Senator Asks US to Reject Tiktok-Oracle Deal, Saying It Allows for Chinese Regime Control

Justice Department Watchdog Probing Handling of Stone Sentencing

The Justice Department has launched an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the handling of the criminal case of Roger Stone, former political adviser to President Donald Trump. The probe by the department’s inspector general will reportedly look into Attorney General William Barr’s February decision to override a sentencing recommendation for Stone made by rank-and-file prosecutors. The prosecutors recommended a sentence of seven to nine years in prison for Stone, but the department later filed another recommendation asking for a lighter sentence. The DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General would not “confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing investigation” to The Epoch Times. Meanwhile, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told media outlets that they “welcome the review.” She did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment. The revelation…

The United States should reject a proposed partnership between Oracle and TikTok that would allow for continued Chinese regime control over the app and consequently endanger American national interests, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

Oracle reached a deal over the weekend with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, in which Oracle would serve as a “trusted technology provider” for the Chinese-owned video-sharing app. The proposal is currently awaiting a review from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that screens foreign investment transactions for national security concerns.

In a Sept. 14 letter (pdf) to the committee chair, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Hawley urged the CFIUS to take a more critical look at the “Oracle-ByteDance collaboration” and reject anything short of a clean break with the app’s Chinese ties.

“ByteDance can still pursue a full sale of TikTok, its code, and its algorithm to a U.S. company, so that the app can be rebuilt from the ground up to remove any trace of CCP influence. Or perhaps, given constraints imposed by Chinese law, the only feasible way to maintain Americans’ security is to effectively ban the TikTok app in the United States altogether,” he wrote.

Popular among teenagers, TikTok has faced intense scrutiny for privacy issues and for censoring sensitive user content to toe the Chinese Communist Party’s line.

It remains unclear whether the new deal entails transferring the TikTok’s coveted recommendation algorithms to Oracle—which could be subject to a new Beijing export regulation that requires sales of such technologies to be approved by Chinese authorities.

Regardless, as “ByteDance has no intention whatsoever of relinquishing ultimate control of TikTok,” the proposed partnership “leaves fully intact” the national security threat of the Chinese regime having access to Americans’ data, the senator said.

Chinese intelligence law requires all Chinese companies like ByteDance to cooperate with Beijing’s intelligence efforts and hand over data in accordance with the regime’s will.

With such “repressive” laws still in force, “any corporate shell game that leaves TikTok in the hands of ByteDance will simply perpetuate the original problem,” Hawley said.

“In short, the proposal violates the President’s executive order,” he added.

Microsoft, whose offer ByteDance had turned down, said on Sunday that its solution “would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation.”

CFIUS is set to review the agreement this week and make a recommendation to President Donald Trump, who has the final say over the TikTok deal.

Focus News: Senator Asks US to Reject Tiktok-Oracle Deal, Saying It Allows for Chinese Regime Control

Daimler to Pay $2.2 Billion in Diesel Emissions Cheating Settlements

WASHINGTON—Daimler AG will pay $2.2 billion to resolve a U.S. government diesel emissions cheating investigation and claims from 250,000 U.S. vehicle owners, court documents show. The German automaker and its Mercedes-Benz USA LLC unit disclosed on Aug. 13 it had reached a settlement in principle resolving civil and environmental claims tied to 250,000 U.S. diesel cars and vans after the automaker used software to evade emissions rules. Daimler said in August expected costs of settlements with U.S. authorities would total $1.5 billion, settling with owners will cost another $700 million and also disclosed “further expenses of a mid three-digit-million EUR (euro) amount to fulfill requirements of the settlements. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen said the settlements, which follow a nearly five-year investigation, will “serve to deter any others who may…