In case you missed it
Here's a classic news dump, brought to you at 6 p.m. on Friday, the perfect time for it to escape your gaze:
Eight months after getting a $500,000 contribution from an executive at Sam Bankman-Fried’s bankrupt cryptocurrency firm FTX, the Democratic Party of Oregon is surrendering the cash to federal authorities to comply with a request from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Given that the money was likely stolen from FTX customers who thought it was safely on deposit, that's the right thing to do. But the hiding of the news on a Friday night tells me the Usual Suspects in the Oregon Democratic ranks are more than a little worried about something.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that people have found out that two Ron Wyden campaign staffers, Tim Leahy and Jocelyn Tyree, were involved in securing the $500,000 contribution for the party. And Diana Rogalle, a political fundraiser and consultant with close ties to Wyden, brokered the deal.
So now they'll just give the money to the feds, and declare the whole scandal over. "Nothing more to see here, folks! Move along!"
But how do they "surrender the cash"? Apparently they're going to scrape it out of the campaign accounts of people like Wyden, the Governor, and Jeff Merkley. I'm sure their donors will be thrilled.
In any event, the stench from this one is unbearable. And the way they're all behaving about it confirms that something quite nasty is being glossed over.
If the local media looked at these issues seriously, the staff for Ron and Jeff would be concerned.
ReplyDeleteI love how the Weed runs a picture of Merkley with the story, to distract from the scandalous Wyden connection. Well played.
ReplyDeleteSycophant is an interesting word.
DeleteAdd to this the federal investigation into Shemia Fagan and me thinks the governor should be getting a little twitchy. What I'm wondering w/ the whole Fagan thing is what are the feds after? I guess it could be campaign finance but I'm wondering about all that cash flowing through La Mota and where it was going (in duffel bags across state lines perhaps?). I mean, how was that $75K cash donation provided to Kotek's campaign, was it in a paper bag, was there a receipt? Also, what was going on with the OLCC's audit of La Mota and why was the head of the OLCC ousted by Kotek?
ReplyDelete(needless to say, the whole Pappy Van Winkle thing seems a tad convenient to me)
DeleteI doubt that the feds are after Fagan if all she did was her little short-lived moonlighting venture and spending some campaign money on vacations. The La Mota people may be much bigger fish, and the OLCC may be an absolute viper's nest if the FBI wants to dig in deep.
DeleteThe feds are after her because her patrons are, most likely, part of a major drug cartel. And, naively, she was in their employ as well.
DeleteI still wonder why the Weed, cheerleader of all things cannabis, decided to crucify La Mota. Do they have a stake in a competitor?
DeleteI wonder what activity prompted the tax liens.
DeleteNot even sure why the Dims need any campaign money as they have a lock on the state and trove of loyal zombies to vote regardless of the stench.
ReplyDelete