{"id":573451,"date":"2021-06-24T20:36:13","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T00:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=573451"},"modified":"2021-06-24T20:36:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T00:36:16","slug":"deeply-problematic-biden-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-received-favorable-loan-from-wealthy-developer-two-years-after-helping-him-secure-development-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/deeply-problematic-biden-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-received-favorable-loan-from-wealthy-developer-two-years-after-helping-him-secure-development-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Deeply Problematic\u2019: Biden Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Received Favorable Loan From Wealthy Developer Two Years After Helping Him Secure Development Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdeeply-problematic-biden-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-received-favorable-loan-from-wealthy-developer-two-years-after-helping-him-secure-development-deal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=573451&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/tracy-stone-manning-headshot-e1623938123756.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tracy Stone-Manning, President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, helped a wealthy land developer secure county approval to build a neighborhood subdivision in 2006.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Two years later as a staffer for Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, Stone-Manning received a below-market rate personal loan from the same developer.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cThe close timing of the favorable comment and the questionable loan at the very least creates the appearance of impropriety, which is deeply problematic for Senate staff,\u201d American Accountability Foundation President Tom Jones told the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management helped a wealthy land developer secure county approval to build a neighborhood subdivision in 2006. Two years later, while working as a staffer for Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the nominee received a below-market rate personal loan from the same developer.<\/p>\n<p>The nominee, Tracy Stone-Manning, reported in her financial disclosure that in 2020 she paid off a $50,000 to $100,000 personal loan she had received from the Montana land developer, Stuart Goldberg, in 2008 at a 6% interest rate, which was about half the going rate of a personal loan at the time, according to federal reserve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/releases\/g19\/HIST\/cc_hist_tc_levels.html\">data<\/a>. The American Accountability Foundation, a conservative watchdog group, said the terms of the loan raised \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidennoms.com\/news\/706\/tracy-stone-manning-biden-nominee-for-bureau-of-land-management-takes-large-loan-and-likely-impermissible-gift-from-donor-developer\">serious questions<\/a>\u201d about whether it constituted an \u201cimpermissible gift\u201d to Stone-Manning in violation of Senate ethics rules.<\/p>\n<p>Amid questions about the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.bidennoms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Stone-Manning-Tracy-final278.pdf\">loan<\/a> during her confirmation hearing in June, Stone-Manning described Goldberg as a friend who stepped in to help her family during the 2008 financial crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Goldberg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/individual-contributions\/?contributor_name=stuart+goldberg&#038;contributor_state=MT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contributed<\/a> $2,100 to Tester\u2019s campaign in 2006, Federal Election Commission records show.<\/p>\n<p>But Stone-Manning did not mention during her confirmation hearing that two years prior to receiving Goldberg\u2019s loan, she had used her position as the director of a conservation nonprofit to help his company receive <a href=\"https:\/\/missoulian.com\/news\/county-oks-mccauley-butte-subdivision\/article_8d0ad386-dadc-5d60-a806-00f99081a82f.html\">unanimous approval<\/a> from the Missoula County Board of Commissioners to build residential homes on a 19-acre subdivision of a 286-plot of land owned by the company.<\/p>\n<p>Identifying herself as the director of the Clark Fork Coalition during an April 12, 2006, public meeting, Stone-Manning told the Missoula commissioners that she wouldn\u2019t typically throw her weight behind such a real estate development proposal, but indicated she would make an exception for Goldberg because his company had negotiated conservation easements for the remaining 266-acres of land where no development was planned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe stand here before you today and ask you to support this proposal,\u201d Stone-Manning said at the meeting, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/04.12.2006_BCC-Public-Meeting-Minutes.pdf\">minutes<\/a> obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re used to hearing us say that, but we believe this development really has astounding merit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really feel like the population of Missoula County has dodged a bullet with this proposal,\u201d she added. \u201cThat through no expenditure of public income, we get protected what we all so cherish \u2026 So I hope that you will support it, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>American Accountability Foundation president Tom Jones told the DCNF that Stone-Manning\u2019s receipt of Goldberg\u2019s loan in 2008 while serving as Tester\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tracy-stone-manning-49a1542a\/\">regional director<\/a> was \u201cdeeply problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe close timing of the favorable comment and the questionable loan at the very least creates the appearance of impropriety, which is deeply problematic for Senate staff,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas pressed Stone-Manning about the loan during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/23\/joe-biden-bureau-of-land-management-forest-service\/\">(RELATED: \u2018We Must Breed Fewer Consuming Humans\u2019: Biden BLM Nominee Argued For Population Control In Graduate Thesis)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to your disclosure, it looks like you received that an interest rate of 6 percent, but the going rate of a consumer loan was 11 percent,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cDo you feel that\u2019s some type of conflict of interest to take out a personal loan when you\u2019re working for a United States Senator? And were you aware the difference in the interest rate was significantly below the average?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning responded: \u201cEthics are deeply important to me. Like many families in 2008 we got smacked by the recession and a friend loaned us some money to make sure that we could get through it. And we came to terms, and we honored the loan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senate Ethics Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ethics.senate.gov\/public\/_cache\/files\/3507e6ae-2525-40ac-9ec8-7c6dbfe35933\/2015---red-book---the-senate-code-of-official-conduct.pdf\">rules<\/a> state that Senate staffers may only take out loans \u201con terms generally available to the public.\u201d The American Accountability Foundation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidennoms.com\/news\/706\/tracy-stone-manning-biden-nominee-for-bureau-of-land-management-takes-large-loan-and-likely-impermissible-gift-from-donor-developer\">wrote<\/a> that Stone-Manning\u2019s 6% loan with Goldberg was on terms not available to the public at the time, and therefore was a \u201csubstantial\u201d impermissible gift that could have exceeded more than $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning has not yet provided answers to follow-up questions about the loan from Republican members of the committee as of Thursday, a spokesman for the committee\u2019s ranking member, Sen. John Barrasso, told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Goldberg did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Republican opposition to Stone-Manning\u2019s confirmation has grown considerably in recent weeks following reports by the DCNF and other outlets about her involvement in a 1989 tree spiking incident. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/11\/tracy-stone-manning-tree-spiking-bureau-land-management\/\">(RELATED: Biden Nominee Was Involved In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case, Resulted In College Roommate\u2019s Conviction, Prison Sentence)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Multiple Republican senators have accused Stone-Manning of providing false answers to the committee in regards to her involvement in the tree spiking incident and called for her nomination to be revoked.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"12.454293628809\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Tracy Stone-Manning\u2014a former member of the ecoterrorist group Earth First\u2014is unfit to lead <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BLMNational?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BLMNational<\/a>, an agency w\/ enormous power over federal lands, particularly in Alaska.<\/p>\n<p>Last night, I called on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@POTUS<\/a> to withdraw her nomination.<\/p>\n<p>???? Watch here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jZuSFlQRBR\">https:\/\/t.co\/jZuSFlQRBR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/07zdWeZgk6\">pic.twitter.com\/07zdWeZgk6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenDanSullivan\/status\/1407440393571028995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 22, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Former Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey, who led the agency during most of former President Barack Obama\u2019s first term, also said Stone-Manning\u2019s involvement in the eco-terrorism case is disqualifying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBLM needs a really strong leader,\u201d Abbey <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/18\/bob-abbey-tracy-stone-manning-disqualify\/\">said<\/a>. \u201cTo put someone in that position that has this type of resume will just bring needless controversy that is not good for the agency or for the public lands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The White House has remained supportive of Stone-Manning\u2019s nomination amid the blowback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTracy Stone-Manning is a dedicated public servant who has years of experience and a proven track record of finding solutions and common ground when it comes to our public lands and waters,\u201d the White House said in a statement Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/white-house-backs-tracy-stone-manning-gop-nomination-withdrawn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to Fox News. \u201cShe is exceptionally qualified to be the next Director of the Bureau of Land Management.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/coloradonewsline.com\/2021\/06\/23\/murkowski-to-oppose-stone-manning-nomination-while-tester-works-to-keep-support-among-dems\/\">vote<\/a> for Stone-Manning\u2019s nomination has not yet been scheduled.<\/p>\n<p>The White House and the Bureau of Land Management did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tracy Stone-Manning, President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, helped a wealthy land developer secure county approval to build a neighborhood subdivision in 2006. Two years &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2281294,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/tracy-stone-manning-headshot-e1623938123756.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Deeply Problematic\u2019: Biden Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Received Favorable Loan From Wealthy Developer Two Years After Helping Him Secure Development Deal","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-573451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/tracy-stone-manning-headshot-e1623938123756.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Deeply Problematic\u2019: Biden Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Received Favorable Loan From Wealthy Developer Two Years After Helping Him Secure Development Deal","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}