"a vast array of ethics problems"

[RandomGuy]

Donald Trump presidency 'most unethical in modern history', report finds

Donald Trump has led the “most unethical presidency” in US history, according to a scathing report by a government ethics watchdog.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accused the US President of conflating matters of public interest with decisions that “benefit his bottom line”.

Authors said a “failure to address this crisis” could cause “lasting harm to the country”, one year on from Mr Trump’s inauguration.

“It has long since become clear that our initial concerns — and those of so many Americans — were well founded. Indeed, in retrospect they were understated,” the document states.

“The Trump administration is confronted by an extraordinary scale and scope of legal and ethics scandals. It is unrivalled in the modern era, and perhaps in the history of the nation, for a first-year administration.

“The conduct of this administration, from the president on down, threatens our centuries-old tradition of a government that functions to serve the interests of the American people, rather than to serve the interests of those in power.”

The 36-page report also stated a president “sets the tone” for an administration, and the numerous scandals that have followed Mr Trump since his election campaign have “spread like a cancer” throughout his executive branch.

“The result is a vast array of ethics problems and improper influence among White House staff, cabinet officials, and senior agency officials,” the report said.

CREW has lodged 180 legal challenges against the former real estate mogul and his administration, often citing the “emoluments clause” in the US Constitution that forbids a president from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments.

“For virtually every decision President Trump makes, from taxes to environmental regulations to foreign policy, the American people cannot be sure whether he made his decision in the public interest or to benefit his bottom line,” the report noted.

The watchdog is now calling on Congress to safeguard special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“After a full year of this administration, it is now abundantly clear that the executive branch under President Trump is characterised by contempt for ethics and conflicts of interest rules and for the rule of law,” the report said. “It is time for the American people to conclude that one year is enough and to demand an end to the culture of corruption that is gripping Washington.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-presidency-apos-most-131639880.html

Report (pdf):
https://s3.amazonaws.com/storage.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/16021013/CREW-trumpONEyearReportFINAL.pdf

[TSA]

Donald Trump presidency 'most unethical in modern history', report finds

Donald Trump has led the “most unethical presidency” in US history, according to a scathing report by a government ethics watchdog.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accused the US President of conflating matters of public interest with decisions that “benefit his bottom line”.

Authors said a “failure to address this crisis” could cause “lasting harm to the country”, one year on from Mr Trump’s inauguration.

“It has long since become clear that our initial concerns — and those of so many Americans — were well founded. Indeed, in retrospect they were understated,” the document states.

“The Trump administration is confronted by an extraordinary scale and scope of legal and ethics scandals. It is unrivalled in the modern era, and perhaps in the history of the nation, for a first-year administration.

“The conduct of this administration, from the president on down, threatens our centuries-old tradition of a government that functions to serve the interests of the American people, rather than to serve the interests of those in power.”

The 36-page report also stated a president “sets the tone” for an administration, and the numerous scandals that have followed Mr Trump since his election campaign have “spread like a cancer” throughout his executive branch.

“The result is a vast array of ethics problems and improper influence among White House staff, cabinet officials, and senior agency officials,” the report said.

CREW has lodged 180 legal challenges against the former real estate mogul and his administration, often citing the “emoluments clause” in the US Constitution that forbids a president from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments.

“For virtually every decision President Trump makes, from taxes to environmental regulations to foreign policy, the American people cannot be sure whether he made his decision in the public interest or to benefit his bottom line,” the report noted.

The watchdog is now calling on Congress to safeguard special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“After a full year of this administration, it is now abundantly clear that the executive branch under President Trump is characterised by contempt for ethics and conflicts of interest rules and for the rule of law,” the report said. “It is time for the American people to conclude that one year is enough and to demand an end to the culture of corruption that is gripping Washington.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-presidency-apos-most-131639880.html

Report (pdf):
https://s3.amazonaws.com/storage.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/16021013/CREW-trumpONEyearReportFINAL.pdf

Washington, DC – Progressive activist David Brock has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a leading public ethics watchdog group, the group announced today. The move is effective August 11.

:lol CREW

[hater]

We have ended up with a Nazi white house vs Neocon deep state all out war. And the democrats are basically eunuch peons of the deep state due to their disdain of Trump

:lmao shithole

[RandomGuy]

Washington, DC – Progressive activist David Brock has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a leading public ethics watchdog group, the group announced today. The move is effective August 11.

:lol CREW

:lol knee jerk ad hominem logical fallacy.

I know you can't help yourself. Bad reasoning is part of who you are, sokay.

[TSA]

:lol knee jerk ad hominem logical fallacy.

I know you can't help yourself. Bad reasoning is part of who you are, sokay.

:lol David Brock

https://www.scribd.com/document/337535680/Full-David-Brock-Confidential-Memo-On-Fighting-Trump

[hater]

:lol damn

[TSA]

https://www.dailywire.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_full/public/uploads/2017/08/brock.jpg?itok=95InQL5t

[Pavlov]

What does sundance look like, TSA?

[RandomGuy]

:lol David Brock

https://www.scribd.com/document/337535680/Full-David-Brock-Confidential-Memo-On-Fighting-Trump

Wow. In response to being called out for knee jerk ad hominem... you go with another knee jerk ad hominem.

Thumbed through it. CREW is called a "nonpartisan" watchdog group.

Fail more please.

[RandomGuy]

:lol David Brock

https://www.scribd.com/document/337535680/Full-David-Brock-Confidential-Memo-On-Fighting-Trump


[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] will be the leading the nonpartisan ethics watchdog group... [and] will demand ethical conduct from the administration and all parts of government, expose improper influence from powerful interests, and ensure accountability when the administration and others shirk ethical standards rules, and laws.

Holy shit, why doesn't somebody stop these people?

:lmao


I'm guessing you like bought-and-paid for politicians, who take money on the side, and use their position to enrich themselves? That what you are pushing here? Spell it out for me.

[TSA]

Wow. In response to being called out for knee jerk ad hominem... you go with another knee jerk ad hominem.

Thumbed through it. CREW is called a "nonpartisan" watchdog group.

Fail more please.

Calling anything Brock does nonpartisan :lmao

Do you really have no clue who David Brock is?

[TeyshaBlue]

If the Koch bros headed up a think tank and called it non-partisan, it would be met with the same skeptical derision tbh.

[RandomGuy]

If the Koch bros headed up a think tank and called it non-partisan, it would be met with the same skeptical derision tbh.

Either their issues and concerns are genuine, or they aren't.

If the Koch brothers brought up ethical concerns, then I would be happy to support them. I am for good governance, and value that over party any day.

[RandomGuy]

Calling anything Brock does nonpartisan :lmao

Do you really have no clue who David Brock is?

"will demand ethical conduct from the administration and all parts of government, expose improper influence from powerful interests, and ensure accountability when the administration and others shirk ethical standards rules, and laws. "

More ad hominem. Either you think the above statement is valid, no matter who says it, or you think that David Brock saying it means that it is invalid.

Is that what you are going for here? David Brock doesn't care about good ethics because he is a (fill in the blank)?

[koriwhat]

god i hate david brocks fucking stupid ass sissy boy face.

[TeyshaBlue]

Either their issues and concerns are genuine, or they aren't.

If the Koch brothers brought up ethical concerns, then I would be happy to support them. I am for good governance, and value that over party any day.

CREW filed their first legal instrument at 12:01......1 minute after inauguration. Yeah.

[CosmicCowboy]

If the Koch bros headed up a think tank and called it non-partisan, it would be met with the same skeptical derision tbh.

X2

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The irony of TSA calling someone else's sources biased is amusing and other conservatives backing him up on it and ignoring that caveat is just gold.

[TeyshaBlue]

"If the Koch bros headed up a think tank and called it non-partisan, it would be met with the same skeptical derision tbh."

[FuzzyLumpkins]

If the Koch bros headed up a think tank and called it non-partisan, it would be met with the same skeptical derision tbh.

He's not analogous to Koch brothers. He is not a billionaire industrialist.

Cato and Heritage are posted here and then of course the litany of National Review, Drudge, Blaze, DailyWire, Zerohedge and the like. That is before you consider the conspiratard sites of hater, Chris, or TSA and the youtubes of Darrin and Chris.

[DarrinS]

He's not analogous to Koch brothers. He is not a billionaire industrialist.

Cato and Heritage are posted here and then of course the litany of National Review, Drudge, Blaze, DailyWire, Zerohedge and the like. That is before you consider the conspiratard sites of hater, Chris, or TSA and the youtubes of Darrin and Chris.


Meh, I’m rarely posting these days. Too many outrages du jour. Getting bored of it, tbh.

[spurraider21]

Meh, I’m rarely posting these days. Too many outrages du jour. Getting bored of it, tbh.
:lol youtube trend outrage

[TeyshaBlue]

He's not analogous to Koch brothers. He is not a billionaire industrialist.

Cato and Heritage are posted here and then of course the litany of National Review, Drudge, Blaze, DailyWire, Zerohedge and the like. That is before you consider the conspiratard sites of hater, Chris, or TSA and the youtubes of Darrin and Chris.

Nah, he's just a run of the mill millionare who was integral to the Clinton campaign and founded media matters...prominent member of the moonbat rss.

Totally not the same.

[spurraider21]

Nah, he's just a run of the mill millionare who was integral to the Clinton campaign and founded media matters...prominent member of the moonbat rss.

Totally not the same.also correct the record

[vy65]

https://www.dailywire.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_full/public/uploads/2017/08/brock.jpg?itok=95InQL5t

:lol

[TSA]

also correct the record

which also has a paid troll army

[TSA]

also Share Blue

[TSA]

all well known nonpartisan organizations of course, because Brock says so right RG?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Nah, he's just a run of the mill millionare who was integral to the Clinton campaign and founded media matters...prominent member of the moonbat rss.

Totally not the same.

The Koch Brothers are billionaires whose groups spent nearly a billion dollars on campaign contributions over the Obama presidency. That is billionaire with a b.

Media matters is certainly closely aligned with the Clintons and politically biased. That does not mean that they should be discounted out of hand. They are not the same as the conspiratard types that really are the moonbats. It would be more akin to Fox News who was founded by the RNCs media executive from the Bush and Reagan era.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Meh, I’m rarely posting these days. Too many outrages du jour. Getting bored of it, tbh.

According to your profile you've been posting everyday including over a dozen times on Monday.

[RandomGuy]

X2

If the Koch brothers brought up ethical concerns, then I would be happy to support them. I am for good governance, and value that over party any day.

[CosmicCowboy]

If the Koch brothers brought up ethical concerns, then I would be happy to support them. I am for good governance, and value that over party any day.

The article was full of hyperbolic accusations and no facts to back it up. Trumps a dick but if you are gonna write a hit job article at least back it up.

[AaronY]

Cliffs: Trumps a poopyhead and I hate em

[RandomGuy]

The article was full of hyperbolic accusations and no facts to back it up. Trumps a dick but if you are gonna write a hit job article at least back it up.

How much specificity do you need?

You want details, I can provide them. A lot of them. This is like asking someone for evidence that the earth is round, or evolution is real.

We can start with the conflicts of interest. I have posted the first few hundred of them in that thread. That of course, is just Trumps self-dealing.

Bear in mind that we are talking about an historically corrupt, inept administration, and the conflicts of interest don't stop with Trump.

How much do you want?

[RandomGuy]

President Trump’s conduct in the past year has made clear that the conflicts of interest problem is not just theoretical;
it is real. Countries from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia to China have provided business to the president in the form
of hotel stays, special events, rental of office space, and the provision of valuable trademarks, among many other
transactions that represent not only conflicts of interest but violations of the constitution’s prohibition on emoluments,
meaning profit or gain, from foreign governments. The federal government, by allowing President Trump to hold an
illegal lease for his Washington, D.C. hotel, and states like Maine, which paid for officials to stay in the president’s
hotel, have also provided him with constitutionally prohibited benefits.

[RandomGuy]

Meanwhile, President Trump has again and again used his office personally profit, most prominently by spending
roughly a third of his days as president at his resorts, but also by constantly promoting his businesses, as he did when
he wore hats sold by his campaign to hurricane relief photo opportunities. Those who pay to be members of his club
or guests at his hotel obtain access to the president, and the possibility of influencing him, not available to regular
Americans. No president in the history of our nation has held businesses creating the kinds of conflicts, constitutional
violations, and self-dealing we see with this one.

[RandomGuy]

The broader problems began in the administration’s first days. The appointments of Ivanka Trump and Jared
Kushner, President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, to senior White House positions violated at least the spirit and
purpose of the federal anti-nepotism law, and each of them brought a raft of potential conflicts of interest of their
own into their jobs. Both Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner have business interests that present continuing conflicts,
most visibly when the two of them attended a dinner with the Chinese president on the same day that the Chinese
government provisionally approved new trademarks for Ms. Trump’s brand. Mr. Kushner’s dozens of amendments
to his financial disclosure forms as more and more errors have been discovered, and his omission of significant
information on his national security questionnaire, raise additional questions about his forthrightness and about
whether he has sought to hide potential conflicts.

[RandomGuy]

Similarly, several of President Trump’s cabinet members have been plagued by conflicts of interest stemming from
massive financial holdings or prior positions that conflict with their job responsibilities. Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross has held on to massive interests in global shipping and natural gas companies, and he appears to have
acted on matters that could affect these interests. He also appears to have failed to fully disclose his net worth and
his ownership interest in problematic entities including the Bank of Cyprus. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has
similarly continued to hold a significant interest in an education-related company that could present a significant
conflict. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt attempted to get clearance to participate in
cases and matters upon which he had worked, often in direct opposition to the EPA, while serving as Oklahoma
Attorney General; ultimately, he partly but not fully backed down

By the by, care to guess which Mediterranean island's banks is favored by Russian oligarchs for getting money out of Russia? Just sayin'.

[RandomGuy]

Ethics rules violations have also been rampant in the administration’s first year. Two senior officials, United Nations
Ambassador Nikki Haley and White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino Jr., were both found by the Office of
Special Counsel to have violated federal law by using official Twitter accounts to post messages in favor of or against
candidates for office, and two other officials are under investigation for similar political law violations. Perhaps even
more troubling, multiple cabinet officials are under investigation for potential misuse of government resources for
travel, with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigning after incurring more than $1 million in travel
costs. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway misused her office to promote Ivanka Trump’s clothing brand,
and EPA Administrator Pruitt has spent taxpayer money extravagantly, including on a $25,000 telephone booth.

[RandomGuy]

The article was full of hyperbolic accusations and no facts to back it up. Trumps a dick but if you are gonna write a hit job article at least back it up.

Going to guess you didn't actually read the linked report. Plenty of details there.

While it is not uncommon for an occasional lobbyist to get a job with an administration, it is rare for the sheer number of them not only getting jobs, but getting them quietly, and with a lot of waivers.


While the president’s executive order on ethics purported to curtail the revolving door between the White House
and lobbying in order to “drain the swamp,” in fact it contained significant loopholes, and the administration’s
approach in practice has been much worse still. The administration hired multiple lobbyists, waived ethics and
conflicts requirements for 17 officials, initially secretly, and worse still, has filled its ranks with numerous senior
officials pulled from the industries they are now tasked with regulating.

There are some interesting articles out there if you want more on this. It is icky.

[RandomGuy]

President Trump’s foregoing interactions with then-Director Comey and Attorney General Sessions about the
Russia investigation also are part of a broader, troubling shift in the relationship between the White House and the
Department of Justice under the Trump administration. President Trump’s personal involvement in the appointment
of United States Attorneys, his highly unusual public calls for the investigation of his former political opponent
Hillary Clinton and his attacks on possible witnesses against him—including former Director Comey—have
raised the prospect that the president expects the Department of Justice to serve his personal and political ends.24
For instance, after Attorney General Sessions announced his recusal, President Trump reportedly erupted in anger,
expressed the view that his top law enforcement official should protect him, and asked “Where’s my Roy Cohn?”—
a reference to the man who served as a top aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy when the Senator led investigations into
purported communist activities in the 1950s.25

[RandomGuy]

Finally, President Trump has taken an active, personal role in the selection of United States Attorneys appointed
to offices that have jurisdiction over him and his businesses. For instance, President Trump personally interviewed
candidates for these lead prosecutor jobs in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.28 Coupled with the
failure of the president, his daughter Ivanka Trump, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to divest from their business
interests, President Trump’s personal involvement in these hiring decisions raises the troubling possibility that he is
trying to screen out individuals who would investigate his businesses or those of his closest associates.

Presidents do not interview lead prosecutors.

This is a MASSIVE red flag.

[RandomGuy]

The article was full of hyperbolic accusations and no facts to back it up. Trumps a dick but if you are gonna write a hit job article at least back it up.

Let me know when you have enough detail.

So far I have:

Self-dealing on the part of Trump, lining his pockets directly through stays at his properties
violations of the emoluments clause of the constitution
hiring relatives, who have benefitted directly from foreign government policies aimed at influencing him
cabinet members who have failed to fully disclose potential conflicts of interest, and who have actively sought to direct policies at former business associates
direct political intervention designed to ward off any investigations into his finances

Should I keep going?

[RandomGuy]

The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. has become the central location for currying favor with
President Trump. The hotel provides special interests the opportunity to spend money on events, rooms, food, drink,
and more that ends up in President Trump’s pocket, and at the same time gain access to administration officials and
sometimes the president himself.29 The National Mining Association, for instance, held a two-day meeting at the
hotel in October where at least three cabinet secretaries spoke to the lobbying group.30 Groups promoting U.S.-Turkey
relations held a three-day conference at the hotel in May,31 and organizations ranging from the controversial American
Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to a commercial real estate development trade association have held or will
hold events there.32 All this has been good for the hotel’s—and thus President Trump’s—bottom line. The hotel
was expected to lose $2.1 million in the first four months of 2017, but instead turned a $1.97 million profit.33
And while room rates around the country stagnated, the Trump hotel raised its rates this year, reaching levels
higher than comparable local hotels.34

Here is your constitution out the window. If a Democrat had been doing this, the Republican party would Beghazi-gate the shit out of this.

Trump has the magic "R" so he gets a pass.

[CosmicCowboy]

The guy owns hotels. Big fucking deal. Are they supposed to screen every reservation and selectively discriminate against anyone from other countries?

[RandomGuy]

Foreign governments similarly understand that the hotel provides them a means to influence President Trump
and have taken their business there, raising questions about whether these countries are receiving special treatment.
The Embassy of Kuwait moved its National Day celebration to the Trump hotel from another venue, the prime minister of Malaysia and his entourage stayed at the hotel during an official visit to the United States, and lobbyists
for Saudi Arabia spent thousands of dollars on rooms and catering there after the election.35 The hotel even has a
salesperson dedicated to seeking business from foreign diplomats.36 Foreign governments also found other ways to
benefit President Trump. The Chinese government, after repeated rejections, granted valuable trademarks to President
Trump last year, and a large Chinese state-owned bank continues to be the biggest tenant in New York’s Trump
Tower.37 The trademark decisions took place at a time when the administration was developing and implementing its
approach on policies related to China, including areas such as trade, North Korea, human rights, and climate change,
leaving the public unsure whether the benefits President Trump received influenced policymaking.

[CosmicCowboy]

Here is your constitution out the window. If a Democrat had been doing this, the Republican party would Beghazi-gate the shit out of this.

Trump has the magic "R" so he gets a pass.

Here is RG hysterical hyperbole.

[RandomGuy]

The guy owns hotels. Big fucking deal. Are they supposed to screen every reservation and selectively discriminate against anyone from other countries?

The magic "R" makes it all better. Got it. Laws only matter when it comes to Democrats.

He is supposed to divest, and put it into a trust.

He hasn't.

That is un-ethical. Magic "R" makes it all better. POOF. Magically ethical, right?

[RandomGuy]

Here is RG hysterical hyperbole.

CC hypocritical double standards.

You asked for details, I give you plenty. You focus on one.

What about the Chinese bank tenants?

What about the favorable business deals for his relatives?

[CosmicCowboy]

The magic "R" makes it all better. Got it. Laws only matter when it comes to Democrats.

He is supposed to divest, and put it into a trust.

He hasn't.

That is un-ethical. Magic "R" makes it all better. POOF. Magically ethical, right?
Lmao

You think he might still own the hotels even if they were in a trust?

[RandomGuy]

Here is RG hysterical hyperbole.


The Trump entity that runs the hotel is in violation of a conflict
of interest provision of its lease with the General Services Administration (GSA) that prohibits any elected official
from deriving benefits from it.40 Yet one week after the Trump administration released a budget that increased GSA’s
funding while cutting most other non-defense spending, GSA provided President Trump a valuable benefit, declaring
that the Trump company was in compliance with the lease in a letter that lacked any legal or rational basis.41

[CosmicCowboy]

RG has sunk to Boutons level logic.

[RandomGuy]

Lmao

You think he might still own the hotels even if they were in a trust?

You think that un-ethical behavior is magically ethical because Trump is doing it?

[RandomGuy]

RG has sunk to Boutons level logic.

That's right, CC, don't address anything topical. Just ignore the detail you asked for, and attack me.

That will prove how irrational I am being.

Did you think of that tactic all by yourself?

[RandomGuy]

But hey, let's not just focus on his self-dealing when it comes to hotels.

Let's see how our president handles the other business interests. Remember him plugging his shitty wine?


President Trump rarely misses as an opportunity to promote his businesses, making his presidency seem more like
a long-running advertisement than a public office. He visits Trump-branded golf clubs and properties he owns at
every turn, spending at least 116 days during his first year in office at one.51 He also regularly plugs his properties and
products in speeches and tweets. President Trump made sure to mention his nearby residential tower in a speech to
the United Nations, praised his New Jersey golf club in a speech to the South Korean national assembly, and plugged
his winery during a press conference on the violence in Charlottesville.5

[RandomGuy]

RG has sunk to Boutons level logic.

"After one year, the predicted consequences of President Trump’s decision to hold on to his vast business interests have come to pass. The American public deserves better than a president who enriches himself through his office, and should not be left to wonder whose best interests are behind the government’s policies."

I'm totally out of control on this one. Wow, what a crazy statement to agree with.

I mean, we should all just be happy and quit worrying about whether the president is acting to line his pockets at our expense or not, right CC? That is crazy.

[RandomGuy]

RG has sunk to Boutons level logic.


Mr. Kushner’s family business has created unique conflicts of interest because of its debt obligations. When Mr. Kushner
stepped away from management of his family business and its stake in 666 Fifth Avenue in New York, the Kushner
company reportedly was saddled with half a $1.2 billion mortgage for that property, which is due to be refinanced
in February 2019.69 With limited resources available domestically for the project, the family has sought substantial
investment from a variety of overseas investors over the past two years, including “South Korea’s sovereign-wealth
fund, France’s richest man, Israeli banks and insurance companies, and exploratory talks with a Saudi developer.”70
These attempts to obtain funding for the project apparently were unsuccessful, as were potential deals with China’s
Anbang Insurance Group and a Qatari sheikh, which ultimately “fell apart.”71
Further, although he failed at first to disclose it on his national security clearance form, Mr. Kushner in his capacity
as “head of his family’s real estate business” met during the transition with the head of the Kremlin-controlled VEB
bank.72 After those meetings became public, Mr. Kushner contended that the contacts with the Russian state-owned
bank were “made in his role as a Trump adviser” and “didn’t involve discussion of his family business,” according
to Bloomberg.73 With the family business in apparent dire need of funding, even Mr. Kushner’s resignation from
the family business would be unlikely to eliminate the significant conflict of interest and possible national security
concerns that arise from his official dealings with foreign governments that are potential sources of future funding
for the Kushner real estate business. Under these circumstances, Mr. Kushner should not be engaging in any U.S.
foreign policy matters dealing with these governments.

Let's take some bets on who gives the president's son in law a shiny new $1.2bn line of credit in another year.

CosmicCowboy ?

I'm sure there won't be ANY ethical problems with that. That is Boutons level crazy.

[CosmicCowboy]

At our expense?

[RandomGuy]

In addition to the numerous omissions in his initial financial disclosure report, Mr. Kushner failed to report multiple
foreign government contacts on his national security questionnaire filed in January 2017, which raises separate national
security and conflict of interest concerns. These omissions include his meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey
Kislyak and the head of a U.S. sanctioned Russian state-owned bank during the transition period.81 Mr. Kushner’s
attorney called the omissions an error, and informed the FBI that he would be providing supplemental information.82
Ultimately, Mr. Kushner “supplemented the list of foreign contacts three times, adding more than 100 names,”83 and
detailing calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries.84 The number of mistakes on
Mr. Kushner’s security form prompted the director of the National Background Investigations Bureau to say
in response to a question posed by a House member at a congressional hearing that he has “never seen that
level of mistakes.”85

[RandomGuy]

At our expense?

mumble fribble jibbet?

Have I given you examples of unethical behavior and ethics problems or not?

[RandomGuy]

Cliffs: Trumps a poopyhead and I hate em

But hey those ethics issues are just Trump and family.

Let's see what fun stuff scurries from under the rock that we kick over when we look at his cabinet.


Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’ ethical challenges stem from his extensive business holdings, particularly those
involving shipping and natural gas exploration. Federal law and standards of conduct prohibit an executive branch
employee from personally participating in a particular government matter that will directly and predictably affect his
financial interest.86
As part of the confirmation process, Secretary Ross was permitted to retain his interest in several
shipping assets with the understanding that he would recuse on a case-by-case basis, and he was supposed to divest
from problematic natural gas exploration holdings.87 Secretary Ross’ duties, however, involve facilitating U.S. trade
and economic relationships with foreign countries, making it difficult for him fully to comply with those obligations.

In one case, Secretary Ross appears to have negotiated a plan to increase natural gas exports from the U.S. to China
both before he had divested from his natural gas exploration holdings and while he held investments in a shipping
company, Navigator Holdings Ltd., that operates liquefied gas carriers.88 As his holdings may have been directly
and predictably affected by that trade deal, participating in that matter may have violated the law. Secretary Ross’
Navigator investments and his prior service on the company’s board of directors raised additional concerns because
one of Navigator’s biggest customers had close ties to Russian oligarchs subject to U.S. sanctions and to the son-in-law
of Russian President Vladimir Putin.89 Those connections have prompted some members of the Senate to call for new
hearings and an inspector general investigation.90

[RandomGuy]

Cliffs: Trumps a poopyhead and I hate em

I can provide a lot more detail than "I dislike the president". You should know better, or at least read the linked report in the OP to see for yourself what is in it.

If not, that is on you, but you can't ding me for not providing details or supporting my claims.

[AaronY]

Poopyhead!

[RandomGuy]

Poopyhead!

I see you have me in the crushing grip of reason. I bow to your superior display of reasoning, and usual well-supported argument. :rolleyes

[RandomGuy]

EDUCATION SECRETARY BETSY DEVOS
Similar to Secretary Ross, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ conflict of interest issues arose from her extensive
holdings, in her case a brain performance center company called Neurocore. Although Secretary DeVos was required
to recuse from participating in particular matters that would have a direct and predictable effect on her financial
interests, she was permitted to retain her holdings in the company, in which she and her husband are the chief
investors.100
Secretary DeVos initially reported an investment in Neurocore of between $5 million and $25 million,
and has invested another $2 million to $10 million in the company since joining the administration.101
Neurocore claims to have remarkable success rates for its work with “10,000 children and adults to overcome
problems with attention deficit disorder (ADHD), autism, sleeplessness, and stress” as reported by the New York
Times.102
Experts consulted by Education Week, however, asserted that current scientific evidence does not support
the claims made by Neurocore.103 Neurocore also has come under investigation by the Better Business Bureau for
false advertising after multiple sources concluded there is little conclusive evidence that the treatment works in the
way Neurocore claims it does.104

In general, allowing the Secretary of Education to hold a significant financial interest in an education-related
program targeted at children may result in a conflict of interest.105

[AaronY]

Devos is another poopyhead!

[spurraider21]

Devos is another poopyhead!
she is, though

worst cabinet appointee of this adminstration, required tiebreaking vote by pence tbh :lol

[AaronY]

Supposedly that's one of the offices with the least amount of power tho

[AaronY]

RG has about 20 posts on page 2 of this thread alone

[spurraider21]

RG has about 20 posts on page 2 of this thread alone
just like boutons, except for not being on my ignore list

[Spurtacular]

Either their issues and concerns are genuine, or they aren't.

If the Koch brothers brought up ethical concerns, then I would be happy to support them. I am for good governance, and value that over party any day.

:lol Utter garbage pretense for an utter garbage thread.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Lmao

You think he might still own the hotels even if they were in a trust?

This is pretty ignorant. IT's about having executive control, dim.

[RandomGuy]

RG has about 20 posts on page 2 of this thread alone

Someone complained about detail. I provided it.

The shitty administration is so shitty that it is hard to really encapsulate. I could go on for another 20 or 50, but stopped there.

Do you think I provided support for the OP? i.e. does what I posted paint a picture of a "vast array of ethics problems?"

[RandomGuy]

:lol Utter garbage pretense for an utter garbage thread.


Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s government-funded travel to attend political fundraisers has also raised Hatch Act concerns. Last spring, he participated in a political fundraiser in the Virgin Islands, where he helped solicit donations for the Virgin Islands Republican Party. The fundraiser occurred while Secretary Zinke was on a three day, government-funded official trip to the Virgin Islands.130 The Virgin Islands Republican Party repaid the Interior Department $275 for expenses related to Secretary Zinke’s appearance at the fundraiser,131 which may be enough to avoid a Hatch Act violation. But Secretary Zinke continues to be under investigation by the Interior Department
Inspector General and the OSC, for the multiple times he has mixed official business with political activity.132

Should cabinet officials be allowed to spend taxpayer money for travel in order to fundraise for a political party? Yes or no? You're either cool with this, or not.

[boutons_deux]

the Repugs don't even try to hide their corruption.

The know the are immune from accountability, and are fully supported by the corrupt, corrupting oligarchy who put them into govt.

And they aren't ONLY following the example of the rotting fishhead in the WH.

They are independently, autonomously corrupt, corruption they bring to "Repug govt" from their private lives.

[Spurtacular]

Should cabinet officials be allowed to spend taxpayer money for travel in order to fundraise for a political party? Yes or no? You're either cool with this, or not.

Obama campaigned on my dime, tbh.

[RandomGuy]

Obama campaigned on my dime, tbh.

Nice dodge.

Do you see a vast array of ethics problems here?

[Spurtacular]

Nice dodge.

Do you see a vast array of ethics problems here?

It's not a dodge. Obama campaigned on my dime. You're outrage is selective as usual.

[RandomGuy]

Do you see a vast array of ethics problems here?


It's not a dodge. Obama campaigned on my dime. You're outrage is selective as usual.

Not really an answer to my question, stupid mother fucker.

I can only assume, since you dodged when answered, that yes, you do think Trump's administration is riddled with ethics problems.

What do you think we should do about the massive ethics problems in the Trump administration?

[Spurtacular]

Do you see a vast array of ethics problems here?



Not really an answer to my question, stupid mother fucker.

I can only assume, since you dodged when answered, that yes, you do think Trump's administration is riddled with ethics problems.

What do you think we should do about the massive ethics problems in the Trump administration?

* Melting down.
* Selective outrage.
* Obama campaigned on my dime.

[RandomGuy]

I can only assume, since you dodged when answered, that yes, you do think Trump's administration is riddled with ethics problems.

What do you think we should do about the massive ethics problems in the Trump administration?


* Melting down.
* Selective outrage.
* Obama campaigned on my dime.

You had a chance to say "no that isn't right", but yet you didn't. I will have to assume you do think that the Trump administration is riddled with ethics problems.

Yet you offer no solutions, when asked.

What should we do about the massive ethics problems with the Trump administration?

[DMC]

RG you're now full blown Boots, regurgitated articles others never took time to read but posting them as if you're going to win the information war one shit article at a time.

Once you get to the point where you've gone 50 pages of just your own posts, you'll be there. At that time we'll have your AR-15s taken away for your own safety.

[RandomGuy]

RG you're now full blown Boots, regurgitated articles others never took time to read but posting them as if you're going to win the information war one shit article at a time.

Once you get to the point where you've gone 50 pages of just your own posts, you'll be there. At that time we'll have your AR-15s taken away for your own safety.

Either I have shown there is a "vast array of ethics problems" or not. Cosmic Cowboy said that the OP was short on details, so I provided a small glimpse of the mountain of what is out there.

This should concern anyone who cares about good government.

Your comment doesn't really surprise me here. You don't care about what is true, just what makes you feel superior to others, emotion over reason. That destroys your own credibility on anything more than any rant boutons might go on, or series of posts on my part.

If you cared about what was true, you might address the topic. Instead, you go on some "look how bad RG is" over some butthurt we have all forgotten. Get over yourself, and show a little concern about what is going on around you.

[boutons_deux]

Donald Trump Jr.’s Indian vacation: The family cash-grab continues

Don Jr. makes a big overseas trip that’s “strictly business” — selling access in the most blatant way imaginable

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWTJrm0W4AI0YLc.jpg

The ads, which have run repeatedly in the past few days, herald the arrival not of the American president but of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is in New Delhi to sell luxury apartments and lavish attention on wealthy Indians who have already bought units in a Trump-branded development outside the Indian capital.

it was hard to imagine just how blatantly corrupt the family would be --

and how little interest anyone would take in their massive conflicts of interest.

After all, Trump had just won the election by tarring his opponent as "crooked." :lol

the son of the president dissing China for being "dishonest" (as fatuous as that is coming from a Trump) carries a whole different meaning.

Trump Jr. says this is purely a business trip, :lol but

he will be giving a big policy address on Friday at an event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Junior's speech is entitled "Reshaping Indo-Pacific Ties," :lol

Don Jr. also plans to attend lavish dinners to thank the Trump-brand condo buyers, which some people think looks like selling access to the White House by putting money directly into the family's personal coffers.

This is, after all, a regular occurrence in the U.S. Just last weekend, Trump hobnobbed with the members of his exclusive Florida golf resort, asking them about the issues of the day.

Those people pay $200,000 a year for the privilege of personally telling the president about their concerns. It's just how the Trump family rolls.

the billionaire scion went out of his way to compliment India for its nice poor people, who he says are very happy, :lol

unlike the unpleasantly solemn poor folks elsewhere in the world. It could have been worse.

He didn't call India a "shithole," or at least not yet.

Donald Trump used his ownership of the Miss Universe pageant to advantage his business deals in various countries.

he unilaterally changed the votes so contestants from nations with whom he wanted to curry favor would win, and

would locate the pageant in places where he was trying to make branding deals.

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/21/donald-trump-jr-s-indian-vacation-the-family-cash-grab-continues/

[RandomGuy]

I'm sure DMC is on board with selling the president to the highest bidder.

[DMC]

Either I have shown there is a "vast array of ethics problems" or not. Cosmic Cowboy said that the OP was short on details, so I provided a small glimpse of the mountain of what is out there.

This should concern anyone who cares about good government.

Your comment doesn't really surprise me here. You don't care about what is true, just what makes you feel superior to others, emotion over reason. That destroys your own credibility on anything more than any rant boutons might go on, or series of posts on my part.

If you cared about what was true, you might address the topic. Instead, you go on some "look how bad RG is" over some butthurt we have all forgotten. Get over yourself, and show a little concern about what is going on around you.

You liter the forum with droppings from various websites with no input of your own. I see no reason to be diverted by it. I know these other sites exist. If I want to read them I'll go there.

[RandomGuy]

You liter the forum with droppings from various websites with no input of your own. I see no reason to be diverted by it. I know these other sites exist. If I want to read them I'll go there.

Interesting.

Rather than take the opportunity to say you do care about what is true, you attack me, after I criticize you for being more concerned about attacking me than the truth itself.

S'all good I guess. Intellectual rigor isn't for everybody.

You be you.

[DMC]

Interesting.

Rather than take the opportunity to say you do care about what is true, you attack me, after I criticize you for being more concerned about attacking me than the truth itself.

S'all good I guess. Intellectual rigor isn't for everybody.

You be you.

I haven't attacked you. The fact that you chose that tact speaks volumes about your motives here though.

Also notable that even you don't comment on the things you post, you just hope something grows out of the shit you sprinkle.

[RandomGuy]

I haven't attacked you. The fact that you chose that tact speaks volumes about your motives here though.

Also notable that even you don't comment on the things you post, you just hope something grows out of the shit you sprinkle.

(shrugs)

If it will make you happy I will add:

"Here is another example of one of many serious ethics problems with the Trump administration" to every single post here.

Ethics problems you don't seem to care about. Why is that?

[DMC]

(shrugs)

If it will make you happy I will add:

"Here is another example of one of many serious ethics problems with the Trump administration" to every single post here.

Ethics problems you don't seem to care about. Why is that?

I don't care about scattered droppings from various sources. The world is full of opinions. You're not even offering a discussion, just trying to get your point across by show what other people think.

I don't come here to read other websites. This kind of shit kills discussions. Many "decent" discussion sites prohibit regurgitation style spamming.

:cry "you don't give a shit about walls of text from unlimited sources, ergo you are ok with whatever I am railing against in all these posts that I don't comment on" -RG

[RandomGuy]

I don't care about scattered droppings from various sources. The world is full of opinions. You're not even offering a discussion, just trying to get your point across by show what other people think.

I don't come here to read other websites. This kind of shit kills discussions. Many "decent" discussion sites prohibit regurgitation style spamming.

:cry "you don't give a shit about walls of text from unlimited sources, ergo you are ok with whatever I am railing against in all these posts that I don't comment on" -RG

Every post is an opportunity to comment on the topic. You chose not to.

That is enough to conclude, after weeks of discussion, that you don't care about the current administrations vast array of ethics problems and rampant, obvious corruption.

Deal with it, snowflake. That is how the truth works.

[DMC]

:cry "you don't care about my schizophrenia!"

[boutons_deux]

The Corruption Will Be UnPresidented

Trump Charges His Campaign Top Dollar To Rent A Basically Empty Trump Tower Office

His tiny re-election effort spent more on its monthly rent there than his campaign paid for most of the 2016 run.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tower-re-election-campaign_us_5aa01b31e4b002df2c60159b?utm_medium=em ail&utm_campaign=__TheMorningEmail__030818&utm_content=__TheMorningEmail__030818+CID_a8aba541 d9f3604c8e14e841ac61237b&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=HuffPost&ncid=newsltushpmgnews__TheMorningEmail__030818

[boutons_deux]

Emails Reveal Role Ben Carson And His Wife Played In Controversial Office Redecorating

The HUD secretary previously denied knowing $31,000 in taxpayer money had been spent on a dining set.

Emails published Monday suggest that Housing and Urban Development Secretary

Ben Carson and his wife were personally involved in redecorating his government office, which led to the purchase of a $31,000 dining set (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ben-carson-dining-set_us_5a95eceae4b07dffeb6d5b9a?d5d).

The Carsons were involved in back-and-forth discussions about furniture purchases, according to internal staff emails (https://www.americanoversight.org/document/hud-secretary-carson-office-renovation-expense-records) made available through a Freedom of Information Act request from American Oversight, a left-leaning watchdog group.

In one email with the subject line “Secretary’s dining room set needed,” a staffer is said to have “print outs [sic] of the furniture the Secretary and Mrs. Carson picked out.”

Carson previously said he had no say in the matter, a claim that his office supported.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/emails-carson-decorating-role_us_5aa90bdfe4b001c8bf158d9e?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=__TheMorningEmail__031518&utm_content=__TheMorningEmail__031518+CID_5aebffdd 059bef1ea42285432037fe18&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=may%20have%20had%20a%20larger%20role&ncid=newsltushpmgnews__TheMorningEmail__031518

[boutons_deux]

Department of Defense spent thousands at Trump properties in 2017

Pentagon employees spent more than $17,000 at Trump's Panama hotel.

The Department of Defense spent more than $138,000 at Trump branded properties in the first eight months of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to CNN,

The Department of Defense expenditures (https://www.sparrowmedia.net/2018/03/foia-litigation-reveals-department-of-defense-spent-138093-at-mar-a-lago-and-trump-businesses/) were made at Trump’s private club in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, as well as 12 other Trump properties. A CNN analysis (https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/14/politics/defense-department-trump-branded-properties/index.html) of the documents revealed that

military personnel may have spent more than a third of the $138,000 ($58,875.69) on lodging and food at Mar-a-Lago.

https://thinkprogress.org/pentagon-spent-thousands-trump-properties-e1e9e953de6b/

[boutons_deux]

White House wheel of fortune: Inside the Trump circus of corruption

Ben Carson’s furniture! Ryan Zinke’s “cone of silence”! Ivanka’s double-dealing! And that’s only the beginning

Axios' Jonathan Swan quoted (https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-pm-4f35de9b-44de-412b-aa1c-8f2322d9fe9e.html) a White House staffer summing up the atmosphere these days:


This is the most toxic working environment on the planet.

Usually tough times bring people together.

But right now this atmosphere is ripping people apart.

There's no leadership, no trust, no direction and this point there's very little hope.

Would you want to go to work every day not knowing whether your future career was going to be destroyed without explanation?


One thing Trump's game of musical chairs is accomplishing is that it's become almost quaint to worry about the

massive amount of corruption within the administration.

It is now so commonplace that when it becomes public there is a moment of hand-wringing in the press and then ... nothing happens.

For all the turnover in this administration, virtually none of it has been because of the self-dealing and profiteering that's reported virtually every day.


One cabinet member who was forced to resign (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/09/later-tom/541563/)over his nearly half-million dollars in travel expenses in the first few months of the administration, former HHS Secretary Tom Price.

If anyone thought the president was making an example of him, it didn't take.

Since then, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has also been taken to task for excessive travel costs (http://www.newsweek.com/ryan-zinke-says-he-never-took-private-jet-because-plane-had-propellers-844246) and

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt racked up (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/15/scott-pruitt-first-class-travel-epa-351669) huge bills for personal travel, insisting he needed the extra security of first-class travel because someone once shouted something insulting at him in coach.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, a man worth $300 million, requested (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/09/steven-mnuchin-honeymoon-plane) government planes that cost $25,000 an hour to fly him and his wife to their European honeymoon.

The wealthiest man in the administration is Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and, according to this article (https://theintercept.com/2017/11/08/wilbur-ross-paradise-papers-trump-russia/) by David Dayen at the Intercept, his conflicts of interest are massive -- even aside from his holdings in Russian interests that look suspicious under current circumstances.

After the release of the Paradise Papers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., complained that

Ross had seriously misled the Congress in his confirmation hearings and compared his financial statements to "Russian nesting dolls." He's never been more influential in the cabinet.

Then there are the Trumps and the Kushners.

The emoluments issue seems to have disappeared

despite the fact that foreign governments are routinely spending massive sums at Trump hotels to curry favor with the president, and God only knows what they're doing at his foreign properties.

Donald Trump continues to do almost weekly promotional appearances at this resorts and golf properties,

charging people big bucks for access to him and pocketing the money.

The Trumps have even tried to use the presidential seal to sell their cheap branded merchandise:

"The presidential seal being sold on mugs at Trump Tower.

It’s illegal to use the seal for commercial purposes."

Now it looks like Ivanka Trump herself is finally coming under scrutiny (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article204578309.html).

She did not divest her holdings in the Trump Organization and

is receiving more than a million dollars a year from projects with state-owned companies around the world,

even as she works in the White House without a proper clearance and travels the globe as a representative of the U.S. government. It's astonishing that she is getting away with this.

But that's nothing compared to her husband Jared Kushner, who secured (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/03/jared-kushner-family-got-half-a-billion-in-loans-after-key-white-house-meetings) loans for himself and his family in excess of half a billion dollars after meetings in the White House about possible infrastructure projects.

Then there are the suspicions (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/qataris-opted-not-give-info-kushner-secret-meetings-mueller-n855326) that Kushner pressured the government of Qatar to bail out his family debt and

changed American foreign policy to punish the Qataris when they didn't come across.

This is just the corruption we know about.

Some of it is penny-ante and some of it is massive in scale.

There's skimming from the taxpayers and leveraging government policy for personal gain.

As in a banana republic or a mob-run kleptocracy, it's pervasive in every part of the administration, woven into the fabric of everyday business.

But because this presidency is such an epic disaster in every way all of this looks like a third-order scandal.

https://www.salon.com/2018/03/15/white-house-wheel-of-fortune-inside-the-trump-circus-of-corruption/

[RandomGuy]

:cry "you don't care about my schizophrenia!"

Feel free to comment on the topic of the thread at any time to prove how concerned you are when Republicans have ethical lapses. :lmao

[DMC]

Feel free to comment on the topic of the thread at any time to prove how concerned you are when Republicans have ethical lapses. :lmao

I am free to comment in the comment section on the sites where you pilfer these articles. Are you taking surveys? Are you mad at God? You're mad at God.

[RandomGuy]

I am free to comment in the comment section on the sites where you pilfer these articles. Are you taking surveys? Are you mad at God? You're mad at God.

meh. Phoning it in. Even the zinger is borrowed. Can you get any lazier?

[RandomGuy]

I am free to comment in the comment section on the sites where you pilfer these articles. Are you taking surveys? Are you mad at God? You're mad at God.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-aide-fired-under-investigation-155821131.html

President Donald Trump's longtime personal aide John McEntee has been fired and is under investigation by the Secret Service for serious financial crimes, according to two federal law enforcement officials.

More "best people" being investigated for financial crimes.

[RandomGuy]

I am free to comment in the comment section on the sites where you pilfer these articles. Are you taking surveys? Are you mad at God? You're mad at God.

https://cmgajcluckovich.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/lk021518_color.jpg?w=640&h=465

[DMC]

More you not having any real input other than vomiting an article out and saying "what do you think about this?"

[DMC]

https://cmgajcluckovich.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/lk021518_color.jpg?w=640&h=465

That's telling me.

[RandomGuy]

That's telling me.

"Secretary of Defense James Mattis is implicated in one of the largest business scandals of the past decades, described by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an “elaborate, years-long fraud” through which Theranos, led by CEO Elizabeth Holmes and president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, “exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.”

Basically, their biotech startup was founded on the promise of faster, cheaper, painless blood tests. But their technology was fake.

Mattis not only served on Theranos’s board during some of the years it was perpetrating the fraud after he retired from US military service, but he earlier served as a key advocate of putting the company’s technology (technology that was, to be clear, fake) to use inside the military while he was still serving as a general."

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/16/17124288/mattis-theranos-board-trump

[RandomGuy]

More you not having any real input other than vomiting an article out and saying "what do you think about this?"

The thread is about a vast array of ethics problems in the Trump administration. Problems you don't care about because the people committing them have the "R" behind their name.

This makes you a disgusting human being. It is fun to rub your nose in your hypocrisy.

[DMC]

"Secretary of Defense James Mattis is implicated in one of the largest business scandals of the past decades, described by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an “elaborate, years-long fraud” through which Theranos, led by CEO Elizabeth Holmes and president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, “exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.”

Basically, their biotech startup was founded on the promise of faster, cheaper, painless blood tests. But their technology was fake.

Mattis not only served on Theranos’s board during some of the years it was perpetrating the fraud after he retired from US military service, but he earlier served as a key advocate of putting the company’s technology (technology that was, to be clear, fake) to use inside the military while he was still serving as a general."

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/16/17124288/mattis-theranos-board-trump


The thread is about a vast array of ethics problems in the Trump administration. Problems you don't care about because the people committing them have the "R" behind their name.

This makes you a disgusting human being. It is fun to rub your nose in your hypocrisy.

Another vomit pile with no comments about it followed by your righteous indignation and virtue signaling.

I can see why you don't comment on the things you post. You still spending your "do something about it" money on beer?

[TeyshaBlue]

"Secretary of Defense James Mattis is implicated in one of the largest business scandals of the past decades, described by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an “elaborate, years-long fraud” through which Theranos, led by CEO Elizabeth Holmes and president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, “exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.”

Basically, their biotech startup was founded on the promise of faster, cheaper, painless blood tests. But their technology was fake.

Mattis not only served on Theranos’s board during some of the years it was perpetrating the fraud after he retired from US military service, but he earlier served as a key advocate of putting the company’s technology (technology that was, to be clear, fake) to use inside the military while he was still serving as a general."

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/16/17124288/mattis-theranos-board-trump

Here's some more from the article that wasnt worth highlighting.

Nothing Trump has actually done since taking office — from provoking a small diplomatic crisis with Australia to accidentally(?) leaking classified Israeli intelligence to the Russian foreign minister to firing his secretary of state on Twitter — has served to debunk the notion that his decision-making process is impulsive and unsound.


In this context, Mattis is near-universally viewed as an island of stability. Respected by the right for having been fired by President Barack Obama, he is also well-informed and (despite the nickname “Mad Dog”) level-headed. Like most career military officers, he is less cavalier about the risks of war than many civilian hawks, and, generally speaking, almost everyone in Washington sleeps better knowing that he is running the Defense Department.

The Theranos thing is a bad look, but there are plenty of Trump Cabinet corruption scandals to talk about — the Ben Carson one is the funniest — so it’s not like Democrats are lacking for general partisan ammunition. If Mattis comes under pressure, he might quit or get fired, and who knows who Trump might tap to replace him.

Under the circumstances, a softball approach to Mattis seems warranted no matter how rotten the signal that sends to the rest of the military, the business community, and the public about the wisdom of getting mixed up in fraudulent endeavors.

[TeyshaBlue]

That whole "Be careful for what you wish for." thingy.

[TeyshaBlue]

Not exactly as eye raising as the Vox hit piece. But Vox :lol.

https://taskandpurpose.com/mattis-theranos-questions/

[Pavlov]

Yeah, unless Mattis explicitly knew it was all bullshit, it's difficult to say he should be thrown under the bus.

Holmes OTOH got off way too easy.

[TeyshaBlue]

Holmes and Balwani should be making new, lifelong friends.

[CosmicCowboy]

The SEC wrist slap of Holmes was fucking bullshit. Steal $70,000 and go to jail for 20 years. Steal 700 million and get a piddly fine.

[RandomGuy]

Here's some more from the article that wasnt worth highlighting.

Nothing Trump has actually done since taking office — from provoking a small diplomatic crisis with Australia to accidentally(?) leaking classified Israeli intelligence to the Russian foreign minister to firing his secretary of state on Twitter — has served to debunk the notion that his decision-making process is impulsive and unsound.


In this context, Mattis is near-universally viewed as an island of stability. Respected by the right for having been fired by President Barack Obama, he is also well-informed and (despite the nickname “Mad Dog”) level-headed. Like most career military officers, he is less cavalier about the risks of war than many civilian hawks, and, generally speaking, almost everyone in Washington sleeps better knowing that he is running the Defense Department.

The Theranos thing is a bad look, but there are plenty of Trump Cabinet corruption scandals to talk about — the Ben Carson one is the funniest — so it’s not like Democrats are lacking for general partisan ammunition. If Mattis comes under pressure, he might quit or get fired, and who knows who Trump might tap to replace him.

Under the circumstances, a softball approach to Mattis seems warranted no matter how rotten the signal that sends to the rest of the military, the business community, and the public about the wisdom of getting mixed up in fraudulent endeavors.

Agreed.

The guy was not careful about being on a board of directors. Not his area of expertise as a general, so personally I think it is not that big a deal. Worth knowing within that context though.

[TeyshaBlue]

:tu

[RandomGuy]

The SEC wrist slap of Holmes was fucking bullshit. Steal $70,000 and go to jail for 20 years. Steal 700 million and get a piddly fine.

http://www.crfb.org/blogs/budget-deal-could-ultimately-add-2-trillion-debt