Head of Google's Washington office stepping aside

Former Republican Rep. Susan Molinari is stepping down as the head of Google's Washington office at the end of the year, the company said today, a change in policy leadership that comes at one of the most politically fraught times in the company's history. Google and other tech giants face a wave of criticism in Washington over their handling of foreign election meddling, political speech and data privacy. They're also still reeling from Congress, in a landmark first, chipping away this year at their broad immunity from being held liable for user-posted content. Google in particular has also been snarled in controversy involving work for the Defense Department. The company said earlier this year it would let a contract to provide artificial intelligence technology to the Pentagon expire in 2019 after employees raised concerns about their work being used by the military. Critics pounced on the company's decision as unpatriotic.

Google has sought to defray Washington scrutiny in part by spending big on influence efforts, and Molinari's ultimate replacement will inherit a large and growing lobbying portfolio. Google spent more than $18 million on federal lobbying last year, disclosure records show, ranking it among the biggest spenders of any corporation. In June, Google hired Karan Bhatia, a former George W. Bush administration official and policy chief at GE, to head its global policy team from Washington. He will oversee Molinari's replacement.

Molinari will stay at the company as a senior adviser to "build relationships externally" with members of Congress, political parties and state representatives. In a statement, Molinari cited family changes in the last year as her reason for leaving the position after nearly seven years. "I was looking for the right time to step back and step away and now that we have a global policy leader, I am comfortable in making the transition," she said. Kent Walker, whom Google promoted in July to senior vice president of global affairs, praised Molinari in a statement as a "passionate leader" who has "brought extraordinary experience and political judgement to her work." But Google's relationship with Washington has become increasingly strained in the last years of Molinari's tenure.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/02/google-washington-head-stepping-aside-911804

Supreme Court allows census trial to go forward

The Supreme Court is allowing a trial over the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census to go forward over the Trump administration’s objection. The justices’ issued a brief order Friday rejecting the administration’s request to postpone the trial, set to begin Monday in New York.

More than a dozen states and big cities, among others, have sued over Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ decision to add a citizenship question to the census for the first time since 1950. The lawsuits argue that Ross acted improperly and that the question will discourage immigrants from participating, diluting political representation and federal dollars for states that tend to vote Democratic. The administration has said the question will allow the Justice Department to enforce the Voting Rights Act more effectively. Last week, the justices blocked the questioning of Ross in advance of the trial, but allowed other preparations to continue.

The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman, said evidence suggests that Ross may have decided to add the question before asking the Justice Department to request it. He also cited proof Ross had overruled senior Census Bureau staff who concluded adding it was very costly and would harm the census count. “Most significant, the Court found reason to believe that Secretary Ross had provided false explanations of his reasons for, and the genesis of, the citizenship question,” Furman said. Last month, Ross, in a Justice Department filing, said he now remembers speaking with former senior White House adviser Steve Bannon last year about adding a citizenship question to the census. He also recalled discussing the matter with Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the spring of 2017 and at other times, Justice Department lawyers wrote in the filing. Ross had previously testified under oath that he was unaware of discussions between himself and anyone in the White House on the subject.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court pick, would have delayed the trial. The vote of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s other nominee, was not clear from the order, but it would have taken the votes of two more justices to prevent the trial from taking place.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/02/supreme-court-census-trial-959367

Turkish official: Jamal Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid

Advisor to President Erdoğan says ‘the reason they dismembered Khashoggi’s body was to dissolve his remains more easily.’

The body of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dissolved in acid after his murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “The reason they dismembered Khashoggi’s body was to dissolve his remains more easily,” Yamal Aktay said in an interview with Hurriyet Daily newspaper. “Now we see that they did not only dismember his body but also vaporized it.” “The murder of an innocent person is one crime,” Aktay said. “The treatment of the body is a separate crime.”

Late last month, Erdoğan said the 18 men arrested by Saudi Arabia and suspected of involvement in what he called the “gruesome murder” of Khashoggi should face trial in Turkey. “This is my proposal and my request because this is where the incident took place,” he told his parliamentary group.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post, citing an unnamed official, said “biological evidence” found in the consulate’s garden suggested that because of acid “Khashoggi’s body was not in need of burying.” The journalist’s body has still not been found a month after his disappearance on October 2, when he entered the consulate.

https://www.politico.eu/article/khashoggi-jamal-body-saudi-arabia-turkey-official-body-was-dissolved-in-acid/

>>3706080

This will just expose the leftist think for what it really is…looking forward to the line of questioning that the Justices will use to decide this one..

>>3706175

That thought had crossed my mind, there seem to be a lot of soft exposures in the news this last week, this also could be one of them.

>>3706218

Agreed, I think that he is still alive, but this story I think serves a larger purpose, in soft disclosure of the evil…think Standard Hotel like…