White House Moves to Block Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists on Payroll

[TheDemSocialist]

The Trump administration, in a significant escalation of its clash with the government’s top ethics watchdog, has moved to block an effort to disclose any ethics waivers granted to former lobbyists who have work in the White House or federal agencies.
The latest conflict came in recent days when the White House, in a highly unusual move, sent a letter to Walter M. Shaub Jr., the head of the Office of Government Ethics, asking him to withdraw a request he had sent to every federal agency for copies of the waivers. In the letter, the administration challenged his legal authority to demand the information.

Read more @: White House Moves to Block Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists on Payroll
:shock:
This is so the opposite of "draining the swamp"

 

[Cardinal]

I'm sure there's nothing untoward in those waivers.

 

[Cardinal]

Your link doesn't work for me. Here's one that does:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/...e-house-government-ethics-lobbyists.html?_r=0

 

[TheDemSocialist]

I'm not sure what article you're linking to but it's not opening for me. Here's one:

Trump moves to block ethics inquiry centered on ex-lobbyists: report | TheHill

Should work now. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/trump-white-house-government-ethics-lobbyists.html

 

[Winston]

Read more @: White House Moves to Block Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists on Payroll
:shock:
This is so the opposite of "draining the swamp" [/FONT][/COLOR]

The Lesson learned from this is...

When Trump says things that seem unlikely, like "We're draining the swamp of government corruption."

And when Trump signs EO's that the Republican Party as a whole, does not approve of and does not like,

They are just pandering, and have no intentions of keeping their promise.

 

[Cardinal]

Connected to this story:

Ominously for Trump, the Post reports that the FBI is “determining whether any financial crimes were committed by people close to the president.” While Kushner’s public persona differs wildly from that of the president in the functioning of his real-estate work, he is a kind of mini Trump. Inheriting an empire from his father, he has operated in gray areas of the world economy and positioned himself to gain handsomely from Trump’s election. Kushner has met with the head of a Russian bank functionally controlled by Vladimir Putin. He appears to be eager to use his proximity to Trump to make a buck; his family business is exploiting the familial connection to sell visas in China. Trump himself has a long, nontransparent history of business dealings with organs of the Russian state. (Last week, The Wall Street Journal dug up another case.)

All this implies that the probe is scrutinizing the financial aspects of Trump’s business, which is a family operation. While some Trump advisers opposed the firing of Comey, Kushner reportedly advocated for it. That fact may seem strange if one thinks of Kushner as a voice of pragmatism. But it is easier to understand if you think of him as a figure sitting near the heart of a financial scandal, who harbors a strong interest in suppressing the investigation.

Trump?s Russia Scandal Is Becoming a Corruption Scandal

And this...

President Donald Trump’s attorneys initially wanted him to submit an updated financial disclosure without certifying the information as true, according to correspondence with the Office of Government Ethics.

“This is not at all typical; in fact I’ve never heard of anyone trying this,” said Marilyn Glynn, an OGE employee for 17 years before retiring in 2008. Her positions included acting director and general counsel. “It would be as unusual as not signing your taxes.”

https://apnews.com/417c7e00c0274a3792e3262d22afaa8c

And combined with his steadfast refusal to show his tax returns, what you have is a picture of someone who really really really doesn't want people to look at the details of his business. Eventually somebody's going to force their way into his finances, and it's not going to look pretty.

 

[Erod]

Eric Holder, Lois Lerner, Loretta Lynch, Debbie Wasserman, Donna Brazile, Maxine Waters, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Wiener, etc, etc, etc....

And now you people are concerned about ethics?

LMAO

 

[Cardinal]

Eric Holder, Lois Lerner, Loretta Lynch, Debbie Wasserman, Donna Brazile, Maxine Waters, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Wiener, etc, etc, etc....

And now you people are concerned about ethics?

LMAO

That is the saddest deflection I have ever seen.

 

[Erod]

That is the saddest deflection I have ever seen.

They are legally challenging the inquiry, which is just another drip in this planned daily drip-drip-drip attack against this administration by the establishment in Washington.

But carry on, Captain Lemming.

 

[TheDemSocialist]

They are legally challenging the inquiry, which is just another drip in this planned daily drip-drip-drip attack against this administration by the establishment in Washington.

But carry on, Captain Lemming.

Typical bull**** excuses. Trump can do no wrong. "Drain the swamp"? Bull****.

 

[Redress]

Eric Holder, Lois Lerner, Loretta Lynch, Debbie Wasserman, Donna Brazile, Maxine Waters, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Wiener, etc, etc, etc....

And now you people are concerned about ethics?

LMAO

Man, your desperation is showing...

 

[Erod]

Typical bull**** excuses. Trump can do no wrong. "Drain the swamp"? Bull****.

For the last time, I can't stand Trump. Never wanted him. He's a mere reflection of anti-establishment and an overreach.

But this pathetic daily attack on him is so transparent and lacks any semblance of integrity or honesty whatsoever. And you're about to start a Civil War that will make the last one look like a spitwad contest.

Liberals have virtually become the equivalent of ISIS to this country. They're tearing the fabric of this nation apart at the seams, all because they can't look in the mirror and like what they see.

 

[TheDemSocialist]

For the last time, I can't stand Trump. Never wanted him. He's a mere reflection of anti-establishment and an overreach.

But this pathetic daily attack on him is so transparent and lacks any semblance of integrity or honesty whatsoever. And you're about to start a Civil War that will make the last one look like a spitwad contest.

A "pathetic attack"? Trump promises to "drain the swamp". He hires a bunch of corporate lobbyists and DC insiders to his cabinet and to work for him in various positions. The Trump White House blocks disclosure of ethics waivers granted to former lobbyists who now work in the White House or various Federal agencies this making it impossible to know whether any such officials are violating federal ethics rules or have been given a pass to ignore them.

"Lacks integrity or honesty"? It has a long standing precedence. "Ms. Glynn, who worked in the office of government ethics for nearly two decades, said she had never heard of a move by any previous White House to block a request like Mr. Shaub’s. She recalled how the Bush White House had intervened with a federal agency during her tenure to get information that she needed."

They're tearing the fabric of this nation apart at the seams, all because they can't look in the mirror and like what they see.

Awhhh. Excuse the Office of Government Ethics trying to do its job! How dare they look into corruption! Trumps tiny little feelings may get hurt and corruption may be exposed.

 

[Nilly]

Eric Holder, Lois Lerner, Loretta Lynch, Debbie Wasserman, Donna Brazile, Maxine Waters, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Wiener, etc, etc, etc....

And now you people are concerned about ethics?

LMAO

Remind me again how many of these people have been POTUS?

 

[Erod]

Remind me again how many of these people have been POTUS?

You think that's actually a point? LOL

 

[joG]

Should work now. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/us/politics/trump-white-house-government-ethics-lobbyists.html

Pity you don't use less biased sources.

 

[JasperL]

Eric Holder, Lois Lerner, Loretta Lynch, Debbie Wasserman, Donna Brazile, Maxine Waters, Hillary Clinton, Anthony Wiener, etc, etc, etc....

And now you people are concerned about ethics?

LMAO

When I opened the thread, I put the over/under (to myself) on the "BUT OBAMA/CLINTON/DEMOCRATS!!!!!!" diversion at 5. So I missed it, but I'm happy to see that it's only because it took #7 for the first right winger to comment! :mrgreen:

 

[year2late]

I guess you drain the swamp so Good Buddy Swampbeast can go free range.:shock:

 

[TheDemSocialist]

Pity you don't use less biased sources.

:yawn::yawn::yawn:

 

[JasperL]

They are legally challenging the inquiry, which is just another drip in this planned daily drip-drip-drip attack against this administration by the establishment in Washington.

But carry on, Captain Lemming.

We do feel for you here. There is no defense of Trump here - why NOT tell us exactly who has waivers? No reason except so we can't know that some lobbyist who worked to kill oil and gas regulations (hypothetical) has been put in charge of the same oil and gas regs.

But the "Captain Lemming" stuff is pretty hilariously ironic.

 

[JasperL]

Pity you don't use less biased sources.

Didn't expect THAT lame defense of Trump - fake news!! But I guess someone beat you to the "But _________ [insert name(s) of Democrat here]" excuse. :roll:

 

[Cardinal]

They are legally challenging the inquiry, which is just another drip in this planned daily drip-drip-drip attack against this administration by the establishment in Washington.

But carry on, Captain Lemming.

What do you think of the optics of blocking the inquiry?

 

[Chomsky]

They are legally challenging the inquiry, which is just another drip in this planned daily drip-drip-drip attack against this administration by the establishment in Washington.

But carry on, Captain Lemming.

There's drip drip drip, because Trump and his cronies are all wet! And I don't say this facetiously. If they weren't dirty, there'd be nothing to see.

The ethics office has plenty of valid concern, considering Trump's highest appointees have ethics conflicts; take Flynn for example.

Also, I'd like to see some numbers and stats, but if true the following is alarming:

Dozens of former lobbyists and industry lawyers are working in the Trump administration, which has hired them at a much higher rate than the previous administration. Keeping the waivers confidential would make it impossible to know whether any such officials are violating federal ethics rules or have been given a pass to ignore them.

But I guess what confuses me most about your posts is, regardless of your politics, why would you not want transparency and accountability in your government?

 

[Chomsky]

What do you think of the optics of blocking the inquiry?

Screw the optics already.

We are under siege from the very top.

I'm hoping we can just inject some legality into our new government!

We've only got one more year, before Trump replaces him with a crony - unless Trump obstructs by firing the guy.

"Mr. Shaub, who is in the final year of a five-year term after being appointed by President Barack Obama, said he had no intention of backing down. “It is an extraordinary thing,” Mr. Shaub said of the White House request. “I have never seen anything like it.”"

 

[Cardinal]

Screw the optics already.

We are under siege from the very top.

I'm hoping we can just inject some legality into our new government!

We've only got one more year, before Trump replaces him with a crony - unless Trump obstructs by firing the guy.

"Mr. Shaub, who is in the final year of a five-year term after being appointed by President Barack Obama, said he had no intention of backing down. “It is an extraordinary thing,” Mr. Shaub said of the White House request. “I have never seen anything like it.”"

He'll fire him if it's within his legal ability (I honestly don't know if he can), just as I believe he'll push Rosenstein to fire Mueller. And when he does we'll get some great quotes from Republicans declaring it to be "troubling."