Tag: Trump administration grift

Gen. Flynn Repeatedly Took Foreign Payments Despite Official Warnings

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Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is among the many allies of Donald Trump who faced criminal charges and was granted a presidential pardon while the former president was still in the White House. Flynn’s foreign interactions were a major source of controversy during the Trump years, and according to Guardianreporter Murray Waas, Flynn was warned about accepting foreign money even before Trump was elected president in 2016.

The office of the Defense Department’s inspector general, Waas reports, “has uncovered evidence that Michael Flynn accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign interests and governments, despite repeated warnings by the DoD and the Justice Department that his conduct might be illegal.”

In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But Trump defended Flynn vigorously, claiming that his former national security adviser was a victim of political persecution from “the deep state.” Continue reading.

Inspector General Finds Misuse of Office by Elaine Chao at Transportation Dept

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Department’s watchdog asked the Justice Department to criminally investigate Elaine Chao late last year after it determined she had misused her office when she was transportation secretary under President Donald Trump but was rebuffed, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report said the Justice Department’s criminal and public integrity divisions declined in December to take up the case for criminal prosecution following the inspector general’s findings that Chao inappropriately used her staff and office for personal tasks and to promote a shipping business owned by Chao’s father and sisters. That company does extensive business with China.

“A formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted,” deputy inspector general Mitch Behm wrote in a letter to lawmakers. Continue reading.

Ex-Voice Of America Head Blew $4 Million On Lawyers To Spy On Employees: Report

Trump appointee Michael Pack sought to transform the tax-funded VOA into a propaganda operation, according to a whistleblower complaint.

The newly fired head of the Voice of America’s parent agency blew $4 million on lawyers over five months, largely to spy on employees, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The expenditure was part of a purge of career Voice of America officials and journalists to be replaced by those who would promote Donald Trump ahead of the presidential election, according to a whistleblower’s complaint to Congress last week.

The money flowed to two law firms in no-bid contracts awarded by Michael Pack, the Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media who was forced out last week by President Joe Biden’s incoming administration. One top lawyer in the deal was reportedly paid $1,470 an hour. Continue reading.