Michael Bloomberg makes direct appeal to vote Democratic in $5 million ad campaign

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City mayor and potential 2020 presidential candidate, launched a $5 million advertising blitz Sunday featuring himself to encourage voters to cast ballots for Democratic candidates this 2018 midterm election cycle. "I've never been a particularly partisan person. I've supported candidates from both sides, but at this moment we must send a signal to Republicans in Washington that they have failed to lead, failed to find solutions, and failed to bring us together," Bloomberg says in the ad, the first of three national campaigns in which he appears. "That's why I'm voting Democratic. America is the greatest nation on Earth, and for all our sakes, we must start becoming the United States of America once again."

Bloomberg on Sunday shared the two-minute spot, paid for by his Independence USA PAC, on Twitter. The Washington Post reported Sunday that the ad, which premiered during CBS News' "60 Minutes" program, would air again Monday during network evening news bulletins, as well as on MSNBC and CNN. It will also be strategically broadcast during shows President Trump watches. Bloomberg has spent about $110 million ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections. This latest ad buy further stokes speculation he will challenge Trump in 2020.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/michael-bloomberg-makes-direct-appeal-to-vote-democratic-in-5-million-ad-campaign

DOJ Investigates 'Mystery' Goldman Executive Involved In $4.5 Billion 1MDB Fraud

Last week, the DOJ filed the first round of criminal charges related to the massive international fraud that was the 1MDB scandal. US prosecutors allege that more than $4.5 billion was embezzled from the sovereign wealth fund, which was set up by the government of disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak, eventually leading the ransacked government fund to a default on nearly $2 billion of local currency bonds, briefly denting the value of the Malaysian ringgit. Holders of those bonds are still working on a restructuring deal with the fund. Meanwhile, former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia Chief Tim Leissner has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is expected to cooperate with authorities against other more-senior officials at the bank. One of his fellow bankers, Roger Ng, was arrested by Malaysian police and is expected to be extradited to the US. There's little doubt that the scandal, which Goldman has, in typical Goldman fashion, tried to pin on a "few rogue employees," will lead to massive fines and possibly other penalties. The bank admitted as much in a regulatory filing on Friday, even suggesting that "other sanctions" - code for a guilty plea for the bank or even more severe penalties levied by the Treasury - could be forthcoming, per Reuters. Leissner has already admitted that he accepted more than $200 million in stolen funds in an illegal kickback tied to the deal, as well as bribery charges related to his pursuit of the 1MDB deals. And as more details trickle out, the blithe disregard for US securities laws - and even the bank's own compliance department - attributed to Leissner and his team is looking even more galling.

All of this is happening at a terrible time for Goldman. It recently underwent a leadership transition, with longtime former CEO Lloyd Blankfein handing the reins to John Solomon, who is best known for moonlighting as an EDM DJ. Blankfein's former second-in-command, Gary Cohn, left the bank nearly two years ago to join the Trump Administration. And as the breadth of the scandal - and the likelihood that the bank's most senior employees may have looked the other way (though, to be sure, Blankfein has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Goldman's role) - becomes increasingly apparent, the timing of Blankfein's exit is looking more and more suspect. Public perception polling shows that Goldman has never quite managed to shake the "Vampire Squid" moniker that it earned during the financial crisis, according to Bloomberg.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/doj-investigates-mystery-goldman-executive-involved-45-billion-1mdb-fraud

>>3737303

Yeah we need to forget him like a bad dream!

>>3737312 They are desperate, more to come

>>3737341 No matter what he identifies as, he likes to throw his monetary weight around plain and simple. Money can't buy everything!

>>3737679 He might need some for his legal defense.. with the games he's been playing.