If anyone believes that, they probably also
trusted Warren G. Harding
Political corruption
(def.): When an elected
or appointed office-holder, or other governmental official, or employee acts in
an official capacity for personal gain (monetary of otherwise benefits him or
herself financially).
As applied to Trump: He really does not think he is
breaking any rules or law since that is all he has done his whole adult life -
sometimes when caught, he is fined or sued and loses, but he keeps at it – because that is all he knows how to operate.
According to
Transparency International: The United States is now experiencing threats to its
system of checks and balances, along with an erosion of ethical norms at the
highest levels of power.
CORRUPTION
AND A CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY
The number of poor performing countries in the Americas
region should come as no surprise given the challenges to the democratic
systems and diminishing political rights across North, Central, and South
America by populist and authoritarian
leaders.
From President Trump (US) to President Bolsonaro (Brazil) to
President Jimmy Morales (Guatemala) and to President Maduro (Venezuela), the
Americas region is witnessing a rise in some leaders and leadership styles that
favor a number of the following tactics:
·
an undermining of
free and independent media, especially when coverage challenges leaders’
messaging
·
a silencing and
control of civil society and international organizations
·
an increase in voter
suppression and disenfranchisement
·
an increase in
anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, anti-indigenous and racist language
·
a rise in public
promises for simplistic and strong hand approaches to solving deep-rooted and
complex societal problems, including corruption
·
an interference with
or blunt use of national institutions to weaken the system of checks and
balances and increase executive power
·
an increase in
conflicts of interest and private influence
This
new reality now part of a global trend is transforming the way of doing
politics across the region, where authoritarian-style
leaders are undermining democratic practices.
Let’s explore some current corrupt acts starting with this glaring one
with highlights: #1
is GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) vows to stop any Democratic
push for impeachment in a social media campaign Ad that he's using as a
platform to raise campaign funds off the inquiry of Trump.
In a Facebook video, McConnell makes it clear that he
controls the Senate and is the firewall to protect removal of Trump from office.
He says in the short video: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in
the clutches of a left-wing mob that finally convinced her to impeach the
president. All of you know your
Constitution. The way that impeachment stops is with a Senate majority with me
as majority leader. It's a Senate rule related to impeachment, it would take 67
votes to change, so I would have no choice but to take it up. How long you're
on it is a whole different matter. I need your help. Please
contribute before the deadline.”
Trump faces
charges of foreign interference for 2020 – that is unlawful and is a threat to our
sovereignty and the integrity.
Ergo: Soliciting
foreign help in an election is illegal and asking Ukraine to investigate Joe
Biden and his son Hunter or to lose U.S. weapons and money is also unlawful – it’s “bribery.”
Further, now Trump
says he is our “Anti-Corruption Champ to the Rescue,” or words to that effect.
So, Mr.
Anti-Corruption Guru: What about these examples corruption well within in the
definition stated above and very close to you, um???
Secret
Service protection for President Donald Trump's two adult sons (Donald Jr. and
Eric) cost more than $230,000 per month last year, according to documents
obtained by a government watchdog.
For example: Documents made public by the
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) in Washington, DC shows the
Secret Service spent more than $200,000 when Trump Jr. and Eric Trump went to the UAE to formally open the Trump International Golf Club in
Dubai in February 2017.
According to
the documents released through a FOIA the protective agency spent about
$125,000 on airfare, another $75,000 on hotel rooms, and $15,000 more on other
expenses such as transportation. A similar trip to Dubai to attend a
wedding in April cost only $73,000, CREW reported. The nonprofit organization
did not offer an explanation why the 2017 trip cost “significantly more.”
Related and Exclusive: Secret Service depletes funds to pay
agents because of Trump's frequent travel, big family.
Ivanka Trump Chinese dealing: 16 new
trademark approvals including one for “voting machines.” (CNBC analysis here):
·
Ivanka,
won approval from China for 16 new trademarks, covering a wide range of
products and “voting machines.”
·
Approval
came three months after she said her personal clothing brand was shutting down.
·
It
also occurred “while Trump continued to wage a trade war with China.”
The
trademarks approved for her name-branded products includes: nursing homes,
sausage casing, handbags, shoes, wedding dresses, and jewelry.
Then add in
Jared Kushner, Ivanka’s husband: Recall that Kushner wasn’t satisfied with his
first mandatory release of his official financial disclosure form and sticking
to it. According to Newsweek, he incorrectly reported information
about two real estate loans and that consequently, that meant he had to update
his federal
disclosure form at
least 40 times.
A spokesman
for CREW in Washington told Newsweek that it’s “mind-boggling how
someone can have that many errors and that many amendments and keep their job.”
This biggie: Kushner’s sister made a pitch to raise
funds from Chinese investors through the immigration agency’s EB-5 visa
program, which allows permanent U.S. residency for those who finance projects
that create a certain amount of jobs for minimum of $500,000 investment and
yes, Kushner has property for investing in.
(And, Jared Kushner has huge money problems with loans and missing
deadlines for payments).
Noteworthy: Bi Ting, a 34-year-old Chinese woman
who attended the Shanghai event, said having the name of the U.S. president’s
son-in-law associated with it was “a
bonus for the project.”
FYI: Ms. Bi, pregnant then, said she was
considering immigrating to America to give her child an academic environment. She said one that is “more relaxing; where one can pursue real interests and where the child
can do something that they really want to do.” Coverage by the AP here.
Summary of all this:
Ivanka Trump, since 2016, imported some 215 shipments of products “Made in
China.” Nearly nearly 60 of those shipments have been January 20. She
earns $50 million a year for her products.
The Trump family's wider business ties to China have been
well-documented.
For example, one tenant at Trump Tower is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a Chinese government-owned
bank.
It pays Trump some $1.9 million a year in rent
through October 2019, according to a 2012 prospectus for mortgage-backed
securities that include a loan on the property. The lease, for more than 20,000
square feet, includes about 8 percent of the building's total space. The Bank
of China is a lender on a nearly billion-dollar mortgage on another Trump-owned
skyscraper in Manhattan.
Ivanka Trump said she put her money in a trust overseen
by her brother-in-law that is worth more than $50 million and said she has
no involvement in its management. But family members continue to pursue
business deals with Chinese companies.
FYI: Less than a week after Trump's election, the
Chinese government approved a Trump trademark that he had been battling to
secure for 10 years. Then another two dozen got approved within a few months after that.
My 2 cents: Anti-corruption guru?
So, Trump
says he is now the nation’s anti-corruption crime fighter. Okay, I see, I see.
But, I can’t stop laughing. How about you?
Thanks for stopping by.
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