Thread: Trump advisor Peter Thiel became New Zealand citizen in California in 2011

BILLIONAIRE TRUMP ADVISER PETER THIEL BOUGHT HIS NEW ZEALAND CITIZENSHIP, DOCUMENTS SHOW

Sam Biddle
February 1 2017, 9:38 a.m.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images


IN 2011, BEFORE Peter Thiel became a household name for his covert campaign against a free press or his loud support for Donald Trump, he was engaged in another covert plan: secretly securing citizenship in New Zealand, where according to a recent New Yorker article, he hopes to safely ride out the apocalypse. As part of his purchase, the new adviser to Trump’s “America First” administration swore an oath to Queen Elizabeth.

A 145-page set of documents released by the New Zealand government in the wake of public outrage in that country shows that Thiel would have been denied citizenship on the self-admitted fact that he has never lived in the country and has no plans to do so:


However, under a provision of a 1977 law, New Zealand grants citizenship under “exceptional circumstances and public interest” for persons who don’t live or plan to live in the country: “Since 2012, there have been 632 applications where the Minister has been specifically asked to consider Section 9(1)(c); of these 92 have been approved by the Minister as decision-maker.”

In Thiel’s case, the exceptional circumstances were that he is immensely rich, with powerful ties to Silicon Valley. His application states:



The memo continues with a strictly business-based justification for Thiel’s citizenship:

In New Zealand he has established a venture capital fund to fund innovative companies. To date he has invested [REDACTED] into an online accounting business ‘Xero’ and made a [REDACTED] investment in Pacific Fibre Limited. … Mr. Thiel has discussed the establishment of a technology company incubator in Auckland and using his connections in San Francisco to help introduce New Zealand companies to the U.S. … Mr Thiel has demonstrated his philanthropy through making a million dollar donation to the Christchurch earthquake relief fund.

Mr Thiel wishes to be granted citizenship from both a personal and professional perspective. Mr Thiel’s entrepreneurial skills are what make him exceptional and this claim is supported by the success he has had in business. … Mr Thiel states that being a New Zealand citizen would enable him to represent the country on the international stage and give him greater confidence in mobilising New Zealand’s talented entrepreneurs.

In his personal statement, Thiel was also sure to point out, as evidence of his philanthropy, “that I am a primary supporter of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, non-profit group that promotes press freedom worldwide by defending the rights of journalists to report news without fear of reprisals.” Just one year after typing those words, a legal campaign of fear and reprisal against the journalists and writers of the now-defunct Gawker Media began, years later revealed to have been bankrolled by Thiel (in full disclosure, I previously worked at Gawker Media during that time).

On this basis, along with a few letters from members of the New Zealand business community (including a recipient of his money), the government recommended his application be approved on the strength of his business acumen, which it was in 2011.

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 21, 2016.
Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

This last point, that Thiel would act as an international steward of high-tech industry between New Zealand and Silicon Valley, is perhaps undercut by the fact that Thiel kept his citizenship secret for half a decade. It also creates a tension given his newfound (but technically informal) role in the Trump administration, where he has acted as a bridge to Silicon Valley — but to Washington, not Auckland. Thiel has not only generously funded the president’s campaign and opened for him at the Republican National Convention, but now provides economic policy advice to the White House (and helped organize a farcical meeting of tech CEOs at Trump Tower).

But his devotion to an administration whose rallying cry is “America First!” now seems suspect, because according to the citizenship documents Thiel was administered a citizenship oath in Santa Monica on August 12, 2011. At this ceremony, he was required to swear (upon a Bible) loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II, the British monarch. According to the New Zealand Citizenship Act of 1977, the oath is as follows:

I, [full name], swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her (orHis) Majesty [specify the name of the reigning Sovereign, as thus: Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of New Zealand,] Her (or His) heirs and successors, according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of New Zealand and fulfil my duties as a New Zealand citizen.
So help me God.

Thiel’s current devotion to “Make America Great Again” seems to conflict not only with his pledge of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, but also with another portion of his personal statement:

“I am happy to say categorically that I have found no other country that aligns more with my vision of the future than New Zealand.”

Perhaps that vision of the future was one in which, sometime in the next four to eight years, an apocalyptic disaster has spread across the globe, and he and his fellow billionaires safely reside in armored bunkers. America First, indeed.

The Thiel Foundation did not reply to request for comment in time for publication.

https://theintercept.com/2017/02/01/...ocuments-show/

Are you trying to smear Thiel because you don't like PayPal, don't like Trump, or don't like Gay People?

You cannot get into New Zealand unless you have a suitcase full of money. We would get a job and move there but they do not want people moving there and make it very hard. I believe Australia is strict too.

And Australia does not want those refugees they put on that island and have the NERVE to dump them on us. I hope Trump stops the 1,250 from coming here. Australia should ship them back to wherever they came from!

Same with a lot of countries that business people have to contend with. Even here in the states, there are cities, counties and parishes you have to buy your way through to get anything done. Corruption is a widespread international problem.

Corruption is another word for crime.

Criminals belong in prison.

cor·rup·tion
kəˈrəpSH(ə)n/
noun

• 1.
  dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.
  "the journalist who wants to expose corruption in high places"
  
  

  synonyms:

  dishonesty, unscrupulousness, double-dealing, fraud, fraudulence, misconduct, crime, criminality, wrongdoing; More

Originally Posted by Beezer

You cannot get into New Zealand unless you have a suitcase full of money. We would get a job and move there but they do not want people moving there and make it very hard. I believe Australia is strict too.

And Australia does not want those refugees they put on that island and have the NERVE to dump them on us. I hope Trump stops the 1,250 from coming here. Australia should ship them back to wherever they came from!

Fortunately with Thiel's help by the way, we have a President Trump who is going to vet them and if we don't like them, we're not taking them. The headlines of some of these articles are misleading. Apparently Obama agreed to take them and so Trump has said we'll honor that so long as they pass Trump's Executive Orders and Extreme Vetting Procedures. If they don't, then they won't be allowed to come to the US.

Let's hope they do NOT pass muster. And bring in no one that has diseases, medical issues and is pregnant! Sick of paying for these people!

Yes, lets hope. My feeling is none of them will. Things are developing, very important things, we don't need any more distractions or expense from illegal aliens, refugees or immigrants abanoning their own countries, especially Syria, because Syria is inviting all their refugees back home, promising safety and security. That was announced I think on Monday by the Syrian Foreign Minister.

http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2...o-return-home/

Russia knows how to restore order and they are doing a great job in Syria. They really are. And Trump's gotten UAE and Saudi Arabia to establish safe zones and invest money to help the Syrians in Syria, so all these people can return to their homeland and stop causing havoc and turmoil all across the globe.

China, New Zealand pledge to support for free trade

Originally Posted by Judy

Are you trying to smear Thiel because you don't like PayPal, don't like Trump, or don't like Gay People?

Why would you say such a thing? For example, I posted a lot of negative articles on Trump's nomination for Secretary of Labor, Mr. Puzder. Does that mean I was trying to smear him because he's got a bald head and beats his wife? No it doesn't. JohnDoe is right, you have come out against dual-citizenship in the past. Are you insinuating that it is okay for a Trump nominee to have dual-citizenship, but it's not okay for anyone else? I think it would be fair to say you're sending out a very confused and mixed message on this topic.

Besides all that, I think JohnDoe made it clear that it is Thiel's dual-citizenship that he questions.