The granting of this special favor for Reid and his casino friends enraged career officials at the Department of Homeland Security. Executives at the two main companies involved in the project donated at least $127,000 to political causes over the last three elections, mostly to Democrats.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has run interference for Barack Obama for years. He has also done the same for the 1% when he can benefit. He has done so again by using his power to force the Department of Homeland Security to do his bidding to relax rules for foreigners who planned to invest in a Nevada casino project.
John Solomon and David Sherfinski report for 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.
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