Harry Reid: Scandals

[American Patriot]

Report: Harry Reid hospitalized after Las Vegas car crash

Posted by Paul Kane on October 26, 2012 at 4:53 pm

After a multi-car crash outside downtown Las Vegas, Senate Majority Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) was taken to the hospital for precautionary review Friday afternoon, according to local news reports.


A Las Vegas police spokesman told the Las Vegas Review Journal that Reid, 72, was the only person taken to the hospital, mainly for “minor rib injuries.”


Capitol Police, who provide a security detail for top leaders including Reid, were driving the majority leader in one of the force’s top security vehicles, a Chevrolet Suburban SUV. Reid is at home campaigning for President Obama and Democratic candidates in Nevada. The accident occurred on a heavily traveled portion of I-15 just west of the Las Vegas Strip, where most of the city’s most famous casinos reside.


Local media reports said as many as six vehicles were involved in what appeared to be a chain-reaction crash.


Reid and his family have had several recent instances of auto accidents and health battles. His wife, Landra Reid, who was not traveling with the senator on Friday, and their daughter were struck on I-95 by a tractor-trailer in busy traffic in December 2009, causing severe injuries to Mrs. Reid, including a broken back.


She has since fully recovered from those injuries, appearing on stage with him Election Day to celebrate his come-from-behind victory in the 2010 midterm elections. She has battled breast cancer, but Reid told local media last spring she was “doing very well”.

[Ryan Ruck]

[American Patriot]

None there huh? And I thought Batman might have something better to say.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't either. I was hoping it was ... I won't lower myself to saying things like a Liberal like that....nm lol

[American Patriot]

Ok... Harry could be one of these...

[American Patriot]

Too bad he didn't die in the hospital.

He went on to get caught (along with Obama) invested in some scheme to give him a lot of money. ANother Scandal... but no one is talking about it.

Today he is announcing he's done.

Probably figured to get out before they open up the rest of his background and find out what kind of a criminal he really, truly is.

I expect he will be moving to the Bahamas or Central America to "get away from politics" for awhile shortly. Or more accurately to get someplace they can't extradite him.

[American Patriot]

And this is the latest thing on Reid.

DHS Official Pressured Bureaucrats To Approve Immigrant Visas Wanted By Harry Reid, Terry McAuliffe, IG Says

The Associated Press

by Caroline May24 Mar 2015170
A high ranking Department of Homeland Security official exerted improper influence on the granting of immigration benefits for politically connected individuals, according to a new government report.
In a report released Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General looked at three instances in which Alejandro Mayorkas, then-Director of USCIS but currently the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, was alleged to have exerted undue influence on the processing and adjudication of Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) program benefits.
“The juxtaposition of Mr. Mayorkas’ communication with external stakeholders on specific matters outside the normal procedures, coupled with favorable action that deviated from the regulatory scheme designed to ensure fairness and evenhandedness in adjudicating benefits, created an appearance of favoritism and special access,” the IG’s report reads.
The report looked at various instances of alleged favoritism. It named Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and the Las Vegas Regional Center as well as an electric car company on which now-governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe was a board member and Anthony Rodham — the brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — was involved.
According to the report in each of the matters it considered, were it not for “Mr. Mayorkas’ intervention, the matter would have been decided differently.”
The IG explained that it began the investigation into Mayorkas’ interventions following a whistle-blower allegation in September 2012. The IG noted that in the course of its investigation an unusually high number of witnesses at different levels of authority, “more than 15.”
“Their allegations were unequivocal: Mr. Mayorkas gave special access and treatment to certain individuals and parties. They told us he created special processes and revised existing policies in the EB-5 program to accommodate specific parties. According to the employees, but for Mr. Mayorkas’ actions, the career staff would have decided these matters differently. Employees felt uncomfortable and pressured to comply with managers’ instructions that appeared to have come from Mr. Mayorkas or those working directly for him,” the report reads.
Overall, the employees charged that Mayorkas’ favoritism was offered to the politically connected.
“Many employees concluded, not unreasonably, that the pressure exerted on them was because the individuals involved were politically connected,” the report reads.
The allegations about Mayorkas’ influence on behalf of Reid and McAuliffe have been in the press prior to the IG’s report, which was dispatched to DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson Tuesday from Inspector General John Roth.
“The report is furnished for whatever action you consider appropriate,” Roth’s note to Johnson reads.
Roth added that the IG’s office will continue to protect the identities of the witnesses in the report, calling them “courageous employees.”
“We hope their actions will set an example for all potential whistleblowers who look to the Office of the Inspector General to give them a voice,” Roth added.
In a statement released in response to the IG’s report Mayorkas said he disagreed with it but would “learn from it.”
“As the leader of U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, I had the responsibility to ensure that cases, including the three that are the focus of the report, were decided as the law required and that agency errors were corrected,” he said. “I fulfilled that responsibility and I also took steps to ensure that my involvement was understood by those around me.”
He further argued that the EB-5 program was “badly broken” before his tenure.
“There was erroneous decision-making and insufficient security vetting of cases,” he added. “I could not and did not turn my back on my responsibility to address those grave problems. I made improving the program a priority and I did so in a hands-on manner, through cases, policies, and sweeping personnel and organizational changes.
Johnson reacted to the report by expressing his support for Mayorkas and also said there are lessons to be learned.
“I continue to have full confidence in Ali Mayorkas. He is doing an outstanding job as Deputy Secretary,” he said. “He is a valuable, hard-working and energetic leader who cares about our people and treats them with respect. He is indispensable to me in our efforts to bring about some tough reforms for the Department of Homeland Security.”
The DHS chief also said that he would be making changes to the program and encouraged Congress to assist him in the process.
“I am directing the creation of a new protocol to ensure that the EB-5 program is free from the reality or perception of improper outside influence,” he said. “I have asked the Department’s General Counsel, in consultation with USCIS officials who administer the EB-5 program, to develop such a protocol for my approval.”

[American Patriot]

Feds interviewed Harry Reid for Robert Menendez probe

There is no indication the Democratic leader is ensnared, but he has a big political problem on his hands.

By John Bresnahan and Manu Raju
3/9/15 12:23 PM EDT
Updated 3/9/15 6:43 PM EDT

Reid's involvement highlights the seriousness of the problem he may have dealing with a member in his ranks who’s expected to be indicted within weeks. | AP Photo

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid voluntarily interviewed with Justice Department lawyers and FBI agents a year ago as they were investigating Sen. Robert Menendez for possible corruption, according to sources familiar with the matter.
There is no indication authorities believe Reid acted improperly or that he might be ensnared in the case: He hasn’t met with investigators since he spoke with them in the spring of 2014, or appeared before a grand jury looking into the allegations against Menendez, the sources said.


But the involvement of the then-Senate majority leader, who now runs the Democratic minority, highlights the seriousness of both the investigation and the problem Reid has on his hands in dealing with a member in his ranks who’s expected to be indicted within weeks.
Reid’s interview with DOJ lawyers and FBI agents focused on his interaction with Menendez and Salomon Melgen, a close friend of the New Jersey Democrat and a big donor. The Menendez-Melgen relationship is at the heart of the federal criminal investigation, and Menendez had sought Reid’s help in assisting the Florida ophthalmologist resolve a multimillion-dollar billing dispute his company was having with the federal government.
Neither Reid’s office nor DOJ would comment on the Democratic leader’s meeting with federal authorities. The interview, which lasted roughly an hour, was not recorded, sources said; investigators took notes. The sources characterized Reid as simply a witness in the case.

Also on POLITICO
McConnell: It's Reid's call on Menendez

ADAM SNEED

At the very least, though, the case is a major political challenge for Reid: It would be the first time in his decade as Senate party leader that he would have to handle the fallout of an indicted Democratic senator. He would have to choose between standing behind a fellow Democrat who proclaims his innocence or distancing himself and his Democratic colleagues from the scandal. The fact that Menendez sought Reid’s help on Melgen’s behalf further complicates matters for the minority leader.
Reid will face pressure to remove Menendez from his spot as ranking Democrat on the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, even though there are no explicit caucus rules requiring an indicted senator to step down from committee leadership posts.
Speaking to reporters Monday evening, Menendez would not say if he would step down from the position once the indictment is unsealed.
“You know what? I haven’t been charged of anything so you guys are way ahead,” Menendez said. “Hope you’re right at the end, for your reporting purposes.”
Republicans are already attacking Reid over the matter. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is demanding that Reid return $10,000 Menendez donated to him. And GOP leaders are openly suggesting that Menendez should step aside from his committee spot, even though he hasn’t been indicted yet.
“Typically, when these kinds of charges are brought, people step aside from their leadership positions,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “But that will be up to the Democratic leader, Sen. Reid, to make that call.”

Also on POLITICO
Menendez: 'I am not going anywhere'

BURGESS EVERETT

Reid’s involvement in the matter began after Menendez intervened with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Melgen’s behalf during a June 7, 2012, meeting with Marilyn Tavenner, then acting head of the agency, regarding a multimillion-dollar billing dispute with Melgen’s company, Vitreo-Retinal Consultants. Menendez later had a follow-up call with Tavenner, according to the New Jersey Law Journal, which reported last week on a legal dispute between Menendez and DOJ over whether the senator’s aides must answer questions from a federal grand jury hearing the case.
Menendez and Reid then met personally with then-Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Aug. 2, 2012, regarding the billing issue.
While he was getting help from Menendez and Reid, Melgen made a huge donation to a pro-Democratic super PAC run by former Reid aides. Melgen’s company donated $400,000 to Senate Majority PAC in June 2012, followed by an additional $300,000 in mid-October 2012, according to Federal Election Commission records. Menendez was up for reelection in 2012, and most of Melgen’s donation to the super PAC was poured into the New Jersey Senate race. Melgen family members also gave $33,700 to Menendez’s 2012 reelection campaign, plus a further $50,000 to the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.
In addition, Melgen flew Reid on his company’s private plane in June 2012 from Washington to Boston and back for a Senate Majority PAC event. The super PAC reported reimbursing Melgen’s company $4,160 for “travel.” Though the group’s filing with the FEC does not specify who went on the trip, Reid’s office later confirmed to POLITICO that the payment was for the senator’s fundraising swing to Boston.

Also on POLITICO
Reid backs Van Hollen in Maryland Senate race

KEVIN ROBILLARD

Having Reid, then Senate majority leader, meet with Sebelius over Melgen demonstrates the extraordinary lengths to which Menendez was willing to go to help out his longtime friend and political benefactor, as well as how far Reid would go to aid one of his rank-and-file Democrats.
Senate Democrats have long griped that the Obama administration has not been responsive to their requests, so Reid, at times, has agreed to intervene and lobby senior officials so that issues important to his caucus would land on the administration’s radar. The Sebelius meeting appears to be no different.
The expected indictment of Menendez would become the highest-profile case DOJ’s Public Integrity Section has brought against a sitting U.S. senator since 2008, when GOP Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska faced felony charges for failing to report gifts. After Stevens was indicted, he was forced to give up his ranking member position on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Similarly, in 2009, then-Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) gave up a leadership post after he revealed an extramarital affair with a campaign aide. And in 2010, New York Rep. Charles Rangel gave up his spot as the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee when he came under investigation by the Ethics Committee over his failure to pay taxes from income on a vacation home.
Menendez, who has set up a legal-defense fund to cover the costs of the long-running criminal investigation, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and he has vowed to remain in office even if indicted.
“Let me be very clear, very clear. I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the law,” Menendez said at a Friday news conference. “I am not going anywhere.”
Some conservatives, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, have suggested that the White House is behind the looming Menendez indictment, pointing out that the New Jersey Democrat has been very vocal in his opposition to President Barack Obama’s policies on Cuba and Iran.
Yet Menendez has been under federal scrutiny for more than two years, ever since the conservative Daily Caller reported in November 2012 that Menendez had sex with underage prostitutes at Melgen’s home in a resort in the Dominican Republic.
While those allegations could not be substantiated, the media frenzy over the case focused attention on Menendez’s relationship with Melgen, who, in addition to his medical practice, made a fortune selling a data company.
Menendez was forced to personally repay nearly $70,000 for unreported flights on Melgen’s plane. And federal investigators have looked extensively into Menendez’s intervention with the departments of State and Commerce on Melgen’s behalf. That includes his efforts to secure U.S. government help in pressuring the Dominican Republic to honor a $500 million contract with a port security company owned by Melgen.
In July 2012, Menendez raised the issue with State Department officials during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing.
A Menendez aide has refused to answer questions to the federal grand jury about this issue as well, according to the New Jersey Law Journal.
It is unclear whether Melgen is cooperating with DOJ.

[American Patriot]

Senate Democratic Leader Reid announces retirement

Published March 27, 2015FoxNews.com


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March 17, 2015: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill. (AP)


Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announced Friday he will retire at the end of his term, closing a long and controversial career in Congress that spanned four decades.
The five-term Nevada Democratic senator announced the decision in a YouTube video message.
Appearing with bruises on his face from a recent at-home exercising accident, Reid, 75, said the injury has allowed him and his family to have a "little down-time," giving him time to think.
"We've got to be more concerned about the country, the Senate, the state of Nevada than us. And as a result of that, I’m not going to run for reelection,” the senator said in the video.
Reid, ribbing his Republican counterpart, added: "My friend, Senator McConnell, don't be too elated. I'm going to be here for twenty-two months."
Reid has been a controversial figure, and during his tenure as majority leader was blamed by Republicans for much of the dysfunction in the chamber. Republicans won the majority last fall.
"On the verge of losing his own election and after losing the majority, Senator Harry Reid has decided to hang up his rusty spurs," National Republican Senatorial Committee Director Ward Baker said in a statement welcoming the announcement.
Praise from fellow Democrats, meanwhile, was effusive.
"Harry is one of the best human beings I've ever met," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "His character and fundamental decency are at the core of why he's been such a successful and beloved leader."
First elected to the Senate in 1986, Reid previously served in the House. He has endured tough re-election battles in 1998, 2004 and most recently 2010 -- against Tea Party-backed candidate Sharron Angle.
Among other decisions, Reid will be remembered for allowing the so-called "nuclear option" in late 2013, when he unilaterally moved to change Senate rules to allow a simple majority vote to overcome filibusters for certain nominations. While procedural, the change was significant because it meant the Senate no longer needed the usual 60 votes to advance on controversial nominations.
Republicans quickly gloated that his seat would be a prime pickup opportunity in 2016. GOP figures ranging from Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval to Rep. Joe Heck and others could be interested.
Though Reid plans to serve out his term, his departure also touches off a leadership battle among Democrats. Schumer, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and others would likely be in contention.

[Ryan Ruck]

Good riddance to bad garbage!