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U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin 19th attended the nomination hearing held by Congress Senate and was "cross-examination" for more than 5 hours.
The day before, Mnuchin, a Wall Street banker, was exposed to concealing nearly $100 million in personal assets. Several senators thus doubted Mnuchin's moral standards and questioned whether he was qualified to join the cabinet.
[Concealed Assets]
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee learned on the evening of the 18th that Mnuchin concealed nearly $100 million in assets when he declared his personal assets on December 19, 2016, including $95 million in real estate in New York, Los Angeles, , Mexico and other places, as well as $906,556 million in artworks under his children.
In addition, Mnuchin was also revealed to be the head of an investment fund in the Cayman Islands, and he initially concealed his identity in the filing materials. The investment fund, called Dune Capital International, has attracted attention because it is located in the Cayman Islands, known as the "tax haven".
Information from the Senate Finance Committee showed that "Mr. Mnuchin claimed that the concealment of the report was due to a misunderstanding of the declaration form. Although the committee asked the nominee to list all real estate", he did not realize that these assets also belong to the part that needed to be declared.
It is understood that staff of the Senate Finance Committee pointed out the concealment of Mnuchin. Mnuchin then refilled the relevant declaration form, made up for the concealment of assets, and indicated his identity as the head of the investment fund.
[Fierce Cross-examination]
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary on the 19th, and conducted more than five hours of "cross-examination" on his concealment of assets.
At the hearing, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said: "I have a bunch of questions about policy, but first of all, you need to figure out the truth and integrity. Americans need an honest Treasury Secretary."
Menendez questioned Mnuchin's operation of the Cayman Islands Investment Fund and other matters: "In essence, isn't what you do to transfer some companies to offshore operations, serve your customers and make money from them, with the goal of avoiding paying taxes in the United States?"
Mnuchin defended that such statements were "completely incorrect." His transfer of investment institutions to the Cayman Islands was due to multiple considerations and "a very complicated matter."
As for concealing assets, Mnuchin said the relevant form is "very complicated, and I didn't realize I filled it in the wrong at first." His lawyer once said that the filling in was correct, so he felt relieved to submit the declaration form.
This explanation obviously failed to convince Menendez, who believed that "listing all assets" was a pretty clear instruction and that "no cutting-edge technology" could understand its meaning.
[Arouses doubts]
Mnuchin is 54 years old. He has worked for Goldman Sachs Group for 17 years and has no political experience. During the U.S. presidential election, he served as the treasurer of the Donald Trump campaign committee, helping Trump raise funds.
If Mnuchin's nomination is approved by the Senate, he will become the third U.S. Treasury Secretary with Goldman Sachs Group's work experience.
After the 2008 global financial crisis, Mnuchin joined hands with other investors to buy the "Indymike Bank" in California for $1.55 billion, and renamed the bankrupt savings and mortgage company "OneWest", and later sold it for $3.4 billion, earning nearly $2 billion.
During the period when Mnuchin operated OneWest, the company mortgaged and confiscated more than 36,000 residential buildings, causing some people who lost their homes to take a sharp turn for the worse. For example, a 90-year-old woman paid 27 cents less when she paid the money for some mistake, and the mortgaged house was confiscated.
Several senators noticed this matter and believed that Mnuchin was too close to Wall Street and questioned his qualifications to join the cabinet. Mnuchin defended at the hearing on the 19th, denying exploiting the interests of the poor, but also acknowledging that some cases were improperly operated.
American media noticed that during the fierce interrogation for more than five hours, Mnuchin remained calm. U.S. President-elect Trump then praised Mnuchin for "performing well" at the hearing. (Yang Shuyi Xinhua News Agency special report)
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