Bloomberg News Fined Over $7 Million For Fake News Report In France

Bloomberg News was fined $7.6 million, or five million euros, for reporting fake news that caused shares of French construction company Vinci to tumble.

Two journalists on the Speed Desk of the Paris office of the outlet, owned by Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg, reported on Nov. 22, 2016, on a press release that was purportedly from Vinci, according to AMF, a financial markets watchdog in France.

The release was titled: “Vinci undertakes an audit of its consolidated accounts for 2015 and the first half of 2016.”

The desk pushes out real-time financial information from press releases and other sources in the form of newsflashes or alerts.

The alleged statement said Vinci fired its chief financial officer and had discovered major accounting errors, prompting the company to issue updated figures for 2015 and the first two quarters of 2016, which resulted in a net loss instead of profits for the time period in question.

But the statement wasn’t actually from Vinci. It was posted on a website, vinci.group, that looked like Vinci’s site, vinci.com, but was not the company’s legitimate website. The fake website included an erroneous address and a mobile phone number that didn’t match the number for Vinci’s spokesman, according to AFP.

After the report, shares of Vinci fell 18 percent, erasing six billion euros from the company’s value. Vinci later issued a statement denying the report and its shares recovered. Vinci filed a legal complaint to the AMF.

Xavier Huillard, chairman of French construction group Vinci, addresses the group’s general meeting in Paris on April 17, 2019. (Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images)

A page for the company on the Bloomberg News website lists the correct phone number and website but there are no stories from November 2016 about Vinci. It’s not clear if the company ever apologized for pushing the false information.

AMF, said that Bloomberg News distributed “information that it should have known was false.”

“In considering that Bloomberg LP disseminated information which it should have known to be false, the Enforcement Committee noted that the publication of the dispatches by Bloomberg, which began one minute after receiving the fraudulent news release, was preceded by no verification by the journalists of the Speed Desk, even though the release, which contained several errors, sent to Bloomberg during a trading session and reporting very serious information, suggesting that a dramatic and immediate drop in the share price was likely, required increased vigilance from the journalists,” it said in a statement.

Ethics in journalism requires verifying information prior to publication, which the outlet didn’t do, AMF said.

“The Committee stressed that the protection enjoyed by journalists is subject to the condition that they act in good faith so as to provide information that is accurate and credible,” it stated. The watchdog said that Bloomberg News could appeal.

The fine was the first levied against a media outlet in France, according to the Financial Times.

In a statement sent to news outlets, a spokesman said Bloomberg News would appeal and tried portraying the outlet as a victim.

“Bloomberg News was one of the victims of a sophisticated hoax, like the company that was directly targeted by the fraudsters, and the many other press agencies who were all victims of the same deception,” the statement said.

“We regret that the AMF did not find and punish the perpetrator of the hoax, and chose instead to penalise a media outlet that was doing its very best to report on what appeared to be newsworthy information. “

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bloomberg-news-fined-over-7-million-fake-news-report-france

CNN's Chris Cuomo Hates His 'Fredo' Nickname, Yet Insists on Calling Trump 'Dirty Donald'

Chris Cuomo of CNN made headlines this summer when he reacted angrily to being given the nickname of “Fredo” in reference to Fredo Corleone from the “Godfather” movies.

But rather than avoid the subject of nicknames, Cuomo waded into it recently by trying to hang the moniker of #DirtyDonald on President Donald Trump.

Media Research Center analyst Ryan Foley said that Cuomo’s foray into hashtags to slam the president made him “essentially indistinguishable from a Democratic activist”

Political satirist Tim Young found hypocrisy in Cuomo’s actions, according to Fox News.

“Cuomo is now officially playing the game that we’ve seen the left play since Trump won the Republican nomination in 2016, where if a joke or joke nickname I made about them, they scream that it’s the end of world… but when they do it, it’s perfectly alright,” Young said.

Despite Cuomo’s efforts to push his preferred hashtag, his own nickname of “Fredo,” given to him in a viral video confrontation over the summer, is going strong on Twitter. During the confrontation, Cuomo said the name “Fredo” was “like the N-word for us,” referring to Italian-Americans.

https://twitter.com/ChrisCuomo/status/1205839979160711168

Trump has emerged as the king of political nicknames, having created labels such as “Crooked Hillary” for 2016 antagonist Hillary Clinton and “Lyin’ Ted” for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas when the two were dueling for the Republican presidential nomination.

His use of nicknames is such that earlier this year, the publication Roll Call rated his top nicknames, giving the top two places to Trump’s jabs at 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.

Roll Call rated as Trump’s top creation his use of “Pocahontas” for Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as a piece of Trumpian mockery of her claim that she was part Native American.

Second place went to Trump’s use of “Sleepy Joe” to mock former Vice President Joe Biden.

Roll Call also made a list in 2018 and cited Trump for nicknames such as “Little Rocket Man” for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as well as two hits from the 2016 Republican primary days — “Low Energy Jeb” for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and “Little Marco” for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

https://www.westernjournal.com/cnns-chris-cuomo-hates-fredo-nickname-yet-insists-calling-trump-dirty-donald/

NY Gov Cuomo Won't Let Judges Officiate Weddings Because Trump Nominated Some of Them

Few could honestly argue against the assertion that Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome and has allowed his hatred for the president to intrude upon virtually everything he says and does.

His veto of an innocuous and overwhelmingly bipartisan bill passed by both the state Assembly and state Senate only served to confirm just how petty and far-reaching his disdain for Trump and all who are associated with him goes.

On Sunday, the New York Post reported that Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have allowed all federal judges, even those located outside of the state, to officiate marriages within New York.

The governor’s stated reason for issuing that veto? Some of those judges might have been appointed by Trump, a thought he simply couldn’t abide.

“I cannot in good conscience support legislation that would authorize such actions by federal judges who are appointed by this federal administration,” Cuomo said in a Friday statement.

“President Trump does not embody who we are as New Yorkers,” the governor added. “The cornerstones that built our great state are diversity, tolerance, and inclusion. Based on these reasons, I must veto this bill.”

The Post noted that under existing New York law, all state-level judges are allowed to officiate marriages in their official capacity, as are a plethora of others across the state, including the governor, current and former mayors, some city clerks, local justices, members of the clergy and even citizens who’ve been specially ordained for the purpose.

The current law also allows some federal judges, such as those from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the four federal districts of the state, to officiate weddings as well. All the law would have done was extend that authority to all federally appointed judges, including those seated outside the state.

It is also worth pointing out that the bill enjoyed huge bipartisan support in the Democrat-controlled legislature, as it passed the state Assembly by a vote of 148-2 and in the Senate by a vote of 61-1. None of that mattered to the TDS-afflicted governor, however.

Nick Langworthy, the chairman of the state Republican Party, said of Cuomo’s veto, “It’s hard to imagine a more petty, small action from a sitting governor, but that’s Prince Andrew in a nutshell.”

Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive and previous gubernatorial challenger to Cuomo, said the governor’s veto was “absurd” and noted that “couples can and do make the decision about who should officiate their most special day themselves.”

“My gosh, this state allows about any official to be a marriage officer,” he added. “Why should a federal judge not have the same ability?”

Nor was it just Republicans who called out Cuomo for his partisan veto of a decidedly nonpartisan bill, as was revealed in a statement released by Democratic state Sen. Liz Krueger, a sponsor of the “no-brainer” bill.

“Four years ago, we gave the governor the ability to perform marriages. Two years ago, we gave legislators that ability. So when it was suggested to me that we expand it to federal judges, I thought, ‘Why not? The more the merrier!'” Krueger told The Post. “I’m certainly no fan of the judges this president is choosing to appoint, but since any New Yorker can become a minister online for $25 and legally perform weddings, I didn’t consider this to be a major issue.”

Sen. Krueger is right: This isn’t a “major issue” — at least until Cuomo decided to inject his overt partisan hatred for the president into it.

This is arguably one of the dumbest things the governor has ever done — and that is saying a lot — and is further proof that he has no business being the leader of New York.

https://www.westernjournal.com/ny-gov-cuomo-wont-let-judges-officiate-weddings-trump-nominated/

Catherine Herridge is highlighting IG details damning to Comey one tweet at a time and it’s brutal

CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge has continued digging through IG Michael Horowitz’ report and finding even less reason for James Comey to claim it vindicated him.

The CBS News senior investigative correspondent posted a series of tweets about her observations on the Department of Justice inspector general’s report on the FBI’s Russia investigation, making it clear that Comey and others were far from vindicated as he had claimed.

The former FBI director took a premature victory lap with the release of the report and later attempted to downplay his role in the investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign.

“So it was all lies. No treason. No spying on the campaign. No tapping Trumps wires. It was just good people trying to protect America,” he tweeted.

And in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last year, Comey expressed his “total confidence” in the bureau’s agents that the FISA process was followed. But last week he admitted he was wrong while still claiming the report’s damning finding of errors and omissions were just due to “sloppiness.”

Herridge continued to pour through Horowitz’s report and noted even more eyebrow-raising observations.

IG Horowitz: McCabe gave three reasons Steele dossier should be included 2017 Russia intel assessment, “President Obama had requested ‘everything…relevant,” FBI “confidence” Steele, “widely circulated…government and media circles” Pg 179 McCabe does not prevail #Durham #FISA pic.twitter.com/3I5hm3jbDK

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 21, 2019

#IGHorowitz Agent Strzok “believed that the FBI may have furnished the Steele election reports to the intelligence service of a friendly foreign government” but no “specific recollection” Pg 177 #DurhamReport #footnotesmatter pic.twitter.com/R334QRWfhG

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 21, 2019

“The more you read, the more you find,” Herridge noted in one tweet with images of the highlighted report and her notes.

According to Comey email 1/7/2017 Steele reporting “indicated Russia had files of derogatory information on both Clinton and the President-elect.” Comey pressed by Trump team member for clarity p180 #MyHighlighter The more you read, the more you find #Durham #FISA pic.twitter.com/fS0CxZxHAq

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 21, 2019

#IGHorowitz “We asked Comey whether he recalled having any conversations with then CIA Director John Brennan” or others about how the Steele reporting “should be presented to the President.” Comey: “maybe more than one” about how Steele “integrated” into ICA p179 #Durham #emails pic.twitter.com/OKx8bNqIcj

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 22, 2019

Comey’s assertions to President Trump about the FBI not investigation the allegations in the Steele dossier seem to be refuted by the IG’s report.

#FISA January 2017 Comey told President-elect Trump FBI didn’t know if Steele allegations true, and “FBI not investigating them” Note: IG Horowitz reports “In mid-November and December 2016, FBI officials travelled abroad” to asses credibility Steele p182. #MyHighlighter #Durham pic.twitter.com/T93wwl8yuX

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 22, 2019

Witness told IG Horowitz that CIA saw Steele reporting as “internet rumor” Goes into appendix not main 2017 Russian election meddling report. Comey said Steele reporting “not ripe enough, not mature enough.” Days later, Comey briefs to President-elect P178-180 #Durham #FISA pic.twitter.com/uzt0YH3HkE

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 23, 2019

Apparently Comey either thought no one would actually be reading the report from Horowitz or perhaps he did not even read it himself, as some Twitter users surmised.

These records clearly show Comey is a liar, yet Comey is still doing news shows and acting like the injured party over being fired. He actually did a victory lap after THIS REPORT came out saying that he lied to his then Commander and Chief. Did he think no one would read report? https://t.co/yvkJqrAmWY

— Jennifer Johnson (@BusyMommaJ) December 23, 2019

Why is Catherine the only one finding these items?? These are all huge points she’s making

— Reality Beaker (@RealityBeaker) December 23, 2019

Your highlighter is mightier than the sword!

— Anne 🐾🐾 (@TheFeistyPoodle) December 23, 2019

All roads lead to Obama. He knew ‘everything’, according to Page and Strzok.

— Bonny Wright🐝 (@miamivandynyu) December 21, 2019

Oh gee what a surprise! Comey lied. #lyingcomey #ImpeachmentSham

— rayray (@rayrayaz123) December 23, 2019

https://www.bizpacreview.com/2019/12/23/catherine-herridge-is-highlighting-ig-details-damning-to-comey-one-tweet-at-a-time-and-its-brutal-867722

Vox: Trump’s Judges More Qualified than Obama’s

President Donald Trump boasts that he is nominating judges to the federal bench at a faster pace than President Barack Obama did. It turns out that Trump’s judges are not only more conservative, but also more qualified, too.

As Vox.com noted last week:

There’s no completely objective way to measure legal ability, but a common metric used by legal employers to identify the most gifted lawyers is whether those lawyers secured a federal clerkship, including the most prestigious clerkships at the Supreme Court. Approximately 40 percent of Trump’s appellate nominees clerked for a Supreme Court justice, and about 80 percent clerked on a federal court of appeals. That compares to less than a quarter of Obama’s nominees who clerked on the Supreme Court, and less than half with a federal appellate clerkship.

In other words, based solely on objective legal credentials, the average Trump appointee has a far more impressive résumé than any past president’s nominees.

And they’re young, too. “The average age of circuit judges appointed by President Trump is less than 50 years old,” the Trump White House bragged in early November, “a full 10 years younger than the average age of President Obama’s circuit nominees.”

While accusing Trump of “goonish incompetence,” Vox.com was forced to acknowledge that Trump is having a “transformative” effect on the federal courts: “The judiciary is where policy is made in the United States. And that policy is likely to be made by Republican judges for the foreseeable future.”

(From a conservative perspective, the adjective “restorative” would replace “transformative”; conservatives judges generally aim to curb judicial remaking of the law.)

Obama appointed 268 district court judges over eight years, while Trump has only appointed 112 through three. But one-quarter of all appellate judges are Trump appointees — and, Politico noted Monday, Trump is even remaking the most liberal appeals court, the Ninth Circuit.

Trump essentially outsourced judicial selection to the conservative Federalist Society, offering to do so during the 2016 Republican presidential primary at a crucial moment when opposition to his candidacy threatened to consolidate.

By keeping his promise to nominate constitutional conservatives to the bench, Trump has retained the support of his party and important constituencies, especially evangelical Christians.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/23/vox-trumps-judges-more-qualified-than-obamas/

>>7611771

>>>7611748 (You) Herridge doing great journalism at CBS.

Baker, it's your bread, but wouldn't it be better to have original title of article or at least mention of Comey in notable for easier searching later on?

>>7611833

Great meme.

>>7611957

I'm not a meme-maker but this gif looks ripe meme-ing. He and Barr resemble one another!

>>7611987

Back to Rebbit wif you.

>>7612015

Hunter Biden bought LA home — 99.5% under value?

Turns out he got that Hollywood Hills place for a song - $14,000.

It pays to be a Biden.

Hunter Biden, former vice president Joe Biden’s son, bought his Los Angeles home earlier this year at a deep, deep discount, Ann Coulter says.

The columnist posted a screenshot of the Zillow listing for Biden’s LA house, which is estimated to be worth nearly $2.5 million.

https://twitter.com/AnnCoulter/status/1209551792696111107

But the site states the house sold for just $14,000 in June.

That’s a 99.5 percent discount!

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom home “sits at the end of a private gated drive and includes a pool.”

Biden is in the midst of a paternity claim from an Arkansas woman who recently proved her baby is his.

Fox Business reports:

The mother of Hunter Biden’s child says the son of former vice president and Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden is refusing to answer any questions pertaining to his “basic” lifestyle and finances as the hearing in their tumultuous paternity case approaches, court papers show.

Lunden Roberts and the younger Biden are embroiled in a bitter court battle in Arkansas surrounding their 16-month-old baby, whom Roberts has argued he should support, according to court records and multiple reports.

Court documents claim Biden “has provided no support for this child for over a year. The Court should not let the defendant continue to avoid his natural and legal duty to support his child by failing to provide basic information about his income, finances, and lifestyle.”

Biden was paid as much as $50,000 a month for work on the Burisma Holdings board, according to the New York Times.

http://www.theamericanmirror.com/hunter-biden-bought-la-home-99-5-under-value/

>>7612171

BDAnon?

>>7612221

I prefer death by hanging or firing squad. Still legal in UT.