A new emailed memo from Goldman Sachs has been leaked. The memo shows that high-ranking employees will not be permitted to contribute to the Donald Trump presidential campaign, but they will be allowed to donate to the Hillary Clinton campaign.
It’s a very slick memo indeed!
Here is what it states (emphasis ours):
“[E]ffective Thursday, September 1, all partners across the firm are considered ‘Restricted Persons’ as defined by the firm’s Policy on Personal Political Activities in the US. As outlined below, Restricted Persons are prohibited from engaging in political activities and/or making campaign contributions to candidates running for state and local offices, as well as sitting state and local officials running for federal office.
“The policy change is meant to prevent inadvertently violating pay-to-play rules, particularly the look-back provision, when partners transition into roles covered by these rules. The penalties for failing to comply with these rules can be severe and include fines and a ban on the firm from doing business with government clients in a particular jurisdiction for a period of at least two years”
“The policy change is also meant to minimize potential reputational damage caused by any false perception that the firm is attempting to circumvent pay-to-play rules, particularly given partners’ seniority and visibility. All failures to pre-clear political activities as outlined below are taken seriously and violations may result in disciplinary action.”
Since Mike Pence is the Governor of Indiana, Goldman Sachs partners wouldn’t be permitted to donate to the Trump campaign. On the other hand, since Clinton does not hold public office and Tim Kaine is a Virginia Senator, Goldman Sachs partners would have the ability to make campaign donations.
The new rules went into effect September 1.
This is further proof that Wall Street is continuing to bet big on a Clinton White House. Wall Street has pretty much ignored Trump altogether in favor of the former Secretary of State (SEE: Wall Street hedge funds love Hillary Clinton much more than Donald Trump and Crony Alert: Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton lead Wall Street fundraising race). Despite their desire not to be perceived as paying to play, this is exactly what they’re doing.
We can’t forget about the hundreds of thousands of dollars Clinton was paid to make speeches on Wall Street.
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told a conference last year that Wall Street is frightened of the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency (SEE: Lloyd Blankfein: Wall Street is terrified of a Donald Trump presidency).
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