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Also see: Wilbur Ross;
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Undated: The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for business and government decision-making, and helping to set industrial standards. This organization's main purpose is to create jobs, promote economic growth, encourage sustainable development and improve standards of living for all Americans.[3] The Department of Commerce headquarters is the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Commerce
-- 2017 --
February 27: Wilbur Ross approved by Senate as Trump's commerce secretary
https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/27/investing/wilbur-ross-commerce-secretary-confirmation-senate/index.html
November 5: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross benefits from business ties to Putin’s inner circle
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. has a stake in a shipping firm that receives millions of dollars a year in revenue from a company whose key owners include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law and a Russian tycoon sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as a member of Putin’s inner circle.
Ross, a billionaire private equity investor, divested most of his business assets before joining President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in February, but he kept a stake in the shipping firm, Navigator Holdings Ltd., which is incorporated in the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. Offshore entities in which Ross and other investors hold a financial stake controlled 31.5 percent of the company in 2016, according to Navigator’s latest annual report.
Among Navigator’s largest customers, contributing more than $68 million in revenue since 2014, is the Moscow-based gas and petrochemicals company Sibur. Two of its key owners are Kirill Shamalov, who is married to Putin’s youngest daughter, and Gennady Timchenko, the sanctioned oligarch whose activities in the energy sector, the Treasury Department said, were “directly linked to Putin.”
https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/donald-trumps-commerce-secretary-wilbur-ross-and-his-russian-business-ties/
November 6: Wilbur Ross denies wrongdoing after Paradise Papers leak
US commerce secretary blamed the media for making ‘a lot more out of’ revelations he has investments in company linked to Putin’s son-in-law
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/06/wilbur-ross-paradise-papers-leak
-- 2018 --
Undated: Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross outsourced 2,700 jobs
Wilbur Ross, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to run the Department of Commerce, has a long record of outsourcing American jobs, counter to Trump's message of protecting U.S. jobs as a candidate.
https://www.mcall.com/business/92351899-157.html
March 5: Before Pushing Tariffs, Wilbur Ross Had a Messy History With the U.S. Steel Industry
Among the people behind President Donald Trump’s plan to impose steep tariffs on steel was Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. On February 16, Ross released a Commerce Department report finding that the amount of steel imported to the United States threatens “to impair the national security.”
The problem, according to the report, is that while steel is necessary for our defense and infrastructure, the U.S. doesn’t produce enough of it. In recent years, foreign countries have developed a much greater steel production capacity than the U.S. “On an average month, China produces nearly as much steel as the U.S. does in a year,” a press release accompanying the report explained.
What’s not mentioned in the report is that Ross, whose net worth is estimated at around $700 million, made a good chunk of that fortune selling U.S. steel companies to a foreign entity. In 2002, Ross and his investing partners began buying up steel companies that were either in or near bankruptcy, including LTV Corp., Weirton, and Bethlehem Steel. They consolidated them into the International Steel Group and, in 2004, sold that company to the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, making some $2 billion in cash on the deal.
https://theintercept.com/2018/03/05/steel-tariffs-wilbur-ross-pollution/
May 14: Trump, Commerce Now Helping ZTE
President tells agency to boost Chinese telecom's businesses
https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/trump-commerce-now-helping-zte
June 2: Wilbur Ross in China for trade talks
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wilbur-ross-in-china-for-trade-talks/
June 19: Flood of US companies plead for relief from Trump tariffs
Dept. of Commerce official: “It’s going to be so unbelievably random, and some companies are going to get screwed.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/19/flood-of-us-companies-plead-for-relief-from-trump-tariffs/
June 22: The Secretary of Commerce is embroiled in scandal — and no one's talking about it
Secretary Wilbur Ross is accused, among other things, of using inside information for a stock trade
https://www.salon.com/2018/06/22/the-secretary-of-commerce-is-embroiled-in-scandal-and-no-ones-talking-about-it/
June 26: Trump makes Commerce Department the new space agency
NASA is commonly thought of as the federal space agency, but President Trump is prepping another agency to be launched into a major role outside of the earth’s atmosphere: The Commerce Department.
In a series of “space policy directives,” Trump is consolidating most of the federal authority that deals with private, commercial space use under the umbrella of Commerce to ensure that the U.S. remains the leader in the commercialization of space.
For now, the main duty of the Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise (SPACE) Administration will be that of a traffic cop to deal with the more than 800 functioning satellites and 20,000 pieces of debris in orbit around the earth.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/trump-makes-commerce-department-the-new-space-agency
July 13:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wilbur-ross-sale-to-cover-holdings-worth-tens-of-millions-1531510661
July 16: Pence: ‘Expect great things’ from new head of Office of Space Commerce [Kevin O’Connell, Trump’s pick to serve as the director for the Office of Space Commerce, who would eventually take over as head of the SPACE Administration].
As the Trump administration looks to streamline its space operations within the Commerce Department, Vice President Mike Pence applauded the agency’s efforts of creating a “one-stop shop” for commercial space policy.
Following President Donald Trump’s signing of Space Policy Directive 2 (SPD-2) in May, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced his agency would consolidate the Office of Space Commerce and the Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs into a new agency — the Space Policy Advancing Commercial Enterprise (SPACE) Administration.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2018/07/pence-expect-great-things-from-new-head-of-office-of-space-commerce/
August 7: Trump Put a Grifter in Charge of the Commerce Department
When Donald Trump nominated Wilbur Ross to be his Commerce Secretary, we were reminded of the fact that 13 coal miners died as a result of an explosion at Sago Mine Number One, which was owned by Ross at the time. His business practices were seen by many to be at fault.
The Wilbur Ross business model was to buy failing steel mills, textile mills and coal mines, then jettison the unions with their niggling work rules, reduce wages, drop health care, renege on pension obligations and cut operating costs down to the proverbial bone.
But there is a lot more to Wilbur Ross than all of that. Given that we’re in the midst of the first trial of Paul Manafort, it might be a good time to shine a spotlight on one of the members of Trump’s cabinet who has managed to fly under the radar.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/08/07/trump-put-a-grifter-in-charge-of-the-commerce-department/
August 7: Trump’s commerce secretary reportedly stole $120 million because of course he did
This is what happens when you don't divest your assets before public service.
The role Wilbur Ross, President Trump’s Commerce Secretary, plays in the Trump administration may appear to be a sleepy one, but it does reveal that graft and corruption can run both uphill and downhill.
An investigation by Forbes’ Dan Alexander found that Ross stole and siphoned millions of dollars in assets from his business associates.
https://thinkprogress.org/wilbur-ross-commerce-secretary-report-steal-120-million-trump-divest-051b3b303cb2/
September 13: Trump Nominates Ousted Commerce Department Official To UN Post
President Donald Trump has nominated Elizabeth Erin Walsh to be a U.S. representative to the United Nations, an official who was booted from her old post at the Commerce Department under mysterious circumstances.
In May, then-Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce Walsh was removed from the premises by security personnel, possibly due to an internal investigation in which she played a part
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/top-commerce-department-official-removed-possibly-related-to-internal-probe
October 9: 2nd Circuit Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Block Commerce Secretary's Deposition
A federal appeals court decided on Tuesday that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross must be deposed this week in a lawsuit over his agency’s decision to ask about citizenship on the 2020 U.S. Census unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise.
The Trump administration now has the opportunity to ask the high court to review a decision by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York in September that allowed Ross to be deposed in the lawsuit.
The appeals court left a stay on his deposition in place until Thursday to allow review from the Supreme Court. Attorneys with Attorney General Barbara Underwood’s office have scheduled the deposition for Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union are litigating the case alongside Underwood, who is leading a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in the lawsuit.
https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2018/10/09/2nd-circuit-rejects-trump-administration-bid-to-block-commerce-secretarys-deposition/?slreturn=20190217112045
October 23: Supreme Court blocks questioning of Wilbur Ross in census lawsuit
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/supreme-court-blocks-questioning-of-wilbur-ross-in-census-lawsuit
November: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Announces Minority Business Development Agency Grant Awards
https://www.mbda.gov/news/press-releases/2018/11/us-secretary-commerce-announces-minority-business-development-agency
November 9: Trump is telling people he wants to replace Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross by the end of the year
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/09/trump-could-replace-commerce-secretary-wilbur-ross-by-end-of-the-year.html
November 13: Wilbur Ross addresses controversy over citizenship question on census
“What triggered the real study, what triggered the process that led to the determination to [add the question] was the letter from the Department of Justice,” Secretary Ross said. On December 12, 2017 the Justice Department formally requested the question be added to the census.
Plaintiffs in six federal lawsuits disagree with Ross’s account, claiming he misrepresented the motivation behind the question in order to avoid disclosing its purpose to help the Republican party. The plaintiffs say the question was added to discourage undocumented non-citizen residents from participating in the census. The U.S. Census Bureau falls under the purview of the Commerce Department, which Ross leads.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wilbur-ross-addresses-controversy-citizenship-question-census-183409642.html
November 27: Department of Commerce has added manpower to handle Trump's tariffs
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/department-of-commerce-has-added-manpower-to-handle-trumps-tariffs
December 1: Wilbur Ross, US commerce secretary, left out of G20 activities
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2175909/wilbur-ross-us-commerce-secretary-left-out-g20
December 19: Wilbur Ross Admits to Not Divesting Stock After Claiming He Did
Since last year, Ross has been the subject of a series of Forbes exposes which revealed—among other things—that Ross has been accused of stealing at least $123 million from his associates, and that he falsely told ethics officials, in sworn statements, that he had divested from his holdings in the Atlanta-based investment management firm Invesco (which also owns WL Ross and Associates, Ross’ private equity company) when he hadn’t. The Center for Public Integrity reported in July that Ross had made between $1.2 and $6 million more from the Invesco stock by selling it in December 2017 than he would have had he sold it at the time he claimed he did, at the end of May 2017—90 days after his February 2017 Senate confirmation, when he was legally obligated to due so under his ethics agreement.
https://splinternews.com/wilbur-ross-not-even-trying-to-avoid-looking-corrupt-an-1831220324
-- 2019 --
January 15: Federal Judge Accuses Trump's Secretary of Commerce of Lying To Congress.
Against the objections of his own Census Bureau, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross railroaded adding a question about citizenship status to the United States census. Today the United States District Court of the Southern District of of New York struck down that addition on grounds it violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), as the decision was arbitrary and capricious and violated laws requiring notice to Congress of changes to the content in the Census form.
But the judge went quite a bit further. The judge rather strongly suggested Secretary Ross lied to Congress, a felony.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/15/1826490/-Federal-Judge-Accuses-Trump-s-Secretary-of-Commerce-of-Lying-To-Congress?
January 24: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday said he doesn't understand why federal employees would need assistance from food banks, when they should be able to secure loans to ride out the shutdown.
Ross, whose net worth is in the hundreds of millions, told business network CNBC Thursday he knows federal workers are visiting shelters to find free food, but doesn't quite understand why that's necessary. Roughly 800,000 federal employees have gone without a paycheck for more than a month now, as the longest shutdown on record continues.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wilbur-ross-doesnt-understand-why-federal-workers-are-using-food-banks/
February 14: Trump to get U.S. Commerce Department recommendation on auto tariffs
The U.S. Commerce Department is set to meet a Sunday deadline to deliver its recommendations to President Donald Trump on whether imported vehicles and parts pose a national security risk and to outline options on how to address the issue, officials said Thursday.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tariffs-autos/trump-to-get-u-s-commerce-dept-recommendation-on-auto-tariffs-idUSKCN1Q32ZV
February 27: Wilbur Ross, The Trump Official Who Keeps Watchdogs Up At Night
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/27/696824206/not-in-compliance-wilbur-ross-the-trump-official-who-keeps-watchdogs-up-at-night
March 13: Lawmakers seek delay of radio spectrum auction for next-gen cell service, saying 5G plans could hurt weather satellite data
In late February, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees NOAA, asked FCC to withdraw proposed operating guidance for the spectrum because, they said, it would allow too much electromagnetic chatter on the radio band in question, between 24.25 and 25.25 gigahertz (GHz), that might interfere with the weather data collection. (Water vapor is measured on the nearby 23.6- to 24-GHz band.) A joint NASA/NOAA study had suggested that any noise should be limited to –50 decibel watts (dBW); the Europeans, for example, recently defined their noise threshold at –56 dBW. The FCC auction, however, would allow –20 dBW of noise, a significantly higher level, especially given its measure on a logarithmic scale.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/03/lawmakers-seek-delay-radio-spectrum-auction-next-gen-cell-service-saying-5g-plans-could
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