https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/15/20849072/joe-biden-iraq-history-democrats-election-2020
''Malarkey''
Sen. Joe Biden reads documents prior to a news conference on Capitol Hill on December 13, 2005. Alex Wong/Getty Images
https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/29/treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-wont-recuse-on-gamestop-despite-getting-almost-a-million-from-citadel/
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Won’t Recuse On GameStop Despite Getting Almost A Million From Citadel
JANUARY 29, 2021 By Kylee Zempel
Despite an $810,000 conflict of interest, newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will not recuse herself from advising President Joe Biden on the ongoing hedge fund mania with Robinhood and GameStop.
When asked during a Thursday White House press conference whether Yellen would recuse herself from advising the president on the ongoing $GME stock shorting after having been previously paid upwards of $1 million in speaking fees from Robinhood’s largest customer, Press Secretary Jen Psaki didn’t seem to have a problem with relying on the new Democratic Treasury secretary’s counsel.
“Separate from the GameStop issue, the secretary of the Treasury is one of the world-renowned experts on markets, on the economy. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone she was paid to give her perspective and advice before she came into office,” Psaki told reporters, ignoring the obvious conflict of interest.
Psaki also seemed to imply it was sexist to mention Yellen’s conflict of interest because she’s a woman.
President Joe Biden's Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismissed concerns over potential conflicts of interest of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after it was revealed that she had been paid to speak at Citadel LLC.
https://thepostmillennial.com/watch-biden-press-sec-defends-janet-yellins-big-wall-street-paydays-amid-conflict-of-interest-concerns
Citadel, a hedge fund, bailed out Melvin Capital, another hedge fund, after it lost billions of dollars by attempting to short GameStop stocks. While GameStop had been on the decline for quite some time, creating the appearance of a safe investment, it experienced a sudden and unprecedented surge in price when thousands of independent investors purchased stocks of the company.
Citadel also has a relationship with the trading app Robinhood, with Fortune reporting that Citadel, along with a number of other companies, paid Robinhood nearly $100 million in the first quarter of 2020 alone. Robinhood became the subject of controversy after it began preventing its users from purchasing shares in GameStop and a few other companies which have been affected by the short squeeze.
As leaders in the finance industry have called for intervention from the federal government, the Psaki said on Wednesday that Yellen was 'monitoring' the situation, leading some to point out that she had previously received $800,000 in speaking fees from Citadel, a potential conflict of interest given its extensive financial ties to Robinhood and Melvin Capital.