Republicans had a rough night, and will have an even tougher road ahead. News over the past 24 hours is a big reason why: Trump and his administration’s corruption reached new heights, and he continued to sell Americans out. See for yourself:
Trump’s corrupt cabinet continues. Wilbur Ross ‘could rank among the biggest grifters in American history’ after he allegedly stole more than $120 million.
Forbes: “Over several months, in speaking with 21 people who know Ross, Forbes uncovered a pattern: Many of those who worked directly with him claim that Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there, huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. At least if you consider them individually. But all told, these allegations—which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine—come to more than $120 million. If even half of the accusations are legitimate, the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.”
Trump claims he cares about veterans, but his Department of Veterans Affairs is secretly being steered by three of his Mar-a-Lago cronies with no relevant experience.
ProPublica: “O’Rourke treated the email as an order, but Moskowitz is not his boss. In fact, he is not even a government official. Moskowitz is a Palm Beach doctor who helps wealthy people obtain high-service ‘concierge’ medical care. More to the point, he is one-third of an informal council that is exerting sweeping influence on the VA from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida. The troika is led by Ike Perlmutter, the reclusive chairman of Marvel Entertainment, who is a longtime acquaintance of President Trump’s. The third member is a lawyer named Marc Sherman. None of them has ever served in the U.S. military or government.”
Trump sold out workers. Trump hired an anti-worker lawyer to staff his administration’s labor union oversight office.
Bloomberg Law: “The Trump administration has started staffing up its labor union oversight office by hiring an adviser who cut his teeth with an organization whose stated mission is ‘combatting the evils of compulsory unionism.’ Geoffrey MacLeay, a former attorney at the National Right to Work Foundation, will serve as policy adviser for the Office of Labor-Management Standards, a Labor Department spokesman confirmed to Bloomberg Law.”
Trump continues to profit from his D.C. hotel, which poses a huge conflict of interest and could be a violation of the Constitution.
NBC News: “Trump’s D.C. hotel, a clubhouse for his fans, may also be a 5-star conflict of interest”
NBC News: “Eighteen months into the Trump presidency, an NBC News analysis of public filings and social media indicates substantial spending at the hotel by federal agencies, Trump’s political allies and foreign governments. … The plaintiffs say the hotel is not just a conflict of interest, but a violation of the Constitution, which includes emoluments clauses designed to keep officials from profiting from their positions or being influenced by gifts or benefits from foreign powers.”
Despite Trump’s “America First” pledge, one of Betsy DeVos’ family yachts flies a foreign flag of a notorious tax haven.
Newsweek: “When someone untied a yacht owned by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s family, the episode was portrayed as an example of anti-Trump harassment. But the yacht’s foreign flag illustrated how an allegedly ‘America First’ administration is full of moguls who have stashed their wealth offshore in ways that help them avoid taxes, regulations, transparency requirements and domestic employment laws.”