Mike Pence Fact Check [2012]

• From PolitiFact [SEE MORE]
• April 13, 2011Mike Pence: A Republican proposal changes Medicare for those under age 55 so that they will  "participate in the same kind of health plan that members of Congress do." — Mostly False
• January 21, 2011Mike Pence: The financial regulatory bill "will kill jobs." — Mostly False
• November 9, 2010Mike Pence: "Anybody who is familiar with the historical data from the IRS knows that raising income tax rates will likely actually reduce federal revenues." — False
• July 22, 2010Mike Pence: "Should Democrats get their way, every income tax bracket will increase on Jan. 1, 2011. Every single one." — False
• May 5, 2010Mike Pence: "This administration and this Congress have been systematically cutting funding to border security since the Democrats took control." — False
• December 8, 2009Mike Pence: "To use money from the TARP fund in the manner that is being discussed by the White House and congressional Democrats would be a violation of the law." — Half-True
• December 1, 2009Mike Pence: Under the Democratic health plan, families "will be forced to spend an additional $2,100 a year to keep their current health care." — Mostly False
• November 6, 2009Mike Pence: "As a result of the House Republican bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now confirms that families will see their health care premiums reduced by up to 10 percent." — Half-True
• June 11, 2009Mike Pence: Contends that President Obama "literally said (if) his cap-and-trade proposals were to pass, that utility rates, his words now, would, 'necessarily skyrocket.'" — True
• May 19, 2009Mike Pence: The Democrats propose "a government-controlled health care plan that will deprive roughly 120 million Americans of their current health care coverage." — False
• March 20, 2009Mike Pence: "Tens of billions of dollars (from taxpayer-funded bailouts) ... flowed straight through AIG into the coffers of foreign corporations and foreign banks." — True
• February 13, 2009Mike Pence: The stimulus has "$30 million in there to protect mice in San Francisco." — False
• February 4, 2009Mike Pence: The stimulus bill contains "$20 million for the removal of small to medium-sized fish passage barriers" and "$25 million to rehabilitate off-roading trails for ATVs." — True

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Mike Pence [2012]

Mike Pence [R-IN]
U.S. Representative, Indiana
Track Record
Challenging Jim Wallace (R) in the primary and John Gregg (D) for Governor

Mike Pence is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 6th district, and previously the 2nd district, serving since 2001. He is the former Chairman of the House Republican Conference. After the 2010 election Pence said he would not run for re-election to Chairman of the Conference. On May 5, 2011, Pence officially announced that he will be seeking the Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana in 2012. Pence's announcement was anticipated by his resignation of his leading position in the GOP caucus in the House.

Mike Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana. He attended Columbus North High School, graduated from Hanover College in 1981, and earned his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1986. While at Hanover, Pence joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, serving as his chapter's president. Pence and his wife Karen have three children: Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey. Michael is a student at Purdue University. The Pence family lives in Arlington, Virginia while Congress is in session. SOURCE

   

He is the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative House Republicans. He was succeeded in the 110th Congress by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). He has stated his support of Israel and its right to attack facilities in Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, has defended the actions of Israel in its use of deadly force in enforcing the blockade of Gaza and has referred to Israel as "America's most cherished ally" SOURCE

Was Israel's raid on Gaza Freedom Flotilla legal?

Israel says its raid on the so-called Freedom Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which left nine activists dead, was a justified defense of its economic blockade of Gaza. Legal scholars aren't so sure. SOURCE

On the Issues

VoteMatch Responses 

(CLICK HERE for full answers)

• Abortion is a woman's right - Strongly Opposes
• Require hiring more women & minorities -  Strongly Opposes
• Same-sex domestic partnership benefits -  Strongly Opposes
• Teacher-led prayer in public schools -  Strongly Favors
• Death Penalty - Neutral
• Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws - Strongly Opposes
• Absolute right to gun ownership - Strongly Favors
• More federal funding for health coverage - Strongly Opposes
• Privatize Social Security - Strongly Favors
• Parents choose schools via vouchers - Strongly Favors
• Replace coal & oil with alternatives - Strongly Opposes
• Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it - Strongly Favors
• Allow churches to provide welfare services - Strongly Opposes
• Make taxes more progressive - Strongly Opposes
• Illegal immigrants earn citizenship - Strongly Opposes
• Support & expand free trade - Favors
• Expand the armed forces - Strongly Favors
• Stricter limits on political campaign funds - Favors
• The Patriot Act harms civil liberties - Strongly Opposes
• US out of Iraq & Afghanistan - Strongly Opposes

Earmarks
Pence's Earmarks 

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Pence was a supporter of earmark reform. He voted against the $139.7 billion Transportation-Treasury spending bill in June 2006, and in favor of a series of amendments proposed that same month by Jeff Flake that would strip other members’ earmarks from the federal budget. Pence, however, has in the past secured several of his own earmark projects. Pence earmarked $500,000 for the “Transit Acquisition and Intermodal Facility Project” in his state, as well as $250,000 for construction of a park in Portland, Indiana. Pence also secured earmarks for inclusion in a Labor-Health and Human Services 2007FY bill. This included $200,000 for both Ball State University’s Center for School Innovation in Muncie, Ind. and to the Madison County Community Health Center in Anderson Ind. Pence also secured $100,000 for Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus, Ind. When confronted with this, a spokesman for Pence’s confirmed the projects, stating, “Mr. Pence stands by his earmark requests." SOURCE

Immigration

In June 2006, Pence unveiled a plan he describes as "no amnesty immigration reform" consisting of increased border security, followed by strict enforcement of laws against hiring illegal aliens, and a guest worker program. This guest worker program requires potential participants to apply from their home country to government-approved job placement agencies that match workers with employers who cannot find Americans for the job. The plan has received support from conservative leaders such as Dick Armey. Pat Buchanan described this as "stealth amnesty," claiming that it is merely a "one week vacation" for illegal immigrants to return to their home country to apply for jobs under the program. Others (Phyllis Schlafly and Tom Tancredo) have criticized Pence's plan. SOURCE

• Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border. (Sep 2006)
• Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
• Voted YES on extending Immigrant Residency rules. (May 2001)
• Rated 100% by FAIR, indicating a voting record restricting immigration. (Dec 2003)
• Rated 92% by USBC, indicating a sealed-border stance. (Dec 2006)
• End Birthright Citizenship; no more anchor babies. (Apr 2009)
• Declare English as the official language of the US. (Feb 2007)

Mike Pence on Immigration: In His Own Words

Therefore, the solution is to setup a system that will encourage illegal aliens to self-deport and come back legally as guest workers. This may sound outside of the box, and it is. It may sound far-fetched and unrealistic, but it isn’t. It is based on sound, proven conservative principles. It places reliance on American enterprise and puts government back into its traditional role of protecting its citizens. Let me explain to you how it will work.

Private worker placement agencies that we could call “Ellis Island Centers” will be licensed by the federal government to match willing guest workers with jobs in America that employers cannot fill with American workers. U.S. employers will engage the private agencies and request guest workers. In a matter of days, the private agencies will match guest workers with jobs, perform a health screening, fingerprint them and provide the appropriate information to the FBI and Homeland Security so that a background check can be performed, and provide the guest worker with a visa granted by the State Department. The visa will be issued only outside of the United States.

Outside of the United States. That is a key point because it is the provision that will require the twelve million illegal aliens to leave. Now, some of you are thinking to yourselves that twelve million people aren’t going to pack up and leave just to get a visa to come back legally. But, I believe most will. SOURCE

Taxes and Revenues

SOURCE [FactCheck.org] 

GOP Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana made a wildly false supply-side tax claim on ABC’s "This Week" — and repeated it even when disputed by Ronald Reagan’s former budget director, David Stockman:

Pence: David [Stockman] believes that every tax increase equals a revenue increase, but that’s not true. Anybody who is familiar with the historical data from the IRS knows that raising income tax rates will likely actually reduce federal revenues. … So if we raise taxes, the American people are very likely going to — the top 1 percent are going to send less money to Washington, D.C., and that will never get us out of this …

Stockman: I just have to respectfully disagree. … [I]t’s just common sense fact that, when you raise the rates, you get more revenue.

Pence: Raising income tax rates on the top 1 percent will not increase revenues to the federal treasury.

Pence is simply wrong here, as shown by what followed Bill Clinton’s 1993 tax increase, which fell almost entirely on the top 1 percent or 2 percent of earners. In fact, the result was a steady rise in federal revenues that ended only in 2001, the year that the first round of President Bush’s tax cuts took effect. 

The truth of Stockman’s "common sense fact" is illustrated by this graphic, which is derived from the historical budget data tables published by the Congressional Budget Office. SOURCE [FactCheck.org] 

Mike Pence protects the interests of the top 1% over and over again while advocating cuts in safety nets for the middle class and the poor.

MIKE PENCE REAFFIRMS REPUBLICAN PLAN TO PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE SOURCE

On Meet the Press this morning, House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence reaffirmed House Republicans intention to privatize Social Security and Medicare.

David Gregory: What about entitlement spending? Are you going to raise the retirement age as John Boehner suggested might be a good idea on Social Security?

Mike Pence: … for Americans under the age of 40 we absolutely have to begin to reform Medicare and Social Security in ways that will ensure its long term fiscal solvency.

Reform = Privatize

When Republicans say they will “reform Medicare and Social Security” they mean that Republicans will privatize Social Security and dismantle Medicare:

• In 2009, Boehner led 137 House Republicans who voted for a plan "that would eventually end the Medicare program as it is presently known," according to the Associated Press. The Republican plan would dismantle Medicare, turning it into a voucher program and forcing seniors to buy insurance on their own from private insurance companies. [Roll Call Vote #191, 4/2/09; Associated Press, 4/2/09]
• Boehner-Ryan Plan Would Privatize Social Security and Dismantle Medicare. Under the Republican “Roadmap for America’s Future” that Boehner praises, “Medicare is privatized. Seniors get a voucher to buy private insurance, and the voucher's growth is far slower than the expected growth of health-care costs. Medicaid is also privatized… And beyond health care, Social Security gets guaranteed, private accounts that CBO says will actually cost more than the present arrangement” [Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, 2/1/10]
• Republican Study Committee Supports Medicare Privatization. The 126 Member Republican Study Committee favors an approach similar to Rep. Paul Ryan’s controversial plan to privatize Medicare by replacing it with private vouchers. [New York Observer, 2/6/10]

Rep. Pence: The Best Thing For The Unemployed Is Tax Cuts For Millionaires

December 01, 2010 10:38 am ET — Matt Finkelstein SOURCE

Unemployment benefits expired for millions of jobless Americans at midnight, marking the first time infour decades that Congress has failed to provide benefits with so many Americans out of work. Republican lawmakers who blocked an extension of benefits maintain that the country simply cannot afford to spend $12 billion on the unemployed, even as they fight to secure permanent tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans, which will heap hundreds of billions on to the deficit.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe today, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said that while he is "deeply sympathetic" to the plight of the unemployed, "we've got to make the cuts necessary to offset those costs." During the interview, Pence claimed that Republicans are "anxious to support" struggling Americans, "particularly in the holiday season." However, asked whether he would accept a compromise that paid for unemployment benefits by allowing tax cuts to expire only on income over $1 million, Pence insisted that the jobless are better off swallowing tax cuts for the very rich than receiving immediate relief.

Pressed further on his priorities by Time's Mark Halperin, Pence awkwardly joked that he's "not good at chess," before falling back on his talking points. "I think the minimum that we have to do right now for Americans that are struggling in unemployment in this economy is make sure that no American sees a tax increase," he said. 

HALPERIN: If your leaders came to you and said, "We have a deal with the White House. We're going to extend unemployment benefits, but the tax cuts for the people making over a million dollars a year will not be extended, but that helps to pay for it," would you take deal? Would you vote for that package?

PENCE: Look, I think the worst thing you could do for people that are struggling in this economy and looking for a job is raising taxes on any American. We don't wanna help with one hand and take away with another.

HALPERIN: Would you rather extend the tax cuts for every American, including those making over a million, or have the unemployment benefits extended if that's the choice?

PENCE: [Laughs] Yeah, good. This isn't a corner, but I feel the paint. You know? I'm good, nice move. I played chess with my son the other day and I lost, so, you know, I'm not good at this chess thing. [Laughs] Let me tell you, I think the minimum that we have to do right now for Americans that are struggling in unemployment in this economy is make sure that no American sees a tax increase. 

Pence also plugged his speech on Monday at the Detroit Economic Club, in which he advocated for a flat tax and a return to the gold standard. Former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett excoriated the speech yesterday, calling it a "hackneyed rehash" of "simplistic" ideas. "Mike Pence isn't ready for prime time," Bartlett concluded. "His proposals show no hint of understanding the true nature of our economic problems or any evidence that he has thought more than five minutes on what to do about them. The sad thing is that Pence at least spent five minutes; most other Republicans don't appear to have spent even that much."

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Marlin Stutzman Ethics and Sex Scandals [2012]

Ethics Allegation

Before any of this will make sense we have to clarify all of the connections, I'll use this graphic as it shows clearly that both Marlin Stutzman and Tracey Jackson (the woman who had the affair with Mark Stouder) both worked with then Rep. Stouder. What makes it important in talking about Marlin Stutzman is that he is good friends with Tracey Jackson's Husband.

Marlin Stutzman was Special Assistant to Rep. Mark Souder, District 3, 2005-2008

From Wikipedia:

On June 6, 2010 a Facebook email from former Rep. Mark Souder was sent to Noble County prosecutor Steven Clouse and GOP county chairman Randy Kirkpatrick regarding Stutzman's campaign finance "problem", Souder's affair with staffer Tracy Jackson, and predictions on the Republican's caucus to replace Souder on the November ballot. The fourteen point message was eventually forwarded on to Republican leaders, journalist, and media outlets. Souder confirmed the authenticity of the message to The Journal Gazette by e-mail, but he declined to comment beyond saying it was intended to be a private message.

In the Facebook message, Souder touts Stutzman as the favorite in the caucus but also asserts that Stutzman possibly played a role in making Souder’s affair public. Tracy Jackson's husband, Brad, is mentioned throughout the message as having flown Stutzman, while he was a United States Senate candidate, to numerous campaign stops throughout the state without reporting it to the FEC.

Stutzman's only response to date regarding the unreported flights by Brad Jackson, "He (Souder) should be focusing on his family and his marriage right now. If he had concerns about our finances – which he shouldn’t – why didn’t he talk to me?”

SOURCE

Read Mark Souder's Facebook Message PDF

Souder sounds off on Stutzman : wane.com

Souder's message seems to offer contradictory statements about the affair with an aide that led him to resign. In one paragraph, he says Stutzman knew nothing of the affair and therefore couldn't have tipped off the media. In another, he mentions that Stutzman or a political consulting firm leaked word of the affair to Fox News after getting information from the staffer's husband, Brad Jackson a Kosciusko County commissioner.

Enter Mike Pence

Pence told POLITICO that when he found out the affair involved a staffer, he immediately told Souder to resign.

Pence also said that he informed the House ethics committee of Souder’s relationship with the staffer, who has been identified as Tracy Meadows Jackson.

But Pence’s revelation raises new questions about when GOP leaders and top aides became aware of Souder’s affair. SOURCE

In another article it states:

Allen County GOP Chairman Steve Shine said he had heard talk of an affair for about six months, and at least one of Souder's opponents reported receiving anonymous phone calls about the matter days before the May 4 primary. U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., confronted Souder about the rumors after being approached by a reporter, said Matt Lloyd, a spokesman for the House Republican Conference.

Stutzman said he first heard talk several years ago about an inappropriate relationship between Souder and Tracy Jackson, a part-time staffer in Souder's Indiana district whose husband, Brad, is a pilot and flew Stutzman around on occasions during his Senate campaign. Stutzman worked years ago as a special assistant to Souder in the district. He said he and another staffer confronted the congressman, who called the allegations a "vicious rumor." SOURCE

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Richard Mourdock [2012]

Richard Mourdock [R-IN]
State Treasurer
Track Record
Challenging Richard Lugar [R] in the primary and Rep. Joe Donnelly [D] for Senate

(Photo Credit: AP)

Richard Mourdock was elected Indiana’s State Treasurer in November 2006 and was re-elected in 2010, leading the Republican ticket with over 62% of the vote. As Treasurer, Richard has been an integral part of the state’s fiscal health.  Richard’s leadership earned over $1 billion in investment income for taxpayers and successfully expanded the state’s college savings plan.  At the same time, his office has returned an average of 10% of his budget back to the Treasury each year.

Prior to his election as State Treasurer, Richard had a successful 30 year career in the private sector, managing businesses in the energy, environmental and construction industries. He also served two terms as County Commissioner of Vanderburgh County.

Richard is a licensed pilot, has been active in Christian Missions in Bolivia, holds a Master’s Degree in Geology from Ball State University and a Bachelor’s Degree from Defiance College in Ohio. Richard has completed six marathons in the past eight years. He and his wife, Marilyn, live in Darmstadt, Indiana. SOURCE

    

On the Issues

VoteMatch Responses 

(CLICK HERE for full answers)

• Abortion is a woman's right - Strongly Opposes
• Require hiring more women & minorities -  Strongly Opposes
• Same-sex domestic partnership benefits - Strongly Opposes
• Teacher-led prayer in public schools - Favors
• Death Penalty - Strongly Favors
• Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws - Favors
• Absolute right to gun ownership - Strongly Favors
• More federal funding for health coverage - Strongly Opposes
• Privatize Social Security - Favors
• Parents choose schools via vouchers -  Strongly Favors
• Replace coal & oil with alternatives - Strongly Opposes
• Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it -  Strongly Favors
• Allow churches to provide welfare services -  Strongly Favors
• Make taxes more progressive -  Strongly Opposes
• Illegal immigrants earn citizenship -  Strongly Opposes
• Support & expand free trade - Favors
• Expand the armed forces - Strongly Favors
• Stricter limits on political campaign funds - Opposes
• The Patriot Act harms civil liberties -  Strongly Opposes
• US out of Iraq & Afghanistan -  Strongly Opposes

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Opposed the Chrysler Bailouts Which are Now Seen as a Success

Kokomo upshifting with Chrysler investment SOURCE

Kathleen McLaughlin, Indianapolis Business Journal 12/7/2011

Kokomo hopes to build upon Chrysler Group LLC’s $1.3 billion retooling of its four local factories. The investment secured 3,500 jobs and will make the transmissions produced here a key element in future sales strategy.

Three years ago, Kokomo was the poster child for worst-case scenarios. Its two largest employers were—and are—Chrysler and Delphi Automotive. As Congress deliberated over an auto industry bailout, Mayor Greg Goodnight faced the repeated question: “What are you going to do if it completely collapses?”

Goodnight’s answer was always the same.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “What do you do if an earthquake hits a city? You figure it out.”

The earthquake never hit. The federal government rescued General Motors and Chrysler, and the automakers later restructured in bankruptcy court. Delphi, which was in trouble long before the 2008 financial crisis, continued to downsize, but maintains 1,400 employees in Kokomo, where it’s matching an $89 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop electronics for hybrid vehicles.

Since Chrysler announced the final piece of its $1.3 billion investment in November 2010, employment at three transmission-assembly plants has grown to 4,200, United Auto Workers Local 685 President Rich Boruff said. Another 600 to 800 work at the castings plant, which is represented by a separate local. (Local 685 is the single-largest union shop in Chrysler.)

Keeping those jobs is a huge relief to Jeb Conrad, CEO of the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance.

“It’s difficult to diversify your economy and be attractive to new business if you have 20-percent unemployment and boarded-up buildings,” he said.

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Chrysler Adds 1,100 Jobs In Spite of Richard Mourdock

by DOUG on NOVEMBER 19, 2011 SOURCE

The “new” Chrysler, which Richard Mourdock spent $2 million of Indiana’s money opposing, is adding 1,100 new jobs.

No real point to this post other than it’s an opportunity for me to reiterate how bad I think Mourdock’s decision to challenge the bankruptcy work out was.

Mourdock could Benefit from Climate Regulations

A leading tea party candidate who hopes to knock off venerable Sen. Richard Lugar in next May's GOP primary has campaigned heavily against measures to combat climate change even as he holds stock in an energy company that's banking on those regulations to help build a market for its product.

Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock holds up to $350,000 in stock in USA Synthetic Fuel Corp. and its parent company, Global Energy Inc., according to his latest federal financial disclosure filings. The Cincinnati-based companies are seeking financing for a coal-gasification plant in Lima, Ohio, that has been pitched to investors and Obama administration officials as a clean energy alternative to more traditional power sources.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, USA Synthetic Fuel said part of its business strategy relies on being able to produce synthetic natural gas cheaper than traditional natural gas suppliers as demand for the fuel grows under expected climate change regulations.

Tea party members and Republicans nationwide say the regulations being pushed by the Obama administration amount to a national "energy tax" because they would increase the overall price of power by limiting cheaper, but dirtier, fuel sources. SOURCE

Endorsed by the Controversial Koch Industries Backed FreedomWorks

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INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, FreedomWorks PAC officially endorses Richard Mourdock in the Indiana Senate race as the clear choice for voters who are for free markets, fiscal responsibility, and constitutionally limited government.

Through in-depth one-on-one discussions with Richard Mourdock, a detailed look at his record and, most importantly, from listening to what our members and allies in Indiana have to say, FreedomWorks PAC believes Richard Mourdock is the best candidate for those who want a Senator who will fight on behalf of taxpayers against runaway government spending and federal overreach. SOURCE

From Crooks and Liars:

FreedomWorks' predecessor was Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation. Of the three major players who donated large sums to Citizens for a Sound Economy, Koch charities were by far and away the largest donors, with nearly $13 million donated between 1985 and 2005. Other large donors include the Olin Foundation, the Coors Family, and the Scaife foundations.

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) underwent a transformation in 2004 when it merged with Empower America and was reborn as FreedomWorks. CSEF was renamed, becoming Americans for Prosperity. Just like that, one Koch-Scaife-Coors-Olin venture became two. Twice the voice; twice the reach.

Business Mag Expose Says Koch Brothers Were Supplying Iran In Possible Violation of U.S. Trade Embargo

In a bold and spectacular move, Bloomberg Markets Magazine wrote a story titled "The secret sins of Koch Industries" which does not only focus on several new revelations, but also provides a comprehensive overview about scandals of Koch Industries which happened during the last decades. The story also explicitly puts the well known political activities of the Koch Brothers in context with their highly questionable behaviour in business. 

[...] No less than 15 Bloomberg journalists in several countries have worked on it. It is fascinating to see that such a major investigative piece about a highly political issue does appear in a business magazine and not in one of the more "traditional" political magazines or newspapers. 

[...] Next to Jane Mayer's ground breaking piece about the Koch Brothers in the New Yorker, this article by Bloomberg Markets Magazine undoubtedly represents another PR disaster for the Koch Brothers, and could also have severe consequences. Image Source

Bloomberg Markets Magazine reveals in this article for example that:

• Koch Industries used the European offices of their subsidiary Koch-Glitsch to sell millions of dollars of petrochemical equipment to Iran in an apparent violation of the US-Iran trade embargo, as recently as 2007 

• Internal documents of Koch Industries prove that the company took elaborate steps to ensure that their US-employees weren't involved in the sales to Iran 

• While is not 100% certain at this point that Koch Industries did in fact violate US law, according to Bloomberg Markets Magazine, internal memos show for example that the details of the sales with Iran were meticulously checked by US lawyers of Koch Industries and coordinated with the lawyers in order to fully ensure that no visible involvement of US-citizens took place 

• Koch Industries paid bribes in six countries from 2002 to 2008 to win business in Africa, India and the Middle East, comparable to similar behaviour of German technology giant Siemens (Siemens subsequently had to pay a $ 1.6 billion fine!) 

• Koch Industries sacked a compliance officer in France in June 2009 who discovered the illegal bribes at Koch Industries subsidiary Koch-Glitsch 

• These revelations were made possible through newly discovered documents from two labour court cases in France 

• Bloomberg Markets reveals that former employees of Koch Industries harshly criticize the company for their internal practices and ethics 

• The story also covers in great detail over several pages earlier violations of Koch Industries: The company in the past "rigged prices with competitors, lied to regulators and repeatedly run afoul of environmental regulations, resulting in five criminal convictions since 1999 in the U.S. and Canada." SOURCE SOURCE

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