Earlier today, news broke that Harry Reid's campaign had given $17000 to his granddaughter for "holiday presents". Reid now says that the campaign bought jewelry from his granddaughter to give as gifts to others. Despite that claimed defense, Reid also announced that he is paying back the money to the campaign. That is not surprising since his granddaughter was identified in the reporting as "Ryan Elisabeth" rather than by her full name which is "Ryan Elisabeth Reid". Further, Ms. Reid (or, if you prefer, Ms. Elisabeth) does not list jewelry design or jewelry making on her profile on LinkedIn, a strange omission for such a supposedly prolific jewelry manufacturer.
Whether or not the payments to Harry Reid's granddaughter were proper, one thing did result from today's news: some members of the media began to look into just who Ryan Elisabeth is and what she does. These inquiries uncovered some rather interesting information which was reported by Adam O'Neill at Real Clear Politics. First, Ryan Elisabeth (Reid) is the founder and artistic director of something called the Sprat Theater Company in Brooklyn, New York. Sprat is a new entity (since Ryan Elisabeth is a recent college graduate in her early 20s). Even so, Sprat has managed to get contributions from a series of important Nevada companies that need to stay in the good graces of Harry Reid. Sprat got major contributions from the Caesars Foundation and from NV Energy Foundation (which is affiliated with the local power company in Nevada.) Caesars Foundation says that it donates only to entities in communities where Caesars does business (which does not include New York). NV Energy Foundation says that it donates only to people or organizations within the service area of NV Energy (which ends about 2500 miles away from Brooklyn.) Both Caesars and NV Energy Foundation say that the donate only to organizations that have tax exempt status as 501(c)(3) organizations -- something that the Sprat Theater Company does not have. In other words, it certainly looks like these companies are breaking their own rules to give major contributions to a theater company founded and run by Harry Reid's granddaughter.
We do not yet know if the Sprat Theater Company paid a salary to Ms. Reid, but if it did, then that would complete the transfer of funds from Caesars and NV Energy to the Reid family.
This information has just come out. It is too soon to know if these arrangements are legal or not. One thing is certain, however: the whole thing has the appearance of these two companies funneling money to Harry Reid's family. We do not know if Reid gave them anything in return.
Whether or not the payments to Harry Reid's granddaughter were proper, one thing did result from today's news: some members of the media began to look into just who Ryan Elisabeth is and what she does. These inquiries uncovered some rather interesting information which was reported by Adam O'Neill at Real Clear Politics. First, Ryan Elisabeth (Reid) is the founder and artistic director of something called the Sprat Theater Company in Brooklyn, New York. Sprat is a new entity (since Ryan Elisabeth is a recent college graduate in her early 20s). Even so, Sprat has managed to get contributions from a series of important Nevada companies that need to stay in the good graces of Harry Reid. Sprat got major contributions from the Caesars Foundation and from NV Energy Foundation (which is affiliated with the local power company in Nevada.) Caesars Foundation says that it donates only to entities in communities where Caesars does business (which does not include New York). NV Energy Foundation says that it donates only to people or organizations within the service area of NV Energy (which ends about 2500 miles away from Brooklyn.) Both Caesars and NV Energy Foundation say that the donate only to organizations that have tax exempt status as 501(c)(3) organizations -- something that the Sprat Theater Company does not have. In other words, it certainly looks like these companies are breaking their own rules to give major contributions to a theater company founded and run by Harry Reid's granddaughter.
We do not yet know if the Sprat Theater Company paid a salary to Ms. Reid, but if it did, then that would complete the transfer of funds from Caesars and NV Energy to the Reid family.
This information has just come out. It is too soon to know if these arrangements are legal or not. One thing is certain, however: the whole thing has the appearance of these two companies funneling money to Harry Reid's family. We do not know if Reid gave them anything in return.
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