Thread Deterrence Capital, Sondland, Cheney, Dennis Hastert, Bush, Oregon and "The Arts"

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/10/gordon-sondlands-biggest-deal-lands-him-at-center-of-ukraine-scandal-is-all-hes-worked-for-at-risk.html



“The most striking thing to me was the dissonance between their image as Mr. and Mrs. Do-Gooder Community Angel,” he said, “and what they were prepared to do as our neighbor.”


"One of his first hotels in Portland is now called the Dossier."

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"Sondland and Durant were fixtures in the society pages as his business grew. The couple became known for giving to the arts and hosting fundraisers at their handsome West Hills home.

They also opened their house to Republican politicians.

Dick Cheney raised money in Sondland’s home for his running mate George W. Bush in 2000. 

Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert stumped for Congressman Greg Walden in 2002.

Sondland worked both sides of the political aisle.

 Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed Sondland to his transition team that same year. "

"Kulongoski later installed him on the state’s film and TV board, created to attract Hollywood producers to Oregon. Sondland had a passion for the arts. "

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https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-oregon-film-office-funding-budget-cut-movies-tv/

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"The strip became known as “Lottery Row.” A Portland Police officer assigned to Hayden Island called it a sewer."

Sondland later weighed in.

“‘Go ahead and go public,’ we said. ‘We really don’t care,’” he told Oregonian/OregonLive columnist Steve Duin at the time."

"Recently revived plans to build a new I-5 bridge across the Columbia could offer Sondland the final solution he’s long wanted for his Hayden Island holdings. Federal financial filings say the property was “identified as a possible candidate for condemnation proceedings.”

 A new bridge would likely require Sondland’s buildings to be torn down, in which case the states would likely have to buy him out."

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"Since 2011, Sondland has regularly given to the Republican National Committee and threw further support behind high-profile Republicans including Rand Paul and John McCain, who he hosted in 2014 for a fundraiser for Monica Wehby’s failed Senate bid.

More than $200,000 of Sondland’s charitable dollars went to Bush family causes starting in 2007, as George W. Bush prepared to leave office. Sondland hosted a fundraiser in 2015 for Jeb Bush and contributed to a political action committee linked to Bush personally and through his business."
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"It’s unclear how and when Sondland first met Elliott Broidy, a major Republican fundraiser from Los Angeles who had been a finance chair for the RNC.

 Broidy later pleaded guilty in 2009 to a charge linked to a bribery scheme of New York state officials.

Broidy helped run the Trump Victory Committee in 2016, a joint fundraising committee that raised money for Trump’s campaign and the RNC."
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"As Republican primary results began to shake out in February 2016, Sondland incorporated BV-TDC in Washington state. 

As of 2018, the corporation’s one asset was a stake in Broidy’s company,

Threat Deterrence Capital, according to federal filings. Financial disclosure documents show Sondland invested primarily in real estate holdings and publicly traded stocks --

Threat Deterrence was one exception.

The filing described Threat Deterrence as an intelligence gathering company."

"Questions about the intersection between Broidy’s foreign work on behalf of his company and political dealings on behalf of Trump have opened Broidy up to public scrutiny. 

The Wall Street Journal reported in June that federal prosecutors were intensifying their investigation of Broidy."

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" He contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration through four key companies. Broidy had been a key fundraiser for the inauguration.

Trump officially nominated Sondland in May 2018. While Sondland had pushed for years for such a post, accepting the nomination came at a cost."

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"To comply with federal ethics laws, Sondland agreed to step down from controlling positions in his companies and sold off his stocks, including investments in Amazon, Facebook and Google in a massive fell-swoop in August 2018.


Also that month, he sold 200,000 shares in Threat Deterrence Capital for at least $100,000, according to financial disclosure statements. 

He had already transferred his stake in the company to his children after a request from the State Department to divest, Willamette Week reported this week."

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"Earlier this week, former White House Advisor Fiona Hill said Sondland explicitly asked Zelensky to investigate Burisma, the gas company that included Hunter Biden on its board. 

She added that Sondland was a national security risk because of his inexperience and heavy use of a personal cell phone."