Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/764292
ByJuliePace and Julie Bykowicz TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Democrats are eyeing the Senate con- firmation hearings for Don- ald Trump's Treasury sec- retary pick selection as a prime opportunity to chip away at the Republican's populist appeal with work- ing-class voters and begin rebuilding their own party's economic message. Given the narrow GOP majority in the Senate, Ste- ven Mnuchin is likely to be confirmed. But Demo- crats plan to rough him up along the way, grilling the former Goldman Sachs ex- ecutive over his Wall Street ties and his stake in a bank that profited from the fore- closure crisis. Several peo- ple who lost their homes are seeking to testify in the up- coming confirmation hear- ings. Some Republicans are privately questioning Mnuchin's readiness to face aggressive questioning by senators. He has no govern- ment background, and his media appearances imme- diately after being picked raised alarms about his po- litical inexperience. Some of the president-elect's advis- ers were caught off guard by the bold promises Mnuchin made to reporters following the official announcement, including pledging the larg- est tax cut since President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and up to 4 percent eco- nomic growth. As of Friday, Mnuchin, a multimillionaire, had not yet turned in vetting ma- terials to the senators who will be initially weighing his nomination, including three years of tax returns and other financial infor- mation. To some Democrats, Mnuchin is an even richer target than Trump's State Department pick, Rex Til- lerson, who forged close ties with Russia during his long career at Exxon Mobil. While Democrats are eager to question Trump's own connections to Russia, their ability to discredit his pop- ulist appeal is more central to the party's post-election rebuilding efforts. "Is Mr. Mnuchin, a for- mer long-time executive at Goldman Sachs, really go- ing to re-establish Glass- Steagall and control Wall Street greed and illegal be- havior? I doubt it," Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a preview of some of the is- sues he and other Demo- crats plan to raise in the confirmation hearings. Mnuchin's connections to OneWest, a bank that foreclosed on thousands of homeowners after the hous- ing crisis, are expected to be at the forefront of the hear- ings. He headed a group of investors who owned the bank, which foreclosed on more than 36,000 families in California alone — most in minority neighborhoods — according to the Califor- nia Reinvestment Coalition. Some of those former homeowners say they hope to attend the Senate hear- ings, with some telling The Associated Press they would like to testify about their firsthand experiences with bank practices they considered unfair. Senate Democrats have launched a new website inviting peo- ple to share their personal experiences with OneWest, and could use the submis- sions in the hearings. Sen. Elizabeth War- ren, D-Mass., compared Mnuchin to "someone out of a bad movie for what went wrong on Wall Street." Mnuchin is one of several wealthy individuals from the private sector tapped for jobs in the new Cabi- net. He spent nearly two de- cades at Goldman Sachs be- fore creating his own hedge fund and financing Holly- wood movies. Mnuchin then served as Trump's campaign finance chair- man and is well-liked by the president-elect's team. Tom Korologos, one of Washington's most experi- enced hands when it comes to confirmation hearings, said wealthy, politically in- experienced Cabinet nom- inees can find the "arcane art" of the confirmation process a challenge. "They may not be used to taking criticism, answering uncomfortable questions. They may feel that since the president picked them, why should the Senate get to second-guess?" he said. "But that's not how our sys- tem works. There is noth- ing like the confirmation process." Trump's transition team began assigning "sherpas" — Washington lingo for the people who guide nom- inees through their meet- ings with lawmakers and help prep them for the hear- ings — to its picks around Thanksgiving. Mnuchin's sherpa is Mary Waters, a congressional liaison for the Agriculture Depart- ment during George W. Bush's administration. Trump's pool of potential sherpas has been limited by his decision to ban lobbyists from his transition team. Korologos, for example, has helped more than 300 peo- ple with confirmation hear- ings but couldn't work with Trump because he is a reg- istered lobbyist. Mnuchin, 53, has met with some Republicans on the Senate Finance Com- mittee, which will vet the Treasury nominee before likely recommending him for a vote before the full chamber. Democrats, in- cluding their ranking com- mittee member Ron Wyden of Oregon, are expected to begin meetings with Mnuchin after reviewing his vetting documents. TRANSITION DemocratseyeconfirmationfightoverTreasurypick RICHARDDREW—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin talks to reporters as he arrives at Trump Tower in New York. By Bernard Condon and Jeff Horwitz The Associated Press NEW YORK The Trump Or- ganization has canceled a li- censing deal for a hotel in Azerbaijan and is taking steps to do the same for a project in neighboring Georgia, part of a string of recent efforts by the pres- ident-elect to extricate his business from thorny rela- tionships five weeks before he takes office. Trump lawyer Alan Gar- ten said Friday that devel- opers in both projects failed to meet terms of licensing deals. He described the moves as "normal house- keeping" and not part of a strategy to reduce potential conflicts of interests. The moves by the Trump Organization follow a can- cellation earlier this week of a licensing deal for a hotel in Brazil. The New York-based company also recently shut down four companies regis- tered in Delaware that ap- pear connected with a pos- sible Saudi Arabia business venture. President-elect Donald Trump has faced criticism for investments overseas that government ethics ex- perts say present conflicts of interest. He has stakes in about 500 companies in more than 20 countries around the globe, though many of the foreign ven- tures just involve him lend- ing his name to buildings owned by others. Trump's Azerbaijani part- ner drew the scrutiny of The Associated Press and other news outlets amid ques- tions about corruption and thecountry'sstatusasaway- point for money laundering. The partner, Anar Mam- madov, is the son of Azerbai- jan'stransportationminister who was described in leaked American diplomatic cables as"notoriouslycorrupt,even for Azerbaijan." Though the exterior of the project had been largely constructed last year, it disappeared from a list of planned Trump Organiza- tion projects on the com- pany's website last year amid construction delays and questions about the strength of Anar Mammad- ov's finances. Trump earned between $2.5 million and $2.8 mil- lion in hotel management fees from the unopened ho- tel, according to the finan- cial disclosures filed by his campaign. Trump licensing dealsgenerallyinvolvethere- ceipt of a significant minor- ity stake in the property, too. The Georgia project is for a tower in the Black Sea re- sort town of Batumi. Trump lawyer Garten said the pres- ident-elect's company sent a "default notice" earlier this month to the developer be- cause it had not lived up to terms of the licensing deal. He described the move as typically a first step to can- celing a deal. Just last week, Trump's development partner told Bloomberg News that that the long-stalled project would go ahead, and that "talks are on." Trump Hotels said this week it will no longer op- erate a Rio de Janeiro lux- ury hotel that's being inves- tigated in a criminal probe. It's also pulling its name off the property. The decision was made because the project is be- hind schedule, Trump Ho- tels spokeswoman Chris- tine Lin told The Associ- ated Press in a statement. The change took effect on Thursday. "Unfortunately, the de- velopers of the Rio de Ja- neiro hotel are significantly behind on the completion of the property, and their vi- sion for the hotel no longer aligns with the Trump Ho- tels brand," said Lin, who did not answer follow-up questions on whether the investigation prompted the decision. BUSINESS Tr um p mo ve s to h al t po te nt ia ll y th or ny d ea ls i n Az er ba ij an , Ge or gi a By Jonathan Drew The Associated Press FORTBRAGG,N.C. Thejudge overseeing the military trial of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl ruled Friday that he won't allow evidence that any ser- vice members were injured while searching for him. The judge, Army Col. Jef- fery Nance, wrote the risk is too great that such evidence would spur military jurors to act on emotion, rather than logic, unfairly biasing them against Bergdahl dur- ing a court martial sched- uled for April 2017. Nance issued the written ruling hours after hearing oral ar- guments on the matter. "The accused is not to be convicted because, while searching for him, his com- rades were horrifically in- jured. Even (perhaps espe- cially) hardened combat vet- erans of many deployments who might sit on this panel would be hard pressed not to be affected by the horrific injuries to SFC Allen, in par- ticular," he wrote, referring to a soldier shot in the head. "Since the danger can be avoided,Ideemitshouldbe." Bergdahl is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy; the lat- ter could put him in prison for life. Bergdahl has said he walked off his post in Af- ghanistan in 2009 to alert higher-ups to what he felt were problems with his unit. Nance said the defense has plenty of other evi- dence it can use to argue that Bergdahl's actions en- dangered his comrades. He noted that prosecu- tors have "ample evidence" that numerous search op- erations were undertaken, and many of them brought service members in contact with enemy forces. Questions about whether soldierswereinjuredorkilled searching for Bergdahl have long surrounded the case, with critics such as Presi- dent-elect Donald Trump re- peatingclaimsthatliveswere lost. However, a general who investigated Bergdahl's dis- appearance has testified that he found no evidence that service members died searching for Bergdahl. Prosecutors have focused on soldiers wounded during a firefight involving a half- dozen U.S. service members embedded with 50 mem- bers of the Afghan National Army. Another officer in- volvedinthatmission,about a week after Bergdahl left his post, has testified that its solepurposewastofindhim. The group was attacked near a town in Afghanistan on July 8, 2009. U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Mark Allen was shot in the head, and prosecutors say he uses a wheelchair and is unable to communicate. But Nance wrote that "the accused is not charged with causing anyone's in- jury or death. He is charged with endangering the com- mand. While there are sim- ilarities in those conse- quences, they are distinct." Prosecutors have argued the injuries are the stron- gest evidence that Berg- dahl endangered his com- rades by triggering danger- ous search missions. One of the prosecutors, Army Maj. 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