Cause of Action, a nonprofit, government oversight group, is calling on the Department of Justice to “immediately investigate” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas “for their participation in unlawful political activity, possible coercion and fraud related to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.”
Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein will provide details in a media conference Thursday about a letter the group sent “calling on the Acting Chief Public Integrity Officer at the Department of Justice to investigate Department of Homeland Security Deputy Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, Sen. Harry Reid, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and potentially others,” according to a statement released by the group.
“The letter . . . comes on the heels of a report from the DHS Inspector General which revealed potential fraud in a well known visa-for-cash program administered by DHS. The IG’s investigation found that Mr. Mayorkas “exerted improper influence in the normal processing and adjudication of EB-5 immigration program benefits,” the statement read.
Breitbart News has obtained a copy of that letter, which reads in part:
The Immigrant Investor Program, or Employment-Based Preference Five (“EB-5”) allows foreigners to apply for a conditional U.S. visa by investing $500,000 in an area of high employment under the Pilot Program. For several years, the EB-5 vis program–in addition to other government issued visa programs–has been subject to public scrutiny due to concerns that the programs can be abused for political or fraudulent purposes. . .
Because the law concerning foreign campaign contributions makes an exception for foreign nationals who have obtained a green card, there is an incentive to any local, state, or federal candidate to exchange visas for political contributions. Given the evidence that Senator Reid, Governor McAuliffe and others pressured government officials to fast-track visas of favored individuals, it is reasonable to wonder whether visas were being used as vehicles for campaign contributions or other funds. . .
Your section has jurisdiction over public corruption crimes, including bribery of or from public officials, extortion, acceptance of gratuities, election crimes, and conflicts of interest involving criminal misconduct and other public integrity related offenses. Given the individuals involved, the pattern of malfeasance and the importance of public oversight, it is incumbent your division immediately investigate these matters.
In December 2013, Cause of Action filed an ethics complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee alleging that Reid had improperly influenced the DHS’s processing of EB-5 visas in order to accelerate financing of the SLS Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Improbably, counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee told Cause of Action in October it had no record of receiving the complaint, and Cause of Action resubmitted the complaint that same month.
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