Thursday morning Inspector General John Roth testified before a House committee that Harry Reid did manage to get preferential treatment for Chinese investors in a Las Vegas casino.
Roth stated that there were “several highly unusual things” that happened “as a result of the intervention” by Reid. Roth also stated that employees of the USCIS worried that expediting the vises would create the appearance of “special favoritism.”
Earlier this year it was discovered that Reid shepherded Chinese investors in a Las Vegas casino through the controversial EB-5 visa process, sparking an investigation.
Wednesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the results of the Inspector General’s
report, finding that Reid pressured the Department of Homeland Security to fast-track the visas, despite the fact that there was “no basis” for expediting
them.
“A top Department of Homeland Security official improperly intervened to fast-track visas for foreign investors in the $415 million SLS Las Vegas renovation after being pressured by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, according to an inspector general’s report released Tuesday. ‘There was no basis for expediting the (visa) petitions,’ the IG report concluded in the Las Vegas case, one of three high-profile projects Inspector General John Roth investigated for undue political influence based on whistleblower complaints.”
Despite the obvious evidence of favoritism, Reid is unfazed. A Reid spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there was nothing wrong with Reid’s actions, instead citing it as just another example of Reid’s commitment to serving Nevadans.
If it looks like corruption and it quacks like corruption, leave it to Harry Reid to call it public service.
And as a friendly reminder: this is not the first high-level scandal Reid has been involved in. In 2012 Reid was caught advocating for a solar energy plant proposed by his son’s lobbying client.