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Wilbur Ross;
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2017; 2018; 2019;
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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