glittering steel
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, behind the scenes, the reclusive Mercer took the opportunity to put his unlimited funds into the service of his extreme vision of limited government.
This trail is fleshed out in the “cover-up” segment. No coincidence that the three entities in question share the same building address in Los Angeles. They are Breitbart News, Glittering Steel Productions, and the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies —where Mercer was co-CEO. (Note: Mercer has since stepped down.) At RenTech, Mercer used the trading algorithm he innovated to make a fortune. That mathematics morphed into a technology for other purposes.
Mercer has become a top billionaire on the political scene. Besides his own family foundation, he funds a host of conservative think tanks. Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr gives advice on how to get a clear picture of Mercer’s game plan: “Follow the money.”
Tax documents clearly map the recipients of Mercer’s support. Unsurprisingly, the Heritage Foundation, the Media Research Center, the Government Accountability Institute, and the Heartland Institute are on the list. Mercer also paid for an ad against the placement of a mosque near the World Trade Center locality.
In 2011, Mercer invested $10 million in Breibart News, developing a designated media arm to promote his point of view. Steve Bannon took over the Breibart helm and publicly pronounced his goal of “deconstructing the government of the United States.”
As the 2016 election season geared up, Mercer backed Ted Cruz and put $13 million into Cruz’s “Keep the Promise” campaign. As Trump decimated his opponents, Mercer shifted his allegiance to Trump — to the tune of $15 million.
With major money invested in Trump, Mercer moved to take over the campaign reins in July of 2016. His daughter Rebekah met with Trump and offered more money —along with the “talents” of Bannon to spearhead the campaign. Conway, formerly on board the Mercer train for Cruz, and Bossie, joined the team.
Trump remaining unbeholden to outside interests was no longer remotely tenable. Key clues to the incestuous entanglements became clear when monies and paper trails became evident by looking at records filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). There were no payments in the Trump campaign for Bannon’s salary. However, through a Mercer PAC, there are recurring payments to Glittering Steel, the company run by Bannon. In five months, the production company received $302,000.
The Campaign Legal Center has filed a complaint maintaining that Glittering Steel is a front for Bannon, while noting that Mercer’s company and Breitbart News are in the same office building.
The third, and most powerful section, is what Huchon has been building toward. He tracks back to his original query: How did Trump win the election?
That piece of the puzzle begins with the London firm, Strategic Communications Library (SCL). Their mission is to evaluate data to determine “what impacts people and how they think.” It’s known as “Psychological operations (PSYOP).”...
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April 12, 2017
Submitted via U.S. Mail
Honorable Xavier Becerra
California Attorney General
1300 I Street
Sacramento, CA
Honorable Alex Padilla
California Secretary of State
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Glittering Steel LLC’s Alleged Violations of the California Corporations Code
Dear Mr. Becerra and Mr. Padilla:
We write to bring to your attention potential violations of the California Corporations Code by
Glittering Steel LLC, which is chaired by Stephen Bannon.
Glittering Steel LLC is registered in Delaware as a Limited Liability Corporation, and has
engaged in a pattern of intrastate commerce in California, but has not registered with the
California Secretary of State and provided the public disclosures required under state law.
A limited liability corporation incorporated outside of California may not transact intrastate
business in California without first having registered with the California Secretary of State and
obtained a certificate of qualification.1 California Corporations Code defines “transacting
intrastate” as entering into repeated and successive transactions of its business in California
(other than interstate or foreign commerce).2
According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, an independent expenditure-only
political action committee (“super PAC”) called Make America Number 1 reported making
dozens of payments to Glittering Steel LLC throughout 2015 and 2016 at a California address,
==
Complaint: Against Glittering Steel LLC
Apr 12, 2017
CLC filed a complaint with the State of California Attorney General alleging violations of the California Corporations Code by Steve Bannon's company Glittering Steel LLC.
New Evidence Suggests Mercer-Backed Super PAC Unlawfully Coordinated with Trump Campaign
Apr 12, 2017
CLC filed new evidence with the FEC alleging that the super PAC Make America Number 1 made illegal contributions to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. CLC also asked the State of California to investigate a company owned by Bannon, Glittering Steel LLC, for failing to comply with state registration and public disclosure laws.
*Bloomberg BNA*: Trump Chief Strategist’s Firm May Be Evading California Tax
Apr 18, 2017
The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) asked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) and Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) in an April 12 letter to investigate whether the company, Glittering Steel LLC, is violating the California Corporations Code.
*Newseek:*Meet Robert Mercer, the mysterious billionaire benefactor of Breitbart
Nov 21, 2016
The entanglements involving the Mercer family, the Make America Number 1 super PAC and the Trump campaign are confusing. They may also be illegal. In a complaint to the FEC, the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that defends campaign ethics, alleged in October that the Trump campaign paid Bannon and Conway illegally by funneling money to them through Make America Number 1. FEC records show that after the pair joined the campaign, the PAC gave money to Conway’s polling company and to Glittering Steel, a film production company Bannon is affiliated with. (He is said to run the elusive company and wrote and produced two of its films, Clinton Cashand Torchbearer.)
*The Daily Beast*: Complaint: Bannon, Mercer Dodged California Taxes
Apr 14, 2017
That indicates that the companies were engaged in intrastate commerce in California, according to a complaint filed with the state’s attorney general and secretary of State on Wednesday by the Campaign Legal Center, a legal watchdog group.
*Raw Story*:Watchdog ‘has evidence’ Bannon illegally received super PAC payments while leading Trump’s campaign
Apr 12, 2017
“The evidence suggests that the Mercer-backed super PAC secretly subsidized Bannon’s work for the Trump campaign by payments to ‘Glittering Steel,’ which we now know has been chaired and is owned by Bannon and which paid him a monthly consulting fee,” said Brendan Fischer — the director of the federal and FEC reform program at the CLC.
*Law Newz*: Watchdog Claims They Have Evidence Bannon Was Illegally Paid as Trump’s Campaign Chair
Apr 12, 2017
“The evidence suggests that the Mercer-backed super PAC secretly subsidized Bannon’s work for the Trump campaign by payments to ‘Glittering Steel,’ which we now know has been chaired and is owned by Bannon and which paid him a monthly consulting fee,” Brendan Fischer, director of the federal and FEC reform program at the Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement obtained by LawNewz.com.
*MapLight*: Watchdog: ‘Reason To Believe’ Trump And Super PAC Violated Election Law
Apr 12, 2017
“As a result, as Bannon worked for the Trump campaign without pay, he continued to benefit, directly or indirectly, from the estimated $267,500 in payments that Make America Number 1 made to Glittering Steel LLC after or around his officially joining the campaign,” wrote the Campaign Legal Center's general counsel, Larry Noble.
*The Daily Beast:* Was Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s Attack Dog, Paid Illegally?
Nov 15, 2016
At issue are payments of nearly $200,000 that a super PAC called Make America Number 1 made to a company tied to Bannon. On Aug. 17, Bannon left his post as chairman of Breitbart News and became the Trump campaign’s CEO. Available FEC filings show the campaign didn’t pay Bannon a salary. Larry Noble, General Counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, said he believes the super PAC covertly paid Bannon for his campaign work through his moviemaking company. Neither the super PAC nor Bannon provided a response to Noble’s comment.
Press Release: New Evidence of Illegal Compensation to Steve Bannon by Mercer-Backed Super PAC
Dec 2, 2016
CLC presented new evidence to the Federal Election Commission alleging that the super PAC Make America Number 1 illegally compensated Steve Bannon’s work as Donald Trump’s campaign CEO.
*Politicus USA*: Reeling Republicans Rocked As Evidence Surfaces That Trump Took Illegal Contributions
Apr 12, 2017
The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed new evidence with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the super PAC Make America Number 1 made illegal contributions to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign...
*Bloomberg*: Bannon Gets Approval to Sell Holdings in Data and Film Companies
Apr 25, 2017
In a complaint to the FEC filed in October, the Campaign Legal Center alleged that the super-PAC illegally subsidized Bannon’s work with the Trump campaign by making payments to both firms after he had joined Trump. The FEC hasn’t publicly said whether it’s acting on the complaint.
*Politico:*The heiress quietly shaping Trump’s operation
Nov 21, 2016
The nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign Legal Center, in a complaint to the FEC, flagged the work by Conway’s firm for the super PAC and the Trump campaign, as well as a $15,000 payment by Make America Number 1 to a video production company owned by Bannon called Glittering Steel and the payments by the super PAC and campaign to Cambridge Analytica.
*Law Newz:*Watchdog Group Accuses Super PAC of Secretly, Illegally Funneling Money to Steve Bannon
Dec 2, 2016
The Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan Washington D.C. watchdog group, sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission alleging that the super PAC Make America Number 1 illegally funneled money to Steve Bannon for work he did as Donald Trump‘s campaign CEO. Bannon has since been named Chief Strategist to President-elect Trump. CLC filed a complaint with the Commission in October alleging illegal coordination, but they sent another letter on Friday to provide what they call additional “evidence.”
*The New Yorker*: The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind The Trump Presidency
Mar 27, 2017
Although Mercer has recently become an object of media speculation, Trevor Potter, the president of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group, who formerly served as the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said, “I have no idea what his political views are—they’re unknown, not just to the public but also to most people who’ve been active in politics for the past thirty years.” Potter, a Republican, sees Mercer as emblematic of a major shift in American politics that has occurred since 2010, when the Supreme Court made a controversial ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
*Bloomberg BNA:*FEC to Eye Super PAC’s Hiring of Trump Campaign Workers
Dec 5, 2016
The ability of super PACs and other outside groups to influence elections has increased sharply in recent years and can be far greater than the power of candidates operating on their own with limited funding. If super PACs and candidates can work hand-in-glove, candidate contribution limits could become meaningless, according to critics such as the watchdog group Campaign Legal Center (CLC).