confirmation process, which lawmakers told CNN will not be expeditious in the wake of Trump's actions and rhetoric. It's a dynamic that only serves to underscore the view shared by economic officials outside of the administration – and within. US economists polled by the Kent A Clark Center for Global Markets at the University of Chicago this week said there was no evidence to suggest the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs figures were politically engineered. Several economists surveyed raised significant concerns about the long-term damage Trump's attacks would do to the long-standing perception of reliable US economic data. That's a direct threat to Trump's own aspirations of a new 'Golden Age' for the US economy. 'It is in Trump's direct political interest to avoid this,' Strain said. 'But given his history of scoring own goals, I am worried,'
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
The White House is trying to change the conversation about Trump's BLS scandal
President Donald Trump claims, without a shred of evidence, that the government's premiere economic data operation nefariously engineered negative statistics 'for political purposes.' His top economic advisers don't share that view, even as they continue to defend his stunning – and largely impulsive – decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a poor jobs report last week. Trump says 'rigged.' His advisers say 'reform.' The rhetorical sleight of hand, difficult as it may be to catch as Trump's economic team takes pains to defend a fixation untethered to reality, captures an important window into the internal West Wing discussions about the next nominee to serve as commissioner of the BLS. Trump's economic advisers are fully aware of the widely acknowledged necessity of insulating – or at least attempting to shield – the next BLS chief from the perception of political interference, according to people familiar with the internal debate. 'The efficacy and the believability of our economic projections are very important,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on MSNBC this week as he argued for a more efficient and accurate data collection process. 'I think the replacement is going to be a highly competent statistician or labor economist and it will be someone, you know, who won't have errors of this magnitude.' One week after the BLS commissioner was ousted, Trump and his economic advisers have tried to clean up the damage by making the narrative about the need to modernize the agency to make the data more reliable and accurate. But that's easier said than done, and the administration is working to find someone reputable who won't freak out markets. 'It is imperative that Trump's nominee be perceived by businesses and investors as nonpartisan and independent of the White House,' Michael R. Strain, the director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote this week. 'Because trust in the integrity of government data is a foundation of prosperity, it is in Trump's direct political interest to appoint an independent BLS chief.' Trump, at least publicly, isn't exactly making that process any easier and his political allies have pressed the White House to appoint an unabashed loyalist, people familiar with the matter told CNN. But Trump's economic advisers understand the bureaucratic constraints any nominee would face if confirmed for the role by the US Senate. The commissioner, after all, isn't responsible for collecting the data. That exceedingly arduous and labor-intensive process is conducted by hundreds of federal employees who Republicans and Democrats familiar with the process alike say pursue their mandate with an apolitical and dedicated approach. As the data comes into the agency, only about 40 career officials have access to the raw findings and are tasked with creating the final presentation for public release. The commissioner doesn't even see the data until it's largely locked in and complete – less than 48 hours before it publishes, according to Bill Beach, the conservative Republican Trump appointed to run the agency in his first term. 'Zero is the upper bound of that response,' Beach said when asked by CNN how much influence a commissioner has over the final numbers. 'There was no way for me to change the data. I could have said, oh, you people need to do a better job, the numbers are too low or too high and it would have made zero difference to that staff. In fact, they would have talked to me less.' That doesn't mean there has been a long-standing discussion about significant improvements that could be applied to the current process. The business response rate to the initial survey that comprises the jobs numbers has dropped dramatically in recent years. Technological upgrades have been weighed for years and are widely acknowledged as a necessity for an agency that has faced budget cuts and significant senior staff departures in recent years. 'There's always room for improvement,' Beach said. 'We need to have a better way of collecting these numbers in a more cost-effective way. That's what I hope the president does.' To this point, that hasn't happened. The administration has proposed an 8% cut to the agency's budget for the next fiscal year and has proposed cutting 150 positions. Lawmakers are set to dive into a fractious government funding debate when they return from their August recess and several senior Democratic aides say House and Senate appropriators plan to utilize Trump's decision to elevate the agency's work will turn it into an important part of the debate ahead. 'I wouldn't say try to do better with the same money,' Cathy Utgoff, who served as the agency's commissioner under President George W. Bush, told CNN. 'I would say you really need to have more money here, because you have to collect more data to make it more reliable.' For the moment, however, Trump's advisers are continuing the tenuous balancing act of highlighting the significant revisions without imposing long-term damage on a strained data operation often referred to as the 'gold standard' by economic policymakers around the world. 'What we need is a fresh set of eyes over the BLS,' National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said August 3 on NBC's Meet the Press. Hassett, in subsequent interview on Fox News Sunday, said that if he ran the BLS and had 'the biggest downward revision in 50 years, I would have a really, really detailed report explaining why it happened.' Reform and transparency have been the throughline of the evolving defense provided by Trump's allies – even if Trump has shown no interest in the more nuanced rationale for his unprecedented move. The awkward dynamic was on full display in the Oval Office on Thursday, as Trump hastily summoned the White House press corps to display a simplistic chart displaying annual employment revisions under his predecessor. The data was delivered to Trump by Stephen Moore, the conservative economist who has served as an outside adviser to Trump at various points during his first and second administration. As Moore detailed the data making up the posterboard displayed for reporters, he was careful not to ascribe political motives – only to be interrupted by Trump after calling it a 'gigantic error.' 'I don't think it's an error,' Trump said as he cut in. 'I think they did it purposefully.' Moore recalibrated on the fly – carefully and with visible discomfort. 'You may well be right, but even if it wasn't purposefully, it's incompetence,' the senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation said in a hedged effort to avoid contradicting Trump's assertion. Trump has said he will announce his pick to lead the agency as soon as Friday. The nominee will face an intense confirmation process, which lawmakers told CNN will not be expeditious in the wake of Trump's actions and rhetoric. It's a dynamic that only serves to underscore the view shared by economic officials outside of the administration – and within. US economists polled by the Kent A Clark Center for Global Markets at the University of Chicago this week said there was no evidence to suggest the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs figures were politically engineered. Several economists surveyed raised significant concerns about the long-term damage Trump's attacks would do to the long-standing perception of reliable US economic data. That's a direct threat to Trump's own aspirations of a new 'Golden Age' for the US economy. 'It is in Trump's direct political interest to avoid this,' Strain said. 'But given his history of scoring own goals, I am worried,'
NHK
4 days ago
- Politics
- NHK
South Korea: Former first lady beset by corruption scandal
It's not just former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yul who finds himself in hot water now that a new administration has been voted in. His enigmatic wife, Kim Keon-hee, is also under fire over a series of allegations involving stock manipulation, political interference and bribery. The country's National Assembly has passed bills allowing for three special counsels to investigate the couple ― and as they turn their attention to Kim, she has become a hot topic. Kim faced her first round of formal interrogation at the special prosecutor's office in Seoul on August 6. NHK World editor-in-chief Aoki Yoshiyuki, a former Seoul bureau chief, delves into the scandal. One of the counsels is examining the short-lived martial law that Yoon put in place last December. The second is considering whether the former president pressured investigators looking into the death of a Marines soldier. The third counsel is overseeing a raft of allegations that have been made against businesswoman Kim, even before her husband took office in 2022. The complex investigation into Kim has captured the nation's attention as questions are raised about whether diamond jewelry and luxury handbags were gifted to her as bribes. Kim Keon-hee the enigma Criminal suspect Kim Keon-hee turned herself in for questioning on August 6. Kim turned herself in for questioning on August 6 and offered some apologetic words to reporters: "I am truly sorry to everyone that a person like me ― who is nothing special ― has caused trouble." Despite regarding herself as "nothing special," Kim has been creating headlines for years. Little is known about her background. According to local media reports, she was born in 1972 and spent many years in Seoul. She became interested in art when she was a student, and after graduating from university, she worked as an art lecturer. In 2007, Kim took the helm of a firm that produces art exhibitions. She met Yoon when he was a senior prosecutor and married him in 2012. During the first months of his administration, her flashy fashion sense attracted a lot of attention when she accompanied him on overseas trips. A long list of allegations The allegations against Kim are complex: manipulation of stock prices of an imported car sales company, meddling in a primary for a by-election, and receiving gifts from a religious group, formerly known as the Unification Church, in exchange for influence. It has been reported that in 2022, a then high-ranking official of the religious group gifted a designer handbag and a diamond necklace to the first lady through a third person. Media reports claim the ex-Unification Church hoped Kim would help it gain preferential treatment for its projects, including a development in Cambodia. An associated official from the group was arrested at the end of July. Ex-Unification Church buildings in South Korea Diamonds and Dior The special counsel assigned to Kim's case has also uncovered some fresh controversy over the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace Kim wore when she visited Spain in June 2022. South Korean media reported at the time that the jewels were worth around 60 million won, or more than 43,000 dollars. In South Korea, politicians and senior public servants are required to disclose jewelry worth more than 5 million won, or 3,600 dollars. But the luxury brand necklace was not included in the list of the couple's assets. Kim initially claimed that she borrowed the necklace from an acquaintance, but later changed the explanation, saying that it was an imitation. Another time she was asked about it, she said she had lost the item. Investigators seized a necklace of the same design during a raid at a house belonging to one of Kim's relatives on July 25. It turned out to be a fake, but it is suspected the original necklace was substituted at some point. The Dior handbag Kim was reportedly gifted in 2022 has been the source of endless speculation. In November 2023, a covertly filmed video was made public by the Youtuber who presented the item. In October 2024, prosecutors decided against an indictment, finding it was difficult to see how the gifting of luxury bag could be seen as a bribe relating to her duties. But the bag is back in the spotlight now as the whole episode is re-examined by the special counsel. A sheltered existence The Yoon administration took a cautious approach when it came to Kim's media appearances. It is the norm for the presidential office to notify the press club about the leader's official duties, including whether filming and photography will be allowed. But when it came to Kim's official duties, media outlets were offered few opportunities. In most cases, photos and videos were released by a public relations team instead of allowing media to take their own. I can't recall the presidential office ever allowing the media to take photos of Kim, except when she attended public events with her husband. It is understood Yoon wanted to keep his wife away from the media wherever possible. Kim Keon-hee attended an event with her husband, former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yul, in 2024. In another oddity, broadcast authorities put continual pressure on media outlets to use an honorific, roughly translating to "Mrs," when referring to the then first lady. It was a rare measure, but commentators and politicians on TV shows sometimes missed the title when they spoke about Kim. I remember one radio program during which one panelist forgot to use the title. The host panicked and said: "We need to say Mrs. Kim Keon-hee. That's the guidance from the authorities." You couldn't just use her name and I believe it was Yoon who put that rule in place. Last month, a few hours after the special counsel team notified Kim she would face questioning, a message was posted on Yoon's Facebook account. It read: "I should be the only one to face a ridiculous political persecution." Observers say Yoon wants investigators to stay away from his wife. But that looks unlikely now with the special counsel team moving forward with what could be up to 15 charges. Arrest warrant sought While Kim has reportedly denied the allegations put to her so far, investigators have many more questions. With that comes an application for an arrest warrant on charges of bribery and violating political funding law that was filed August 7. Kim Keon-hee at the special prosecutor's office in Seoul on August 6 Page 2
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former BLS commissioner explains damage of Trump's BLS firing
President Trump's surprise firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner has raised concerns about potential political interference in labor data. William Beach, former BLS commissioner and Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) senior fellow in economics, joins to explain how jobs data is collected and why the integrity of the process is critical to public trust. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination. I guess to start, Bill, let me just get your reaction on that news of Trump firing the BLS chief. What do you make of it, Bill? How important is it? What's at stake? I was I was very surprised when he did that. I, in fact, it caught me when I was in my pickup truck. I had to I had to come over to the side and just sat there for about 40 minutes fielding calls. Uh, so, what do I make of it? Well, it first off, it damages BLS a bit because as your previous experts pointed out, uh, now, there's this uh this cover, this uh this appearance that there may be some bias, and that there may be some people working inside BLS to shape the numbers. I can tell you that it's simply not true and and it's it's just simply not the case that the commissioner, especially the commissioner, has anything to do with the preparation of the numbers or the estimation of the numbers. Much more likely, there's some senior person deep inside the bowels might, but the commissioner's just completely locked out of that thing, but the damage is done. Uh, even if St. Peter was the nominee and that was approved in committee and on the floor of the Senate, there would still be this this possibility in people's minds who don't follow BLS that closely, that, "Well," you you know, "Uh, a poor month, maybe 25,000 jobs." And they'll say, "Well, it it could have been a lot worse, and it probably was a lot worse, but St. Peter raised the number." So, uh yeah, we're going to take a long time to recover from this. I hope we can recover in a shorter amount of time than I'm I'm expecting, but I think damage was done. Can you walk us through, Bill, how does BLS collect the data? Can you walk us through that process? Well, sure, there're two surveys, and the survey we're talking about, the revisions, the big revisions, is a survey of business establishments. You know, somewhere around 600,000. The number varies from month to month. These are surveyed. This is a survey, and as a consequence, uh the it is a sample of the entire 12 million firms that are out there. So, we collect that sample in the time period in which the 12th of the month occurs. That should be a payroll period, with the 12th of the month, the date in there. And then the sample begins to come in. By the end of the first month, we have about 68% of that sample in, and it's on the basis of that that the estimate is done. So, on the basis of about 68 65 to 70% of the returned sample. Now, you notice I didn't say 100%. Um, that's because some firms don't get their sample in, so it the period of collection is kept open for 2 more months. Uh, by the end of the second month, we have about 83% of the sample in. By the end of the third month, we have 91 to 95% of the sample in, so it's a very complete survey. That sample is collected at the regional level, sent to the National Office. In the National Office, which is here in Washington, now at the Suitland Federal Center, that the there are people who take the sample return and using formulas, mathematics, statistics, they expand that sample up to hit national targets for, say, individual industries, like banking or finance or something of that nature. And then, on the basis of those, we sum it all up, and that's the national number that's reported first Friday. That's the 73,000 additional net jobs in the economy. So, that's basically how it's done. Related Videos How Wall Street & DC are reacting to Trump's BLS firing Fmr. Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross explains Trump's BLS suspicions Trump to announce new Fed governor & BLS head this week Bill Dudley on Fed Disagreement, BLS Data Quality 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
The Herald
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
Thabo Mbeki, Brigitte Mabandla lose bid to intervene in TRC prosecutions lawsuit
The families demanded two forms of relief: the establishment of a commission of inquiry into political interference in TRC investigations and constitutional 'damages as redress for the egregious violations' of their constitutional rights. Mbeki and Mabandla argued their intervention into the matter was vital to protect their reputations, as their rights may be violated by the court's finding that they were involved in suppressing the investigation and prosecution of TRC cases. Judge Anthony Millar disagreed. In his judgment on Friday, he referred to rulings handed down in the case of Joao Rodrigues, a security branch police officer who was facing charges related to the 1971 death of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol. From 2003 to 2017, the Gauteng high court and the appeal court found, political interference hampered the ability of the National Prosecuting Authority to properly deal with TRC cases, as the resources necessary to conduct proper investigations were not forthcoming. Consequently, Millar said, 'it cannot be in issue that there was political interference in the prosecution of the TRC cases. Our courts have found this to be so and those findings stand and are binding'. 'For this reason, the argument advanced for the Calata applicants that there would be no need for a specific finding against either Mr Mbeki or Ms Mabandla, is to my mind entirely sound. The issue has been decided,' he said. 'While it is alleged in general terms in the main application by the Calata applicants that the government respondents are responsible for the failure to prosecute TRC cases, the proverbial ship to challenge that has sailed.' Millar said Mbeki and Mabandla had 'no direct and substantial interest in the granting of any declaratory order against the government respondents and would have no obligation in respect of the granting of that order or any damages awarded in consequence thereof'. The appropriate forum for them to 'tell their side of the story' would be at the commission of inquiry which government has agreed to set up, he said. 'The application for intervention fails.' TimesLIVE
