Fishing for Justice — A Guest Op-Ed from Martin Sheil
Retired IRS criminal investigator — this Sunday’s ‘Speakeasy’ salon guest — offers his biting assessment of our Supreme Court’s most fishy members and why it matters (Moore v US)
Author’s note August 25, 2023: Marty asked me to add this link to this op-ed, which he says offers evidence the one percent is getting worried.
In a mind war, the days are long and the years go by quickly. Seven years since the US was attacked by a foreign mafia state stealing our mental wellness and disrupting our shared narrative of truth. Not only did the attack pave the way for the installation of a twice-impeached Kremlin friendly asset — now indicted under the Espionage Act — but let’s face it: watching the radicalization of our neighbors and family members is a tragedy.
We are sick a little bit — as each day our shared narrative of truth is interrupted by enemies from within and without. It’s fascinating watching the discombobulation of pro-Kremlin traitors in America as Putin is revealed to be weak — his strongman image in tatters as the psycho circus of mad men continues in Russia. I do believe this is the part of the narrative where the evil people start devouring each other, and I am here for it.
Those new to Bette Dangerous, please search the archives for Bette’s Weekly Roundup, which features the week’s critical reporting. I feel better when my fingers are dancing across the keys, so the volume of work I produce is a bit daunting. But it’s useful and do catch up when you can. RadPod’s two most recent breakers are vital — Zarina Zabrisky on the fog of war; and Jen Senko on how we’re gonna get Fox off our military bases and out of our homes.
As we gear up for this Sunday’s ‘Speakeasy’ zoom salon with ex-fed Martin Sheil, Marty has offered this guest op-ed with some deep dive thoughts on the current Supreme Court members who have been on the receiving end of lavish gifts, vacations and financially lucrative deals as they decide the fate of billionaires and their taxes.
If you are not yet a member of the Bette community and would like to join us this Sunday, I am running an Independence Special through July 4 for new members. Sign up to receive invites to our ‘Speakeasy’ zoom salons and weekly wellness Happy Hour checkins, as well as access to archives and podcasts.***
When I think about the people I have met along the way as I do my investigative work, it makes the whole damn thing worth it. Marty is one of those people. Behold, his guest op-ed:
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Fishing for Justice
by Martin Sheil
The LA Times took note the other day that the Supreme Court will decide this fall whether Congress can tax wealth the way the 2017 Tax bill said it should when SCOTUS hears Moore vs US.
According to a recent editorial page of the preferred disinformation organ WSJ written for the financial elite, the financially entitled and those who financially enable the wealthy according to the Libertarian philosophy that Taxes = Theft, Someone Should Put the IRS in a tiny cage!
The lines are drawn.
It is worth asking whether all the financial grooming of Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Alito by the rich and well, honestly, the richest among us - were the "undisclosed gifts" well spent?
Did all those chats on the yachts, the corporate jets and around the campfires provided by wealthy donors for the wannabe wealthy SCOTUS Justices have the desired effect?
Come this fall when the Supremes gather to review the constitutionality of "the wealth tax" and parse the 16th Amendment, it is also worth asking - what lobbying - what echo chamber have the little people provided SCOTUS to counter balance the above delineated influences provided gratis to some Supremes by well off members of the American oligarchy?
Can anyone realistically say this is even a fair fight?
Justices Thomas and Alito didn't disclose their now well-known paid for luxury trips as required and have escaped accountability to date. It is worth repeating - there exists a rebuttable presumption of a lack of accountability by SCOTUS to the people - all the people - and that includes the little people - with regard to the Gifts some SCOTUS members have enjoyed from wealthy donors.
Well, what about the prebuttable op-ed Justice Alito published in the WSJ the night before ProPublica published their well-documented investigative article outlining the luxury fishing trip to Alaska provided to Justice Alito via corporate jet in 2008 by billionaire hedge fund owner Paul Singer?
Justice Alito via the WSJ, attacked the so called "fishing expedition" of an article by ProPublica before it was even published, questioning the propriety of Justice Alito's judgement with regard to the Alaskan fishing trip with rich and powerful political influencers. That the WSJ violated journalistic ethics (Heidi comment: Meat is Murdoch lol) and was disingenuous with regard to their fact-checking in publishing the buttable is beyond dispute. But no one can argue that the buttable adhered to the consistent WSJ partisan support of conservative SCOTUS justices who abide by the WSJ libertarian outlook.
Let us fish around the Caribbean and elsewhere to hook some notable background facts of Paul Singer. But first, by now, everyone knows all about Harlan Crowe, the billionaire benefactor of Clarence Thomas and his family. Both Crowe and his brother engage in business on the Cayman Islands and both obtained what is known as golden passports by investing in business on the Caribbean Islands of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Possessing a golden passport can come in handy if US taxes and regulations become too onerous for a major Republican political contributor to overcome. It's just good business to have a hedge. (Heidi insert: Gaddman I 🩵u Marty, lol).
Speaking of which - Paul Singer - Justice Alito's ‘secretive benefactor’ (lol—hsc) - runs one of the 25 largest hedge funds in the U.S. - at least partly in the U.S., called Elliott Investment Management. Singer's hedge funds are all registered technically in the Cayman Islands while the working HQ is located on 57th St. in Manhattan. Top hedge fund owners all make well north of what Fortune 500 CEO's garner in pecuniary benefits.
Besides being wealthy, Singer is active in politics as a prime political donor to Republican candidates and causes. More than that, Singer very actively supports the Republican Governors Association (RGA) which is a major financial support of Republican governors and candidates - some notable governors in Florida, Indiana, NJ and yes, Alaska, have benefitted. In turn, many of those Republican states invested their Public Employee pension funds with Paul Singer controlled entities.
Before we delve into Singer's hedge funds, we need to take note that Singer runs a conservative non-profit called the Manhattan Institute, which presented its 20th Alexander Hamilton award to among others - Leonard Leo - a honcho of the Federalist Society and frequent guest on the SCOTUS vacays provided by folks like Crowe and Singer.
Singer and his hedge funds have been characterized as an activist investor. In fact, Financial Post termed Singer - the world’s most feared investor which came about when he pushed out Jack Dorsey from being CEO of Twitter. So, we know that Singer is combative and litigious. New Yorker magazine called Singer a "doomsday investor," noting that he is well known for using corporate debt plays to successfully exploit perceived weakness.
It was just such tactics that landed one of Singer's companies before SCOTUS in a case involving the foreign country Argentina and the prodigious debt Argentina owed Singer. Justice Alito voted with the majority on this case ruling for Singer and against Argentina and Alito now claims that he did not know that Singer owned the company that he ruled for since Singer's name was not on the suit.
How can that be?
Hedge funds are private entities and have few public disclosure requirements, In fact, hedge funds are structured to avoid most direct regulations and are not required to publicly disclose their investment activities in contrast to a regulated mutual fund or exchange traded fund - a factoid that likely makes the Libertarian party, the Federalist Society and the WSJ proud.
Free of regulation but what about taxes?
Like many, if not most, major hedge funds - Elliott Investment is registered as a Hedge Fund in the Grand Cayman Islands despite its midtown Manhattan office. The Cayman Islands promotes itself as "Tax Neutral" and somehow the IRS code was manipulated in support of such an actuality.
Let me encourage the reader to explore the graphic links provided by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) that can better illustrate the connects and complexity of companies owned and operated offshore. It is further noted that when fishing around these links, be advised that it was the Paradise Papers that provided most of the material the charts are based. Let me also note that the ICIJ warns everyone that there are in fact legitimate reasons to maintain offshore shell companies.
Having said that let us first cast a glance at the ICIJ graphic for Elliott International.
Note the Cayman Island address for Elliott International and note the connected companies two of which we will discuss:
NML Capital
Madison Park
NML Capital is the company that successfully sued Argentina before SCOTUS and is the company Alito claims he did not know was connected to Singer. Check it out: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/82011056
Once again, registered and addressed in Cayman Islands and connected to Elliott, but which of the sharp eyed among you detected a source for the information on this graphic emanating from Appleby? That was a tease for the Madison Park graphic which can be found here: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/82021322
Ooh. It's getting a little dense in there, but everyone should take note that Appleby is formally listed as an Intermediary. The individual names listed in the graphic are all believed to be attorneys employed by Appleby, and I would also draw your attention to a shareholder shell company called Wakefield Securities which we will look at here: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/80141210
The main point of this graphic to come away with is the listed address for Wakefield which is c/o Elliott Management 40 W 57th Street NY. The convoluted offshore circle of entities and individuals comes all the way around back to home base. It seems that when it comes to taxes there exists the question form vs substance.
A couple of points need to be made here.
First - it is pretty clear why Alito never thought anyone would catch on that the NML Capital entity that he ruled for was connected to Alito's fishing buddy Paul Singer. There is not a whole lot of business transparency here.
Second - If Appleby sounds vaguely familiar, readers are welcome to Google because Appleby was notorious for facilitating (enabling) the offshore financial maneuvers of such Russian oligarchs as the Rotenberg brothers, Alisher Usmanov and another Russian bad boy oligarch by the name of Ponomarev, to name a few (Heidi comment: buried the lede, Marty).
Before we leave Cayman Islands the reader is alerted to the fact that Singer also honchoed another offshore entity located in Bermuda called Aeolus Reinsurance which will have to wait another time for full explication, but I would note that Aeolus was known in mythology as - the keeper of the wind. Check out the Aeolus ICIJ graphic here: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/82008043
Offshore financial transactions sure can be complicated. Are any of those complications motivated by a desire to avoid taxation?
While y'all ponder that question let me note that a couple of centuries ago Wilfredo Pareto - the estimable economist/sociologist, asserted that every society no matter the political makeup meaning whether Republic or Autocracy - spawns what he termed - a circulation of elites.
We can conclude that in this century, oligarchs who operated in one country controlled by a dictator and oligarchs who operated in what has been termed a two-tiered system of taxation and justice - could only succeed in capturing and concealing their wealth by questionable means and only with the help of financial enablers.
Several questions can be reasonably raised here starting with:
Have members of SCOTUS been financially groomed and exploited by the wealthy elite to the point that they have been reeled in like so many salmon by their not-so-secret donors and therefore have become just another set of financial enablers to the entitled American oligarch elite?
Will SCOTUS determine that taxes are not theft and that the wealthy must pay their fair share whether their wealth is located on shore or in some foreign land?
or
Will SCOTUS opt to do the bidding of their donors and thus ensure that only "the little people" pay taxes?
We will get the answers to these questions come this fall as we all go fishing for fairness and our Judiciary will determine whether there exists a two-tier system of Taxation, which then leads to the rebuttable presumption that there is in fact a two-tier system of Justice as our twice indicted and twice impeached former President now insists - exists.
The Supreme Court gets to rebut that awful premise this fall in Moore vs US.
For now, the answer ... is in the wind...
Sincerely,
Martin Sheil, writing from my tiny retired cage because well I'm a little people
Notes:
Wakefield Securities LLC | ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database; Paradise Papers - Appleby Officer: Wakefield Securities LLC; offshoreleaks.icij.org
NML Capital, Ltd. | ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database; Paradise Papers - Appleby Entity: NML Capital, Ltd.; offshoreleaks.icij.org
Elliott International, L.P. | ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database; Paradise Papers - Appleby Officer: Elliott International, L.P.; offshoreleaks.icij.org
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Martin Sheil bio:
While currently a retired little person who lives in a tiny cage, previously-contractor with DEA Chicago and:
Director Forensics IRS Criminal Investigation
Special Agent in Charge San Antonio
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dallas
Director Asset Forfeiture Washington DC
Group Supervisor Houston
OCDETF Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Coordinator Gulf Coast
Special Agent IRS Criminal Investigation Manhattan
Revenue Agent IRS Manhattan
Counselor Underprivileged children Staten Island
Masters Finance St John’s University
Bachelors SUNY Buffalo
Baseball fan - Cubs
Football - Giants
Hockey - Black Hawks
Basketball - Bulls
Favorite musical artist - Bob Dylan
I would have said Simon and Garfunkel but I have been desolate since they broke up
CSN&Y are bearable
Honestly if you can keep a secret, I am absolutely passionate about Cello music and thinking about taking it up but fear it may not fit in my tiny cage
Looking forward to seeing Marty and members of this community Sunday, July 2, 4 pm PT, at our ‘Speakeasy’ zoom salon featuring Marty as our special guest, talking about the above, plus Trump’s legal entanglements and espionage; look for registration link on Saturday morning or thereabouts.
Onward and upward.—hsc
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Our next Bette Dangerous ‘Speakeasy’ Zoom for paid members is Sunday, July 2, 4 pm PT with the return of Martin Sheil! As noted above, Marty will update us on Trump’s various legal entanglements and his likely path to unfreedom; Paid members also receive invites to our weekly Bette’s Happy Hour, a wellness checkin every Tuesday, which often features surprise guests. Look for an upcoming invite to our Happy Hour on Tuesday, July 4, when our checkin will be at noon pm PT.
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We just have to see that the battle for democracy is broader. It's deeper.—David Pepper
I need people to see they're on the frontline. Wherever you live, if you’re doing this work, you are the frontline.—David Pepper
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“I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving as I walk upon the earth.”-Audrey Peterman.
“May the viral hope for truth and humanity wash away the chaos of these years.”-S.C., Bette community member
“Something Sacred never dies in almost all of us, who can hear the invitation of Truth…”-words from a Bette Dangerous community member
“Nothing but blue skies from now on…”-Irving Berlin
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(Photo courtesy Martin Sheil)
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