Note: There’s an email circulating among progressive circles that I felt needed to be shared to a bigger audience. The stakes are just too high for this information to fly under the radar.
Jeff Bleich claims to Politico…
“On core Democratic issues, I have a track record that is much deeper and longer than anyone else in the race.”
Is that so? Upon closer inspection of Bleich’s record, a pattern emerges:
- BIG LAW: Pro-Gingrich, Pro-China, Anti-Women
- BIG ENERGY: Pro-drilling, Pro-Exploitation
- BIG CORPORATE BOARDS: Pro-Trump, Pro-Tax Evasion
- BIG TUITION HIKER: Pro-Big Tuition Hikes for Students
Let’s take a tour of Jeff Bleich’s track record…
BIG LAW
Jeff Bleich bills himself as a selfless lawyer who helped “those who couldn’t afford a lawyer.”
The reality, however, is that Bleich chose to be a high-paid corporate lawyer, selecting to become partners with Newt Gingrich (1) at the world’s largest and foreign-run firm, 大成 Dentons (translation: 大成 = Dacheng-Dentons). Bleich is the CEO of Dentons Diplomatic Solutions (2).
The New American warned Americans to be wary of politicians working for 大成 Dentons in late 2016, writing “law firms such as Dentons — and their high-profile politicians-turned-advisers like Gingrich, Dean, and Chretien — provide a public relations velvet glove to cover the steel-fisted reality of China’s totalitarian system” (3). CEO Bleich currently works with these partners and is a management leader within these structures.
In December 2017, Dentons lost a sex bias lawsuit in the United Kingdom, where “a judge has criticised the world’s biggest law firm for a lack of honesty and credibility as he ruled it had sexually discriminated against an employee and shredded evidence before a tribunal” (4).
BIG ENERGY
Jeff Bleich seeks to position himself as an environmental advocate, but his record tells another story. While U.S. Ambassador to Australia, he advocated for more drilling, more non-renewable resource exploitation, and more big energy company profits: "There is nowhere that we are betting more heavily than here" (5).
He doubled down on his commitment to natural gas, the energy source he worked to access for American and international oil companies while working in Australia: “Regardless of how people feel about natural gas, it costs less in the U.S., and gave us an economic advantage” – much of this natural gas is tapped from dangerous fracking (6).
BIG CORPORATE BOARDS
Jeff Bleich talks about his humble lifestyle, but he collects big corporate checks for sitting on boards of large private companies. Though ethically questionable, he joined two Australian companies’ politically-connected boards shortly after working as ambassador in that country.
- PRATT INDUSTRIES is a privately-held family corporation with no transparency and run by a family fraught with a checkered Australian history. It is currently run by one of Donald Trump’s best corporate friends, Anthony Pratt, (7) Australia’s richest man. Pratt not only donated heavily to Trump’s inauguration, he continues to take out full-page ads in The Wall Street Journal praising and thanking him for his presidential leadership. Bleich cultivated a friendship with Pratt while ambassador and was placed on his board to help Pratt become a major U.S. player. “Anthony has a compelling vision for his company. He's a business leader with extensive experience in both Australia and the U.S.,” said Bleich when he joined the lucrative board. “It is an honour to join him” (8).
- NUIX is a secretive tech company whose chairman was criminally indicted for tax evasion and potential fraud a few months ago (9). Jeff Bleich continues to stay on the board and defend his indicted chairman and friend.
BIG TUITION HIKER
Jeff Bleich likes to portray himself as pro-student, but he consistently voted for rate hikes… three times! Then-Lt. Governor John Garamendi alongside a student representative forcefully opposed these hikes, but Bleich overruled them as Chairman and raised California tuitions to record levels. The San Francisco Chronicle noted that after voting for students to pay a 10 percent tuition increase, “trustee Jeffrey Bleich, who chairs the board, blamed the state” (10).
A deeper, longer track record for whom, indeed?
References:
1. Press Release, “Dentons welcomes Newt Gingrich, commentator, statesman, and former candidate for U.S. President”: http://bit.ly/2Di3zxY
2. Biography, “Jeffrey L. Bleich, CEO, Dentons Diplomatic Solutions” http://bit.ly/2rhn3gO
3. The New American, “Newt Gingrich as VP would bring a big ‘China Problem’ to Team Trump”: http://bit.ly/2rdpBfI
4. The Times, “Bina Hale wins sex bias battle against “dishonest” law firm, Dentons”: http://bit.ly/2B2ePbV
5. RIGZONE, article on U.S. energy companies in Western Australia: http://bit.ly/2DmE3YD
6. Medium, “Why Withdrawing from the Paris Accord Matters”: http://bit.ly/2DnHAWr
7. Forbes, “The Billionaire Who’s Going All In On Donald Trump”: http://bit.ly/2mQcfl0
8. The Australian, “U.S. Ambassador Joins Pratt Advisory Board”: http://bit.ly/2DlNlnD
9. Vanuatu Independent, “Cyber security company chief Castagna facing criminal charges”: http://bit.ly/2mIOuup
10. SF Gate, “CSU trustees approve tuition raise of 10%”: http://bit.ly/2DkcleN