Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

12 hours ago

S&P 500, Nasdaq Near Record Highs as Rate-Cut Bets Creep Up

18 hours ago

Bobby Sherman, Easygoing Teen Idol of the 1960s and ’70s, Dies at 81

18 hours ago

Cargo Ship That Caught Fire Carrying Electric Vehicles Sinks in the Pacific

18 hours ago

US Supreme Court Backs South Carolina Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

18 hours ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

1 day ago

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

1 day ago

Fresno Residents Join Nationwide Fast to Call Attention to Gaza Crisis

2 days ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

2 days ago
Silicon Valley Billionaire Ellison Backs Nunes' Reelection Bid
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
February 13, 2018

Share

The Daily Beast reports that top Oracle executives have given so much money to Rep. Devin Nunes’ reelection campaign that some contributions had to be returned.
In a story headlined “The Silicon Valley Giant Bankrolling Devin Nunes,” reporter Lachlan Markay details contributions from five Oracle executives totaling nearly $35,000.
“What made the donations stand out, however, was not the size of them—$35,000 was a relatively small amount considering the more than $1.2 million that Nunes has raised so far this cycle. It was the timing of the giving,” Markay writes.

Oracle Hires Former Trump Intelligence Aid

The reporter goes on to explain that Ezra Cohen-Watnick, formerly a top intelligence aide in the Trump White House linked to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, “joined Oracle just weeks before its executives began writing checks to Nunes.”
Cohen-Watnick and Flynn are close political allies of Nunes, a Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee.
Flynn, a retired U.S. Army general, pleaded guilty in December to lying to the FBI about conversations with Russian Ambassador  Sergey I. Kislyak in late 2016.

Ellison Is a Political Outlier in Silicon Valley

In addition, Markay explains that “Oracle is a Republican outlier in Silicon Valley, and its executives’ right-leaning politics (and political contributions) present opportunities in Trump’s Washington unavailable to competitors like Amazon, a frequent target of (President) Trump’s ire.”
Oracle’s chairman and chief technology officer is Larry Ellison. Forbes estimates Ellison’s financial worth is $58.9 billion.

Nunes Has History of Landslide Victories

Nunes, of Tulare, customarily wins reelection by landslide margins in a district with a large Republican voter registration edge.
This year, three Democrats are challenging Nunes in California’s 22nd District. One of them, Fresno County assistant district attorney Andrew Janz, is receiving national attention. That attention is largely the result of Nunes’ controversial chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee.
The Daily Beast story goes into great detail about Cohen-Watnick’s relationship with Nunes. It also explains why some of the Oracle donations had to be returned. You can read the story at this link.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

DON'T MISS

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

DON'T MISS

Convicted Felon Caught With Guns, Ammunition in Fresno Bust

DON'T MISS

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

DON'T MISS

Crypto Industry Moves Into US Housing Market

DON'T MISS

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

DON'T MISS

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Searching for At-Risk Missing Man Last Seen in Fresno

DON'T MISS

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

DON'T MISS

Wonderdog Still Barking: Justin Wilson Thrives With Boston Red Sox

UP NEXT

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

UP NEXT

Convicted Felon Caught With Guns, Ammunition in Fresno Bust

UP NEXT

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

UP NEXT

Crypto Industry Moves Into US Housing Market

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Searching for At-Risk Missing Man Last Seen in Fresno

UP NEXT

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

UP NEXT

Wonderdog Still Barking: Justin Wilson Thrives With Boston Red Sox

UP NEXT

Anna Wintour to Step Down From Vogue Editor-in-Chief Role, Media Reports Say

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

10 hours ago

Crypto Industry Moves Into US Housing Market

11 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

12 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

12 hours ago

Clovis Police Searching for At-Risk Missing Man Last Seen in Fresno

13 hours ago

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

13 hours ago

Wonderdog Still Barking: Justin Wilson Thrives With Boston Red Sox

13 hours ago

Anna Wintour to Step Down From Vogue Editor-in-Chief Role, Media Reports Say

14 hours ago

Feds Charge Bullard High Teacher With Child Porn, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

14 hours ago

New Data Clarifies a Lingering Question on 2024 Turnout

14 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

WASHINGTON – Hawaiian Airlines said on Thursday that some of its IT systems were disrupted by a hack, adding its flights were operatin...

10 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines airplanes on the runway at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. April 28, 2020.
10 hours ago

Hawaiian Airlines Hit by Cyber Attack

A view of Harvard campus on John F. Kennedy Street at Harvard University is pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., December 7, 2023. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

A convicted felon was arrested in Fresno County after investigators found a rifle, handgun, and ammunition while serving a search warrant. (Fresno PD)
10 hours ago

Convicted Felon Caught With Guns, Ammunition in Fresno Bust

10 hours ago

Fresno Advocates Want Respect for Immigrants, Defend Miguel Arias

American_Flag_Bitcoin_1280x720
11 hours ago

Crypto Industry Moves Into US Housing Market

Journalist Bill Moyers delivers the keynote speech at the People for the American Way Foundation's Spirit of Liberty dinner in Beverly Hills September 21, 2004. (Reuters File)
12 hours ago

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

President Donald Trump speaks during a "One Big Beautiful" event at the White House in Washington, DC., U.S., June 26, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
12 hours ago

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

Clovis police are searching for Surinder Pal, 55, an at-risk man last seen in Fresno, after his car was found abandoned. (Clovis PD)
13 hours ago

Clovis Police Searching for At-Risk Missing Man Last Seen in Fresno

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend