Today's Big Buzz is the news that SCL and Cambridge Analytica are shutting down and filing for bankruptcy. A statement posted on Cambridge Analytica's website says in part, "Despite Cambridge Analytica's unwavering confidence that its employees have acted ethically and lawfully... the siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the company's customers and suppliers."
It continues, "As a result, it has been determined that it is no longer viable to continue operating the business."
Always the victim, eh? Poor, poor Robert and Rebekah Mercer.
Don't be fooled, it's just a rebranding.
Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, daughters of hedge fund tycoon Robert Mercer, have just joined the board of a mysterious new company set up by executives at scandal-hit political research firm Cambridge Analytica.
According to public filings at Britain's Companies House, Emerdata was incorporated in August 2017 and the Mercers were appointed to its board on March 16 this year.
Cambridge Analytica's now-suspended chief executive, Alexander Nix, is also listed as a director, as is Julian Wheatland, chairman of Cambridge Analytica parent firm SCL Group.
The filings show Wheatland set up Emerdata along with Cambridge Analytica's chief data officer, Alexander Tayler.
This is the same kind of rebranding Blackwater undertook back in the last decade after they were busted for all of their abuses in Iraq. First they rebranded to Xe, and then to Academi. Or Philip Morris rebranding to Altria in order to escape their tobacco associations after the tobacco settlements.
It's a common tactic, undertaken by bad actors looking for a fresh start. Keep your eyes out, because I'm sure Emerdata has already begun their campaigns for the 2018 midterms.
