BALTIMORE (AP) - The pension fund for Baltimore police officers and firefighters has decided to withdraw $32 million from a hedge fund run by a Republican mega-donor with close ties to President Donald Trump.
City officials tell The Baltimore Sun they recently requested a refund of the investment with Renaissance Technologies, whose co-chief executive Robert Mercer announced Thursday he was stepping down amid criticism about his backing of conservative and far-right causes.
Mercer poured resources into helping elect Trump last fall and is a backer of Breitbart News, which is led by Steve Bannon, Trump’s ex-chief strategist. The site has been criticized for encouraging white supremacists.
Comptroller Joan Pratt says pulling the money “was the right thing to do when we found out what this company was doing.”
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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com
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