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United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Jason Kenney reacts at his provincial election night headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie
April 17, 2019
By Nia Williams
Calgary, Alberta (Reuters) – A right-wing, pro-energy party won a landslide victory in Canada’s main oil-producing province of Alberta late on Tuesday, signaling momentum may be building against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau months ahead of a federal election in October.
The United Conservative Party (UCP) trounced the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) government by tapping into frustration over the economy and a struggling oil and gas industry.
“Alberta is open for business!” UCP leader Jason Kenney said in a victory speech in Calgary on Tuesday.
Kenney’s supporters, many wearing cowboy hats, roared when he drove directly into the venue in his blue campaign pickup truck emblazoned with the slogan, “Alberta Strong & Free.”
Kenney, who had dominated in polls ahead of the vote, promised to defend Albertans against Trudeau and the federal government who, he said, were taking advantage of the province and its oil and gas.
The vote comes at a challenging time for Trudeau, who has been mired in a relentless scandal https://reut.rs/2Zhjx2P over alleged interference in a corporate corruption case that has led to the resignations of two Cabinet members and his top advisor.
The scandal has cost the prime minister his lead over rival Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, polls show.
Kenney’s victory also appeared to signal a conservative shift in the country ahead of the national vote. Alberta is the third major province to have picked a right-leaning premier over the past year, following Ontario and Quebec.
Shares of major energy companies climbed in midday trading, with the Toronto Stock Exchange energy index up 0.9 percent. Suncor Energy was up 1.3 percent at C$44.50, Cenovus Energy surged 2.2 percent to C$13.45, and Canadian Natural was up 2 percent at C$41.35.
Results of the vote, with the count nearly complete, showed the UCP had won 63 out of 87 seats in the provincial legislature.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers welcomed the UCP win and said it would keep pushing for “increasing market access, and reinforcing the economic importance of industry to Alberta.”
‘CLEAR MANDATE’
“This is a pretty clear mandate for the UCP. Now we have to see if Jason Kenney can live up to his promises, especially in reviving the economy,” said Andy Knight, professor of political science at the University of Alberta.
“He’s going to face some of the same challenges that (Alberta Premier and NDP leader) Rachel Notley had.”
Notley’s government introduced a carbon tax to help cut emissions of greenhouse gases in 2015, when Trudeau took power, a measure Kenney has promised to scrap.
However, such a move by Kenney could be countered by federal government measures. Earlier this month, Trudeau imposed a carbon tax in four provinces that do not have plans to tackle global warming, and has made clear he would do the same for Alberta if needed.
Kenney has blamed Trudeau for a lack of progress on new oil export pipelines, including the Trans Mountain expansion that will triple the amount of crude reaching the Pacific Coast from Alberta’s oil sands. The federal government bought the project from Kinder Morgan in August 2018 to ensure it gets built.
“The world needs more Canadian energy,” Kenney said during his speech as his supporters chanted: “Build that pipe!”
He also backs measures to prop up Alberta’s energy industry, which struggled last year with record discounts on Canadian crude because of pipeline congestion.
The University of Alberta’s Knight cautioned against reading too much into a provincial election, however, with six months to go before the national vote: “A lot of things can happen between now and October.”
(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Steve Scherer and Bernadette Baum)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: New cars are seen at a parking lot in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
April 17, 2019
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s car market will return to growth in the second half of this year due to government support although the days of high single or double-digit growth are over and consolidation is likely, senior automotive executives said on Tuesday.
The predictions from executives including the head of Mitsubishi Motors on the first day of the Shanghai Autoshow point to a vehicle market that is heading for more balanced growth, especially if the trade war with the U.S. is resolved.
Automotive sales in China contracted for the first time last year since the 1990s as a slowing economy and the trade friction between Beijing and Washington affected consumer sentiment.
Recent moves by the Chinese government to cut taxes, carmakers’ plans for new model launches as well as the hopes that the U.S.-China trade spat will soon be resolved could start to turn things around, the executives said.
“We predict there will be negative growth in the first half this year, even double digit,” said Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd’s (GAC) general manager Feng Xingya.
“But due to government subsidies, carmakers’ discounts and better macroeconomic conditions, sales will turn to positive in the second half,” he said.
The decline in Chinese automotive sales has already started to slow. They fell by 5.2 percent in March, the smallest decline since August 2018.
“It’s only natural for the China market to transition to slower growth,” Mitsubishi Motors’ Chief Executive Osamu Masuko told Reuters in an interview, saying that the market was showing some “level of maturity.”
“Going forward the market still has more growth left in it, but it will likely grow moderately. Growth of 5-6 percent a year on a consistent basis might not be that easy to achieve.”
UNEVEN GROWTH
The opening day of the autoshow was marked by launches of new sports utility vehicles from carmakers such as General Motors Co and Daimler, aimed at rejuvenating customer interest with fresh designs in the fast-growing market segment.
Some firms were more optimistic with luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars saying that it would likely achieve double digit sales-growth in China again this year, although below 2018 levels.
But others predicted that more pressure is to come as Beijing institutes tough rules to transform the industry which could kick off a round of consolidation or prompt some to leave the Chinese market.
“That’s more likely to happen to small, non state-owned players who really don’t have a whole lot to offer,” said GM’s China President Matt Tsien, adding that it could extend to some foreign players.
The government has this year tightened the screw on makers’ ability to add manufacturing capacity and is instituting electric car production quotas for automakers to combat pollution.
“But I don’t believe the number is going to be significant, Tsien said. “Because at the end of the day this is still one of the most attractive markets in the world. And everybody wants to be here.”
(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu, Yilei Sun, Joseph White, Aditi Shah and Edward Taylor; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Aaron Sheldrick)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: Businessman Bill Browder speaks after the coroner ruled that Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichnyy probably died of natural causes outside his home in 2012, after the inquest concluded at the Old Bailey, in London, Britain, December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo
April 17, 2019
By Esha Vaish and Gederts Gelzis
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Bill Browder, an investor who campaigns to expose corruption, has taken a criminal complaint against Swedbank to Latvian authorities, alleging it was involved in a Russian money laundering scandal.
Swedbank is being investigated by Swedish and Baltic financial watchdogs after broadcaster SVT reported it processed gross transactions worth up to 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) a year from high-risk, non-resident clients, mostly Russians, through its Estonian branch between 2010 and 2016.
These inquiries follow a fast-growing money laundering scandal centered on Danske Bank, which said last year that its Estonian branch had been used to move 230 billion euros ($260 billion) of suspicious payments from 2007 to 2015.
Browder, once the biggest foreign money manager in Russia, had already taken the complaint against Swedbank to Swedish and Estonian authorities, alleging that the Swedish bank’s accounts were used to launder $176 million from 2006 to 2012.
The bulk of this, $117 million, went through Swedbank’s Estonian branch and Browder’s complaint lodged with Latvian authorities, dated April 5 and seen by Reuters on Wednesday, showed some $41 million had passed through Latvia.
“We cooperate with the authorities in all our home markets in order to resolve current issues. However, we have no comment on the specific cases that Bill Browder now points to,” a Swedbank spokeswoman said in an emailed response.
Browder’s complaint, filed by his Hermitage Capital Management, called on Latvian authorities to look into the allegations alongside their ongoing broader probe into Russian money laundering links.
Latvian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MAGNITSKY CASE
Browder has pushed for banks to be held accountable over links to a money laundering and tax fraud exposed by his former lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian jail in 2009.
He had previously brought cases against Swedbank’s rivals Nordea and Danske Bank, which is now the subject of investigations in the United States, France, Denmark, Estonia and Britain.
Estonia is including Browder’s Swedbank complaint in its Danske Bank inquiry, but Sweden dropped its investigation saying there were limited transfers involving Swedish accounts and that the statute of limitations had expired.
Sweden, along with authorities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is set to conclude its investigation into Swedbank later this year, while a separate Swedish economic crime agency inquiry into the bank’s conduct was expanded last month.
($1 = 0.8838 euros)
(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Stockholm and Gederts Gelzis in Riga; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: Shen Yang (3rd R), general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, a joint venture of General Motors and its Chinese partners, attends a Baojun launching event in Shanghai, China April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Yilei Sun/File Photo
April 16, 2019
By Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirouzu
LIUZHOU, China/BEIJING (Reuters) – By many measures, General Motors’ China brand Baojun has been an exceptional success story, growing at breakneck speed by selling low-cost no-frills vehicles in smaller cities and rural areas.
But as Chinese consumer tastes shift away from basic and affordable, Baojun is engineering a different image for itself – launching mid-market models that will sport a redesigned logo and be sold through new or revamped showrooms.
The move is aimed at ensuring Baojun has offerings in the 100,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan ($15,000-$22,300) range that holds the most potential for the brand, said Mike Devereux, executive vice president at SGMW, GM’s venture with Chinese partners SAIC Motor Corp and Guangxi Automobile Group.
“When you look at what might happen in terms of some of the shrinking segments, you are going to make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” he told Reuters in an interview.
The first model off the block is the RS-5 SUV, which went on sale last week.
More sleekly designed than other Baojun vehicles, it is the first to feature semi-autonomous driving technology and will be priced from 96,800 yuan to 132,800 yuan. By comparison the most expensive model under Baojun’s old badge is priced from 85,800 yuan to 117,800 yuan.
Another three models will be rolled out this year, Devereux said, declining to provide further details on the cars.
GM executives and analysts see Baojun’s move upmarket as a natural progression as the brand seeks to stay relevant to younger consumers.
It is also supported by a large existing customer base. Most of Baojun’s sales are in smaller and less economically developed cities, but those were areas few Western automakers sought to target and the brand, which only got its start in 2011, rocketed to sales of almost 1 million in 2017.
Amid a slowing economy, sales slipped last year to around 840,000, accounting for 23 percent of GM vehicles sold in China.
For a graphic, click: https://tmsnrt.rs/2X5Th9E
Han Dehong, senior sales manager at SGMW, said the venture had been exploring a makeover of the Baojun brand since 2014 in tandem with a wide-ranging overhaul of its R&D, supply chain and distribution system.
“Younger groups have become the main force of consumer spending in our society and we need to respond to this new younger wave with brand upgrades and revamped models,” he said.
NEW SHOWROOMS, BIGGER CITIES
Compared to 10 years ago when there few models in the mid-market price range, competition has become fierce. Popular models include Toyota Motor Corp’s Corolla and Volkswagen’s Lavida. VW’s newly launched Jetta brand, which like Baojun is a China-only brand, is expected to also be sold in the same range.
“Baojun will need a competitive edge,” said Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight, noting that Volkswagen is known for quality, Geely Automobile Holdings is known for design while Great Wall Motor vehicles offer roomy interiors.
To set itself apart, the revamped Baojun brand will emphasize self-driving technology and internet connectivity, GM officials said.
The new models will be sold in 365 new or refurbished showrooms, equivalent to 60 percent of Baojun stores across China. The brand will also strengthen its presence in bigger cities like Chengdu, Tianjin and Nanjin.
A new mobile phone app was also recently launched, allowing customers to arrange a test drive and buy the new models online.
GM officials declined to say how much the automaker had invested in the new models, the logo redesign and new stores.
The move upmarket for Baojun is partial as some cheaper models will still carry the old Baojun badge although others will be folded into the Wuling brand, – the other marque sold by SGMW, said Matt Tsien, GM’s chief in China.
Tsien said GM had little concern that a more upmarket Baojun might eat into sales of GM’s Chevrolet as Chinese customers interested in buying a Chevy tend not to be attracted to domestic brands.
Roughly equivalent vehicles would also be priced differently. Whereas the most expensive version of the RS-5 will cost 132,800 yuan, the Chevy Equinox SUV will start from 174,900 yuan.
“No matter how far you take Baojun, Baojun is still going to be domestic, it’s going to focus on the local market here and it’s going to still represent very good value for customers,” said Tsien.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirozhou; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: A logo of the Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo
April 16, 2019
(Reuters) – U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp said on Tuesday its unit and an affiliate of Qatar Petroleum had won three exploration blocks offshore Argentina.
The three blocks will add about 2.6 million net acres to Exxon’s existing holdings in Argentina, the company said. The blocks are located in the Malvinas basin, about 200 miles (320 kms) offshore Tierra del Fuego.
Exxon’s existing Argentina holdings include 315,000 net acres spread over seven blocks in the onshore Neuquén Basin of the Vaca Muerta unconventional oilfield and a business support center in Buenos Aires.
ExxonMobil will have a 70 percent stake, while Qatar Petroleum’s affiliate will hold the rest.
The Argentine government issued a statement on Tuesday saying it received offers for the exploration of three offshore oil and gas basins from 13 companies for a total of $995 million. The country’s energy secretariat was expected to confirm which companies were awarded which areas next month.
Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement with Exxon Mobil in June to buy a 30 percent stake in two of Exxon’s affiliates in Argentina, giving Qatar’s state-owned entity access to oil and gas shale assets in the Latin American country.
Exxon has been investing heavily in its U.S. shale operations and in Guyana. Its development in Argentina has been slow due to several reasons, including the geographic remoteness of the country from U.S. shale operations as well as government controls on natural gas prices.
The U.S. oil company also invested in Brazil’s prolific offshore oilfields throughout 2018, clinching numerous blocks in partnership with other companies. Exxon and Qatar Petroleum International landed Brazil’s Tita area, locking in key real estate in the prized Santos basin.
The two companies have also partnered on three of Exxon’s offshore exploration blocks in Mozambique’s Angoche and Zambezi basins.
(Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires; Editing by James Emmanuel and Dan Grebler)
Source: OANN
While the rest of the country is advancing towards medical tyranny, legislators from the Lone Star State are working to preserve health freedom. State lawmakers have put forth multiple vaccine measures that need support. One such measure, S.B. 2350, will mandate the need for legitimate vaccine safety studies. Legislators are also pushing to ensure no parent is forced to vaccine their child in the state of Texas.
Proponents of the vaccine industry have been quick to label these efforts as “misinformation” intended to “stoke fear” about vaccine safety.
Ironically, many of these pro-vaccine rags blither on about measles “outbreaks” while disparaging dissent to the vaccine narrative — even though most outbreaks are actually caused by the measles vaccine. Remember folks, its only “fear-mongering” if you’re going against the grain. The fact of the matter is that vaccine propagandists rely heavily on scare tactics and self-aggrandizement to encourage compliance with pharmaceutical dogma. Without those two tools, vaccines would be seen for what they are: poison.
Texas legislators demand vaccine safety studies
Senator Bob Hall (R) recently introduced S.B. 2350, a bill which would mandate the necessity of legitimate safety studies before a vaccine can be administered by healthcare providers. As Tenth Amendment Center reports, the bill will toughen up on vaccine safety requirements and how safety studies are performed.
As Natural News has previously reported, it is not at all uncommon for Big Pharma (and their government pawns) to manipulate data in their favor. Recall the CDC’s treasonous act of scientific fraud regarding the MMR vaccine for proof of how far that stain has spread.
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While vaccine propagandists like to pretend vaccine science is infallible, that notion simply couldn’t be further from the truth. The new regulations proposed by SB 2350 would mandate “sufficient” time for vaccine side effects to be observed post-vaccination in safety studies, and would also demand that all vaccines be evaluated for their ability to cause cancer, fertility issues, neurological changes and other unintended consequences.
You can read S.B. 2350 in full here.
More bills to preserve health freedom in Texas
Sen. Hall is not alone in his efforts to fight for health freedom in the state of Texas. Representative Bill Zedler (R) has introduced H.B. 4274, a bill which will require healthcare providers to obtain informed consent before administering a vaccine.
Under Zedler’s informed consent bill, providers must give patients (or their caregivers) information on the risks and benefits of vaccination and a list of the ingredients in every vaccine administered. Information on the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, and what recourse patients have in the event of vaccine injury, must also be disclosed.
Zedler told reporters that he is “adamantly opposed to people being forced” into vaccinating their children. He’s also stated that people should have the freedom to choose what, if any, vaccines their kids get.
You can read H.B. 4274 in full here.
Rep. Matt Krause is also leading the charge on a new bill designed to simplify the process of filing a vaccine exemption, H.B. 1490. Under this bill, the Texas Department of State Health Services would be prohibited from “maintaining a record” of vaccine exemptions. The legislation would also make it easier for Texas residents to obtain a vaccine exemption form. Currently, citizens must submit a written request to the state health department. If the bill passes, exemption forms will be available online, making the whole process much more accessible.
You can read H.B. 1490 in full here.
These bills need support in order to pass. You can find out who your Texas representatives are here. For all those concerned with preserving health freedom in the United States, the time to act is now. Vaccine tyranny has already come to states like California and New York. It’s time to send Big Pharma a message they won’t soon forget: Medical tyranny isn’t welcome here.
See more coverage of the latest vaccine atrocities at Vaccines.news.
Sources for this article include:
Source: InfoWars
Most Americans think recreational marijuana should be legalized and think it will be legal in the entire U.S. within the next 10 years, according to a YouGov poll released Monday.
The vast majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medicinal use, while half think it should be legal for recreational use. People who have used marijuana recreationally in the past are far more likely to support legalization.
- 72 percent support medical marijuana.
- 10 percent oppose medical marijuana.
- 12 percent neither support or oppose medical marijuana.
- 50 percent support recreational marijuana.
- 31 percent oppose recreational marijuana.
- 13 percent neither support or oppose recreational marijuana.
YouGov notes recreational marijuana has been legalized in 10 states and for medical use in 33 states.
- 62 percent said recreational marijuana will be legal nationwide in 10 years.
- 52 percent said marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.
- 49 percent said they prefer using natural remedies for medicine rather than pharmaceuticals.
YouGov polled 1,269 adults in the United States online from April 5-8.
Source: NewsMax America
A student gestures during a protest seeking the departure of the ruling elite in Algiers, Algeria April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
April 16, 2019
By Hamid Ould Ahmed and Lamine Chikhi
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s army chief said on Tuesday the military was considering all options to resolve the country’s political crisis and warned that “time is running out”, after weeks of anti-government protests.
Lieutenant-General Ahmed Gaed Salah’s remarks were the strongest indication yet that the military, which has said it supports a transition period after the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is losing patience.
In a speech broadcast on state television, Salah, who was speaking at a military base in the central town of Ouargla, urged protesters to avoid violence.
“All options are open in the pursuit of overcoming the different difficulties and finding a solution to the crisis as soon as possible, in a way that serves our nation’s interests without regard to individual interests,” he said.
Salah did not specify what options the army would pursue. But he said: “We have no ambition but to protect our nation.”
Hours earlier, the chairman of Algeria’s Constitutional Council, Tayib Belaiz, quit his post, state news agency APS said. That followed calls for his resignation by protesters who say he is part of a ruling elite they want abolished.
Bouteflika stepped down on April 2 after weeks of mass protests demanding an end to his 20-year rule. But his departure failed to placate many Algerians who want to topple the old guard and its associates.
Belaiz submitted his resignation to Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah, APS reported, citing a statement from the council.
Meanwhile thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Algiers and in cities across the country calling for political change in the eighth week of mass protests.
Belaiz’s departure could herald that of other senior political figures who protesters want removed.
These include Bensalah, who was appointed interim president after Salah declared Bouteflika unfit for office and said the military would back a transition period leading to a presidential election on July 4.
Protesters are seeking radical change that would introduce sweeping political reforms in Algeria, an OPEC oil producer and major supplier of natural gas to Europe.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Frances Kerry)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) are illuminated with a giant euro sign at the start of the “Luminale, light and building” event in Frankfurt, Germany, March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
April 16, 2019
By Balazs Koranyi
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Several European Central Bank policymakers think the bank’s economic projections are too optimistic as growth weakness in China and trade tensions linger, four sources with direct knowledge of discussions said.
A “significant minority” of rate-setters in last week’s policy meeting expressed doubt that a long projected growth recovery is coming in the second half of the year and some even questioned the accuracy of the ECB’s projection models, given their long history of downward revisions, the sources said.
With the ECB using the these projections as a key input into policy decision, more cuts in growth and inflation forecasts would raise the chance that the bank’s first post crisis rate, now seen next year, is delayed even longer.
An ECB spokesman declined to comment.
The central bank has so far maintained that many of the factors holding down growth are temporary, so the economy would rebound in the second half, after waning exports and eroding confidence nearly dragged Germany into recession late last year.
ECB President Mario Draghi said over the weekend there were signs that these factors were waning, even if political uncertainty loomed large.
But some of his fellow Governing Council members were not as confident and argued that the growth hurdles were far from temporary, so there was no reason to project any significant rebound, the sources said.
While Germany’s vast car sector did take a one-off hit from an adjustment to new emissions-testing methods, more permanent factors could include shifting consumption habits, a move away from diesel and weak Chinese demand, some governors argued, according to the sources.
WEAK GROWTH, TRADE WARS
The policymakers added that weak global trade growth also appears to be more permanent, trade wars now look to be the norm rather than the exception and even if Chinese growth looks to be stabilizing, demand from Beijing is unlikely to surge.
Some governors went as far as saying that the ECB’s forecasting methodology may need to be reviewed since projections are persistently too optimistic and are regularly cut quarter after quarter, the sources said.
The ECB now sees 2019 growth at 1.1 percent but projected 1.7 percent just three months ago.
While others are also prone to forecasting errors, the U.S. Federal Reserve does not publish a single projection, even if individual governors make their forecasts public. And while Fed governors also erred on growth recently, their projections on inflation have been relatively solid.
Some ECB policymakers thought there may be an inherent bias in the bank’s forecasts as they always show inflation on an upward slope, moving toward the ECB’s target and growth returning to trend.
The sources added that ECB President Mario Draghi appeared open to discussing the concerns but showed little interest in doing a deep dive into forecasting methodology just month before the end of his term.
Others told the colleagues at the policy meeting that the key reason for the forecast misses was simply an incorrect assessment of slack in the labor market, the sources said.
The euro zone has created around 10 million jobs since the worst days of its debt crisis and more people are at work than ever before.
Yet inflation is not moving up the way record high employment would warrant, suggesting that the labor market is more flexible than in the past and the natural rate of unemployment has declined.
(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Source: OANN
The Interior Department’s internal investigators have begun probing allegations of conflicts of interest involving Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, they confirmed Monday, just four days after the Senate confirmed the former corporate lobbyist to lead the agency.
Deputy Interior Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon on Monday that her office had launched the probe to address seven separate ethics allegations leveled against Bernhardt, including one from Wyden.
The allegations have centered on charges from Democratic senators, environmental groups and others that Bernhardt was violating ethics standards by involving himself in Interior Department deliberations with his former lobbying clients, including a politically influential California water agency.
Interior spokeswoman Faith Vander Voort said in a statement that Bernhardt “is in complete compliance with his ethics agreement and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.”
Vander Voort said the allegations had come from “Democratic Members of Congress and DC political organizations” and that the agency’s ethics office already had looked into many of the allegations and absolved Bernhardt.
Announcement of the probe came on Bernhardt’s second full day as interior secretary. He won Senate confirmation to the post Thursday over objections of several Democratic lawmakers, who had urged fellow senators to wait to vote on his appointment until Interior’s inspector general’s office had addressed the various ethics allegations.
Bernhardt had been acting secretary of Interior — it oversees the nation’s public resources, including oil and gas leases on public lands — since President Donald Trump’s first appointee as secretary, Ryan Zinke, announced his resignation amid separate ethics allegations in December.
Trump initially appointed Bernhardt in April 2017 to serve as Zinke’s deputy.
Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat, and other lawmakers in March had asked Interior’s watchdog officials to look into allegations that Bernhardt and other agency officials were violating their written ethics pledges by involving themselves in regulatory matters concerning recent former clients.
“The American public deserves to have the basic confidence that their Interior Secretary is looking out for their interests – protecting public land, species, the air and the water — and not the interests of former industry clients,” Udall said in a statement Monday.
Bernhardt had been head of the natural resources division at the lobbying and law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. He represented oil and gas companies, California’s Westlands Water District and dozens of other clients, many with business before Interior.
Westlands Water District, with ties to some of California’s biggest corporate farmers, is seeking favorable decisions from the Trump administration on water contracts and other matters.
Like Zinke before him, Bernhardt at Interior has been an active supporter of Trump’s call to minimize regulations on businesses and open more public lands for oil and gas exploration and other resource development.
Source: NewsMax Politics
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