Treasury chief refusing to disclose recipients of virus aid

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

Building ramparts of secrecy around a $600 billion-plus coronavirus aid program for small businesses, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has moved from delay to denial in refusing outright to disclose the recipients of taxpayer-funded loans.

Mnuchin told Congress at a hearing this week that the names of loan recipients and the amounts are “proprietary information.” While he claimed the information is confidential, ethics advocates and some lawmakers see the move as an attempt to dodge accountability for how the money is spent.

Businesses struggled to obtain loans in the early weeks of the program, and several hundred publicly traded companies received loans despite their likely ability to get the money from private financial sources. Publicly shamed, a number of big corporations said they would return their loans.

“Given the many problems with the program, it is imperative American taxpayers know if the money is going where Congress intended — to the truly small and unbanked small business,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday. “The administration’s resistance to transparency is outrageous and only serves to raise further suspicions about how the funds are being distributed and who is actually benefiting.”


Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/treasury-chief-refusing-disclose-recipients-virus-aid-71231859?cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

[enough]

1. Proprietary??? Whose money is it? NT

[CrispyQ]

26. "Our stockpile" has become "our Treasury."

[alwaysinasnit]

2. Rep. Katie Porter's response

[leftieNanner]

7. Love Katie Porter!

But she and Kamala Harris can demand the records all they want and ol' Steevie will just say no.

It's worked for them so far, so why not keep up the stonewalling.

Hope Mnuchin has some indictable offenses in his bag of tricks. The next AG will be investigating.

[ananda]

11. I hope it's Adam Schiff.

..

[leftieNanner]

12. I would love to see him as AG!

A man of great intelligence and integrity.

[CrispyQ]

27. Time to send Porter a couple of bucks.

She's a star.

[bottomofthehill]

3. If you work for the government in a $30,000 job

Your income is public, but if you are big enough to hire accountants and lawyers to go after the Big money ( half a trillion dollar slush fund) it is hidden from view. So much for accountability.

[LiberalArkie]

4. Next year pass a bill where it is classified as taxable income.

If the executives got some of it, pass that along was taxable income

[UCmeNdc]

5. He put the money into his own pocket!

I bet!

[leftieNanner]

6. Well, he's got a pretty expensive wifey to take care of.

And trophy wives don't come cheap!

[not fooled]

21. Part of it

had to divvy up with the chump crime family and their backers.

[cstanleytech]

8. Any chance he can be charged criminally later on for contempt

or something for this?

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Grand larceny - theft in progress

In my view, it's stolen until accounted for. When unknown charges show up on your credit card, you report it, and authorities look into it. Well this is taxpayers' credit card.

[Evolve Dammit]

10. Such fucking bullshit. Most corrupt administration in my lifetime. Biden/Harris/Warren/Demings/Abra

hms. Any of the above, and there is a deep bench that others would all be fine. Let's get it done and remove these assholes from control of OUR money and OUR government and OUR future. As Carlin said: "We know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for you. And now they're coming for your Social Security. And they'll get it too, and give it to their rich, criminal friends on Wall St."

[SunSeeker]

13. Now we KNOW the money was stolen.

JAIL HIM!

[moonseller66]

14. Congress to 'MUNCHKIN' to CEOs to Cayman to Trump

Wanna bet a good deal of the funds certain CEOs are funnelling back to some account overseas trump has?

[yonder]

15. How can the public funding of private business be proprietary?

Something is seriously wrong here.

[warmfeet]

16. Hard to believe that lying scumbags

would continue to lie, and to be scumbags.

It strains credulity.

[MarcA]

17. "Proprietary Information" the new "National Defense" excuse. n/t

[Karadeniz]

18. A new administration needs to enact laws that give Congress absolute power to oversee,

No getting around it or ignoring a summons on pain of incarceration until cooperation is forthcoming.

[yaesu]

19. so, since the repukes aren't living up to the rules of the last stimulus package I think the House

should demand $12,000 be sent to every American. If repukes can make their own rules we should also.

[yaesu]

20. and don't ever fall for the crap that wall street is good for you, or will help you, or is a part

of the real economy, it isn't, its a casino owned by the rich elite to suck whatever they can from working Americans.

[seta1950]

22. It's aggravating

They act as if this country is their private ATM machine

[Beartracks]

23. "There has never been, ever before, an administration that's been so open and transparent."

-- Trump, May 20, 2019

=========

[duforsure]

24. Mnuchin hopefully by this time next year

Will be headed to prion when they find out all he's done.

[cynical_idealist]

29. great freudian slip there

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Transmissible-Spongiform-Encephalopathies-Information-Page

aka prion
just reward

[Kid Berwyn]

25. Mnuchin at the Trough of Public Service

[oasis]

28. Oh no you don't. You think you're slick but, you're not gonna slide.

[SWBTATTReg]

30. The public deserves to know where this money is going and how it is being spent. Period.

By keeping mum on who's getting the money, this raises a real flag in accountability and fiscal responsibility. I can't believe that Nancy P. allowed such a bill to go forth, without any accountability or the like. Perhaps one reason all of the inspector generals have been fired, that perhaps had an oversight over how these funds are spent and/or used. I suspect very strongly that rump is stealing some of this money somehow and the Senate republicans, all thugs, are in it too, knee deep.