This is the face of evil. ― Molly
 |
| Robert Mercer and Steve Bannon |
A major new investigation by The Guardian based on the
Paradise Papers shows how billionaire Robert Mercer and his family built a $60
million war chest for conservative causes inside their family foundation by using
an offshore investment vehicle to avoid U.S. taxes. The report traces the money
directly to future White House chief strategist Steve Bannon of the far-right
news outlet Breitbart Media. We speak with Jon Swaine, senior reporter for The
Guardian.
AMY GOODMAN: I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. This is Democracy
Now!
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, we
continue to look at money in politics as we turn now to new revelations from
the Paradise Papers, a trove of millions of leaked documents on offshore
finance that are being reviewed by the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists and their partners.
On Tuesday, The Guardian reported it had found seven Republican super-donors in the
papers who store some of their fortunes offshore, beyond the reach of public
scrutiny and tax authorities. Together, the billionaires pumped more than $350
million into the 2016 election. Some are well-known backers of conservative
causes, like casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Charles and David Koch. Others
have sought to keep their activities out of public view, like Warren Stephens,
the hidden co-owner of a payday lending company now under investigation for deceiving
customers.
The Guardian also
published a report on a major Democratic donor, James Simons, who spent
$11 million to back Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Simons is the
founder of Renaissance Technologies, the world’s most profitable hedge fund.
Leaked records show he kept much of his $8 billion fortune in an offshore
private wealth fund in Bermuda in order to avoid, quote, “particularly severe”
U.S. tax bills that would be triggered if they tried to bring the funds onshore.
AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, another report published Tuesday shows how billionaire Robert Mercer,
who replaced Simons as head of Renaissance Technologies, and Mercer’s family
built a $60 million war chest for conservative causes inside their family
foundation by using an offshore investment vehicle to avoid U.S. taxes. The Guardian traces
the money directly to future White House chief strategist Steve Bannon of the
far-right news outlet Breitbart Media.
This is New Yorker reporter Jane Meyer describing the instrumental role Robert Mercer and his
daughter Rebekah played in Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
JANE MAYER: Bob Mercer wants to shrink the government
down to the size of a pinhead. He has contempt for social services and for the
people who need social services. And so, he has been a power behind the scenes
in Trump’s campaign. He kind of rescued Trump’s campaign in the end, he and his
daughter. ....
Rebekah Mercer, the
daughter of this hedge-fund tycoon, Bob Mercer, sort of cornered Trump and
said, “You know, we’d like to give money to your campaign. We’ll back you, but
you’ve got to try to, you know, stabilize it.” And basically, she said, “And
I’ve got just the people for you to do the job.” And they were political
operatives who the Mercer family had been funding for a couple of years, the
main one being Steve Bannon, who is now playing the role to Trump—he’s the
political strategist for Trump—that’s the role he played for the Mercer family
prior to doing it for Trump.
AMY GOODMAN: So that was The New Yorker magazine’s
Jane Mayer describing the significance of the Mercers.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
JON SWAINE: Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we just talked about Mercer, so
let’s continue with Mercer, Robert Mercer, the head of Renaissance
Technologies, who has just basically been forced to step down from that role,
though, of course, talk about his wealth and his role in the election of Donald
Trump.
JON SWAINE: Robert Mercer has been a huge patron
of Donald Trump. Before that, he was a huge patron of Ted Cruz. And one of the
ways he’s sought to back Donald Trump and to back Republican causes is through
Steve Bannon. And so, Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah have a family
foundation based in New York. That makes investments through his successful
hedge fund that you talked about. It should, ordinarily, be paying tax on the
profits it makes from that hedge fund. But instead, it routes those investments
through Bermuda and, in doing so, pays no tax, takes that money, gives it to
Steve Bannon through various conservative nonprofits. Steve Bannon produces
books about Hillary Clinton—Clinton
Cash, this book that did her so much damage in
the campaign. He makes films with groups like Citizens United, Young America’s
Foundation. And what these documents show, what this leak shows, is that much
of this money going into these ventures avoids U.S. tax.
Please continue this
interview, or to watch the full program, please go here: https://www.democracynow.org/2017/11/8/billionaire_gop_backer_robert_mercer_used
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