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Missouri AG who pitifully tried to sue China now targets financial giant Morningstar for giving 'woke' advice
August 07, 2022
Missouri Atty. Gen. Eric Schmitt announced last week he is investigating financial services giant Morningstar and its subsidiary Sustainalytics Inc. on the bizarre theory that its advocacy of “woke” investing defrauds consumers.
Schmitt, who won the Republican primary last Tuesday to seek the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Sen. Roy Blunt, has been one of the nation’s most MAGA-pandering attorneys general in the nation. He is attempting to carve out new wingnut turf with an unprecedented legal assault on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing.
Schmitt purports to have been triggered by charges that Sustainalytics showed anti-Israel bias in its products and services. An independent law firm found those not credible, Bloomberg reported, a detail that did not deter the Trump-loving attorney general.
“Following public reports into Morningstar’s alleged anti-Israel bias and concerns raised to my Office, we are launching an investigation into Morningstar Inc. and Sustainalytics over potential consumer fraud issues,” Schmitt said in an email reported by Bloomberg. “Missouri has been a leader in pushing back against woke ESG investing, and my Office will continue to look out for consumers.”
The company denied Schmitt’s allegations, the reporting stated. Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor issued this statement.
“Sustainability introduces new choices for investors; Morningstar provides the data and insights to help investors of all types weigh those choices in their decision making. We conduct independent research with a level of transparency that makes us proud.”
Schmitt was a formerly moderate Republican state senator who shamelessly overhauled his image to pander to former President Donald Trump and his base. Schmitt authored the amicus brief in the failed Texas lawsuit attempting to invalidate Pennsylvania’s 2020 election result. That was just one of numerous politically motivated lawsuits he has filed to bolster his Senate run at taxpayers’ expense.
Schmitt was vice chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) on January 5, 2001, when it sent out robocalls urging supporters to come to Washington D.C. for Trump’s pre-insurrection rally. He has denied knowledge of the robocalls.
None of Schmitt’s antics were more pathetic, however, than when he had Missouri sue the country of China for allegedly causing the pandemic to spread to his state. He was widely ridiculed for the stunt, which featured such anomalies as having state taxpayers paid $12,000 in translation, address verification and processing fees.
Apparently, Chinese President Xi Jinping was never served. Last month, U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh dismissed the “novel complaint” for lack of jurisdiction.
For those interested – unlike Schmitt – who are interested in learning about the importance of ESG investing, this analysis by Forbes is a good primer.
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'You just can't let it go?' CNN host fact-checks Trumper twice after he claims the inflation bill was useless
August 07, 2022
CNN host Pamela Brown refused to allow Donald Trump appointee David Urban to lie on her show about the Inflation Reduction Act that was just passed by Democrats only in a partisan vote in the Senate.
Urban told Brown that the trillions of dollars that will help inflation, deal with climate change disasters, incentivize Americans who want to buy electric vehicles and a slew of other things. Republicans argue that it will make U.S. inflation worse, and Brown conceeded that economists are split on whether it would help inflation. When the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office scored it, they called it a revenue gain for the government.
Urban, however, wouldn't let up. When asked about Republican candidates and a recent flub by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) on "Face the Nation," Urban went back to talk about the inflation bill.
By the way, back to the inflation reduction act you were talking about earlier, the Penn Wharton budget model said it's going to have zero impact on reducing inflation," he continued. "So, just to put a little flag point on that."
"You just can't let it go, can you, David?" asked Brown rhetorically. As I said earlier, economists have been mixed about whether it will actually reduce inflation, and that is true. Thank you both."
She then ended the panel discussion.
As Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) explained on "State of the Union" Sunday, things like capping prescription drug costs would help, as would measures to help reduce energy costs for Americans. So, while things like gas and groceries have been difficult for Americans, the legislation could help cut costs in other ways.
But “the Treasury secretaries that have served in both Republican and Democratic administrations support this bill,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) admitted on Sunday morning.
See the discussion below or at this link.
inflation debate www.youtube.com
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Former ethics czar warns of 'pattern of obstruction of justice possible the DOJ' must investigate in Secret Service
August 07, 2022
President Barack Obama's former ethics czar and impeachment lawyer Norm Eisen told CNN that the revelations this week that many of the same agents whose communications were completely deleted from Jan. 5 and 6 were also the same people conducting a whisper campaign against Trump administration aide Cassidy Hutchinson after she testified to the House Select Committee.
"It's a very troubling pattern," Eisen explained. "You know, if you see one or two instances of records missing around a critical set of events, you say, well, maybe it's a coincidence.
"But when it's the Secret Service, the top leadership of DHS [the Department of Homeland Security], the Pentagon, the White House, and it doesn't stop there, because these same agents who may have failed to preserve their documents are also the ones who are alleged to have been part of a whispering campaign after Cassidy Hutchinson testified," he added. "Possible witness intimidation."
"So to me," Eisen continued, "I think there's a pattern of obstruction of justice possible that DOJ has to look into."
Not only were documents deleted in violation of record keeping laws, in the White House, former President Donald Trump was caught trying to flush documents down the toilet. The behavior reportedly clogged the White House toilets, requiring a plumber.
After leaving office, it was discovered that Trump took a truck-load of documents to Mar-a-Lago instead of being sent to the National Archives. Some of those documents were so secret or classified that they were for the president's eyes only.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the prosecutors at the Department of Justice were given the personal cell phone numbers of the Secret Service agents whose work phones were wiped.
"I worked a lot with the Secret Service when I was in the White House, and I have never heard of a case where investigators got the personal cell phone numbers this way," said Eisen.
"But I think it's merited here because if texts or other information have vanished from the official cell phones, then you have to look for alternative sources," he added. "Of course, there are also ways to reconstruct the official bodies of information, so all of that has to be looked at."
CNN host Pam Brown noted that there are divisions in the Secret Service to recover data and wondered why it wasn't possible in this instance.
Watch the conversation below or at this link.
Ethics czar cites 'pattern of obstruction of justice possible the DOJ' must investigate in USSS www.youtube.com
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