Thread: Harry Reid personally pressured DHS on behalf of son’s casino project

Harry Reid personally pressured DHS on behalf of son’s casino project



Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid took an intense interest in pushing through visas for dozens of shady Asian investors for a Las Vegas casino represented by his son, Rory Reid, documents and reports show.
The investors, who were flagged for “suspicious financial activity,” had initially been denied visas by the Department of Homeland Security in a process that usually does not allow for appeals.
In a Dec. 5, 2012 email to officials at the Department of Homeland Security obtained by The Washington Times, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Legislative Affairs official Miguel Rodriguez wrote, “This one is going to be a major headache for us all because Sen. Reid’s office/staff is pushing hard and I just had a long yelling match on the phone.”
The investors were interested in renovating the SLS Hotel — which was once the Sahara. SLS is represented by Sen. Reid’s son, Rory Reid, who works at the law firm Lionel, Sawyer & Collins. In their 2012 “Year in Review,” the Nevada firm hyped “the benefit of working with Rory Reid of Lionel Sawyer & Collins.”
“Mr. Reid’s previous experience as chairman of the Clark County Commission is put to good use assisting with general legal advice for the project and helping navigate through the maze of regulations required to access economic incentives offered on the state and local levels,” the article, called “Redeveloping a Classic Strip Property,” continued.
When questioned on Sen. Reid’s intervention on behalf of SLS investors, Sen. Reid spokeswoman Kristen Orthman told Ralston Reports — where Rory’s connection was first reported — that “The SLS project creates nearly 9,000 badly needed jobs and has the support of Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.”
“That is the calculus in Sen. Reid’s support of the project,” Orthman continued. “We have a long-standing office policy that strictly bars any member of the staff’s family or the Senator’s family from lobbying our office on behalf of their clients. That policy applies in this case.”
Initial attempts by Sen. Reid’s office to expedite the visa requests were denied on Dec. 17, 2012, prompting the majority leader to personally call USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Within a few short weeks of Mr. Reid’s personal intervention, the decision not to expedite the visas was reversed, allowing the hotel to secure major funding from JP Morgan Chase,” the Times reports.
Sen. Reid “has supported and will support the SLS Las Vegas in any way he can,” a spokeswoman for the senator told the Times.
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Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/12/12/ha...#ixzz2nIQphw00

Say it isn't so Harry

Barack Obama and Harry Reid are Running a Green Card Scheme for Chinese Nationals

Steven Ahle / 21 hours ago

Harry Reid is rushing to get Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed to the number two spot in the DHS. (Department of Homeland Security) What makes this so unusual is that Mayorkas is under investigation for circumventing the EB-5 regulations in order to benefit the new governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe and Hillary’s brother Anthony Rodham.

Mayorkas is still under investigation by the investigator general of Homeland Security. Mayorkas was approving EB-5 visas for Chinese nationals who had been turned down and lost their appeals because of questionable business practices or money they couldn’t prove where it came from. So why would Harry Reid want him confirmed so badly? Because he is exactly what Obama and Reid need, a willing accomplice.
You see, Obama and Reid have been using bullies in the White House to brow beat and overrule Homeland Security in approving EB-5 visas for extremely questionable Chinese Nationals. And when Homeland Security turned down the two dozen Chinese Nationals for EB-5s, who did Harry turn to for relief? Alejandro Mayorkas. The SLS Casino, formerly known as the Sahara, was looking for a large sum of money to renovate the once fabled casino.
SLS was bought out by SBE, which happens to be owned by close friend and contributor Iranian American, Sam Nazarian. And he got his investors.

This is from an exclusive report from the Washington Times:
The Obama administration overruled career Homeland Security officials and expedited visa applications for about two dozen foreign investors for a politically connected Las Vegas casino hotel after repeated pressure from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his staff, according to internal government documents obtained by The Washington Times.
The move to overturn what is normally a non-appealable visa decision came despite concerns about “suspicious financial activity” involving some of the visa applicants from Asia, and it ultimately benefited several companies whose executives have donated heavily in recent years to Democrats, the documents show. It also ensnared Mr. Obama’s current nominee to be the No. 2 Homeland Security official, Alejandro “Ali” Mayorkas, whose appointment is to be reviewed by the Senate on Wednesday.
The intervention from Mr. Reid’s staff was so intense at one point a year ago that a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) official reported that it prompted a phone shouting match, turning a normally bureaucratic review process inside the Homeland Security Department into a politically charged drama that worried career officials.
“This one is going to be a major headache for us all because Sen. Reid’s office/staff is pushing hard and I just had a long yelling match on the phone,” USCIS Legislative Affairs official Miguel “Mike” Rodriguez warned in a Dec. 5, 2012, email to Homeland Security Department officials.
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But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Obama wants to use EB-5s to create investors in his green energy projects and in New York State, the Chinese Government is planning to build a Chinese city, complete with university and make the city self contained at the cost of many billions of dollars. This could require up to 4,000 new EB-5 visas.
Obama and Reid, working with Iranians and the Chinese. No wonder they have no time to help Americans.

http://thelibertydigest.com/2013/12/...ese-nationals/