STEVEN MNUCHIN, the Treasury secretary, enjoys several spectacular powers. One is the right to sign dollar bills. Another is the power to impose sanctions that exclude foreign actors and entities from the American financial system—which given the dollar’s role as a reserve currency is tantamount to banishment from the world of international finance and business. Senior officials who have watched Mr Mnuchin at work say that he takes his sanctions powers seriously, and is an enthusiast for using the Treasury as an arm of American hard power.
On March 15th Mr Mnuchin’s team at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) used their super powers to sanction Russian spies and Kremlin associates for two broad attacks on America. One set of sanctions targets 13 Russians charged in an indictment in February by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, for meddling in the 2016 election by such acts as setting up fake online persona to bombard millions of Americans with divisive political messages and to organise political rallies on American...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2HCPw43
EmoticonEmoticon