Trump's swamp

[ZiprHead]

Nope, it's all part of Trump's swamp and not worth starting a new thread.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Trump overbilled Secret Service for rooms at his properties. I kid you not. It is soooooo surprising. I'm not even gifting the link as this has got to be one of the least surprising revelations from the Trump Administration.

The records show that in 40 cases the Trump Organization billed the Secret Service far higher amounts than the approved government rate — in one case charging agents $1,185 a night to stay at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. The new billing documents, according to a congressional committee’s review, show that U.S. taxpayers paid the president’s company at least $1.4 million for Secret Service agents’ stays at Trump properties for his and his family’s protection.

“The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents’ frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President’s self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses,” Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) wrote to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

 

[laughing dog]

Trump overbilled Secret Service for rooms at his properties. I kid you not. It is soooooo surprising. I'm not even gifting the link as this has got to be one of the least surprising revelations from the Trump Administration.

The records show that in 40 cases the Trump Organization billed the Secret Service far higher amounts than the approved government rate — in one case charging agents $1,185 a night to stay at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. The new billing documents, according to a congressional committee’s review, show that U.S. taxpayers paid the president’s company at least $1.4 million for Secret Service agents’ stays at Trump properties for his and his family’s protection.

“The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents’ frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President’s self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses,” Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) wrote to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

A good question is why did the Secret Service pay the over-billing portions?

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Shadowy Man]

Haha! Suckers!!

 

[Swammerdami]

There's a reason why it strikes me as quite plausible that Trump did NOT sell nuclear secrets to Putin or the Saudis.

Trump is certainly a life-long criminal and hoped to use his White House gig as a cash cow, but just wasn't smart enough to monetize secrets for maximum profit.

Trump overbilled Secret Service for rooms at his properties. I kid you not. It is soooooo surprising. I'm not even gifting the link as this has got to be one of the least surprising revelations from the Trump Administration.

He was Leader of the Free World and all he could do about it was penny-ante grifts. His supporters should be ashamed. His inner circle consists almost entirely of family members, mostly all even stupider than him. Melania is probably the only one with a 100+ IQ, but she strove for a low profile.

We turned the country over to a treasonous criminal, but got off relatively lightly. Now that Republicans know what is possible, we won't be so lucky next time.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

To giveTrump credit, in 4 short years, he gave the U.S. nearly $8 trillion in new national debt.

 

[Shadowy Man]

To giveTrump credit, in 4 short years, he gave the U.S. nearly $8 trillion in new national debt.

I would assign credit to Congress on that and suspect that he was primarily signing off on McConnell’s and others’ policy priorities.

 

[ZiprHead]

Trump Had Hidden $19.8 Million Loan From North Korea-Linked Company As President: Report

Trump failed to disclose the loan, which was paid off months after he took office, Forbes reported.

news.yahoo.com

Donald Trump failed to disclose a $19.8 million loan from a company with ties to North Korea while he was president, Forbes reported Sunday, citing documents uncovered by the New York attorney general’s office.
Trump owed the money to L/P Daewoo while he was campaigning in 2016 and into his presidency, according to records. He didn’t list the debt in financial disclosure filings, as candidates and presidents are expected to do, Forbes reported.
The loan was paid off just over five months into his presidency. Forbes said the documents don’t specify who satisfied it.
Daewoo is a South Korean conglomerate that partnered with Trump on a development project near the United Nations headquarters in New York City and on several other projects over the years. The company has ties to North Korea, Forbes reported, and was the only South Korean company allowed to operate a business in North Korea in the mid-1990s.
Trump may have skirted disclosure laws and not committed an outright violation because the loan was on the books of his company, the Trump Organization, and not identified as a personal loan, Forbes noted.
The debt would have sparked conflict of interest concerns over an American president’s indebtedness to a foreign operation vulnerable to influence by North Korea’s rogue government. Trump often gushed about his close relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

 

[ZiprHead]

Convicted con man who was pardoned by Trump is again charged with fraud

"I have a bad reputation," Eliyahu Weinstein was recorded telling others charged in what authorities alleged was a $35 million Ponzi-like scheme, officials say.

www.nbcnews.com

A New Jersey con man with a "bad reputation" who was pardoned two years ago by former President Donald Trump has been arrested again and accused of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars.

Eliyahu "Eli" Weinstein and four other men are charged with fleecing more than 150 people out of $35 million in a "Ponzi-like scheme," according to an arrest complaint unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Trenton and a statement from the office of the U.S. attorney for New Jersey.


Using the alias Michael Konig, Weinstein and the others formed a company called Optimus Investments Inc. and allegedly began "orchestrating another substantial scheme to defraud investors" shortly after he was released from prison in January 2021 — but still on probation, the complaint says.

“We allege Mr. Weinstein took part in a new scheme to rip off investors by hiding his real identity,” Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI’s Newark field office said in the Justice Department statement. “He was aware his actions were against the terms of his release on a previous investment fraud conviction, and we allege he engaged in criminal activity anyway.”

The group is accused of "falsely claiming" it had "lucrative deals" on N95 Covid masks, "scarce baby formula" and "first-aid kits bound for Ukraine."

 

[1Heidegger1!]

I've found the Trump Religious Propaganda art interesting. I've been posting about that on Secular Frontier.

 

[marc]

There is a rumor that the guy Trump pardoned, and got arrested again, might be willing to talk about buying the pardon in exchange for a reduced scentence.

Trump is going to spend more time dealing with lawsuits than campaigning over the next year.

 

[Copernicus]

There is a rumor that the guy Trump pardoned, and got arrested again, might be willing to talk about buying the pardon in exchange for a reduced scentence.

Trump is going to spend more time dealing with lawsuits than campaigning over the next year.

This may be related to the Dunphy civil lawsuit, which alleges that Giuliani was openly selling pardons and splitting the proceeds with Trump. However, I doubt that prosecutors will be interested in starting up a new prosecution to charge Trump with bribery, even if this guy does claim he bought his pardon (which would surprise no one). There are just too many crimes and too few prosecutors. The federal budget would likely take a significant hit, if prosecutors went after all of the crimes Trump committed. They have their hands full now, as it is. However, I don't think Giuliani was necessarily the only one selling pardons for Trump.

Giuliani accused of offering to sell Trump pardons for $2 million each in new lawsuit​

 

[Loren Pechtel]

There is a rumor that the guy Trump pardoned, and got arrested again, might be willing to talk about buying the pardon in exchange for a reduced scentence.

Trump is going to spend more time dealing with lawsuits than campaigning over the next year.

This may be related to the Dunphy civil lawsuit, which alleges that Giuliani was openly selling pardons and splitting the proceeds with Trump. However, I doubt that prosecutors will be interested in starting up a new prosecution to charge Trump with bribery, even if this guy does claim he bought his pardon (which would surprise no one). There are just too many crimes and too few prosecutors. The federal budget would likely take a significant hit, if prosecutors went after all of the crimes Trump committed. They have their hands full now, as it is. However, I don't think Giuliani was necessarily the only one selling pardons for Trump.

Giuliani accused of offering to sell Trump pardons for $2 million each in new lawsuit​

Is it illegal to sell a pardon anyway?

 

[Copernicus]

There is a rumor that the guy Trump pardoned, and got arrested again, might be willing to talk about buying the pardon in exchange for a reduced scentence.

Trump is going to spend more time dealing with lawsuits than campaigning over the next year.

This may be related to the Dunphy civil lawsuit, which alleges that Giuliani was openly selling pardons and splitting the proceeds with Trump. However, I doubt that prosecutors will be interested in starting up a new prosecution to charge Trump with bribery, even if this guy does claim he bought his pardon (which would surprise no one). There are just too many crimes and too few prosecutors. The federal budget would likely take a significant hit, if prosecutors went after all of the crimes Trump committed. They have their hands full now, as it is. However, I don't think Giuliani was necessarily the only one selling pardons for Trump.

Giuliani accused of offering to sell Trump pardons for $2 million each in new lawsuit​

Is it illegal to sell a pardon anyway?

Why would you think it might not be an act of illegal bribery?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

There is a rumor that the guy Trump pardoned, and got arrested again, might be willing to talk about buying the pardon in exchange for a reduced scentence.

Trump is going to spend more time dealing with lawsuits than campaigning over the next year.

This may be related to the Dunphy civil lawsuit, which alleges that Giuliani was openly selling pardons and splitting the proceeds with Trump. However, I doubt that prosecutors will be interested in starting up a new prosecution to charge Trump with bribery, even if this guy does claim he bought his pardon (which would surprise no one). There are just too many crimes and too few prosecutors. The federal budget would likely take a significant hit, if prosecutors went after all of the crimes Trump committed. They have their hands full now, as it is. However, I don't think Giuliani was necessarily the only one selling pardons for Trump.

Giuliani accused of offering to sell Trump pardons for $2 million each in new lawsuit​

Is it illegal to sell a pardon anyway?

Why would you think it might not be an act of illegal bribery?

Bribery? He's giving out a resource he's allowed to give out at his judgment. Obviously they never envisioned they would be sold but I don't see bribery here.

 

[zorq]

Bribery? He's giving out a resource he's allowed to give out at his judgment. Obviously they never envisioned they would be sold but I don't see bribery here.

Are you under the impression that the 2 million dollars would be donated to the US government? Because I am under the impression that the 2 million dollars would be pocketed by Trump and Guiliani.

graft
grăft
noun
1.Deceitful or fraudulent use of one's position, especially in public office, to obtain personal profits or advantages.
2.Money or advantage obtained by such means.

18 U.S. Code Chapter 11 - BRIBERY, GRAFT, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

I'm not a lawyer, but I bet this shit is illegal.

18 U.S. Code § 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses

www.law.cornell.edu

(b) Whoever—
(1) directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or promises anything of value to any public official or person who has been selected to be a public official, or offers or promises any public official or any person who has been selected to be a public official to give anything of value to any other person or entity, with intent—
(A)
to influence any official act;
...
shall be fined under this title or not more than three times the monetary equivalent of the thing of value, whichever is greater, or imprisoned for not more than fifteen years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the
United States.

(c) Whoever—
(1) otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty—
...
(B) being a public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such official or person;
...
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

 

[Copernicus]

Bribery? He's giving out a resource he's allowed to give out at his judgment. Obviously they never envisioned they would be sold but I don't see bribery here.

Then I think that you are willfully blinding yourself to the obvious. The Constitution explicitly lists bribery as grounds for the impeachment of public officials, including the president. So it is officially acknowledged by the Constitution that it is real and bad, and Trump was obviously a real bad president when it came to corrupt behavior. Once out of office, Trump became liable for federal prosecution under the law cited by Zorq. Proving it in a court of law requires evidence that would convince a jury, so prosecutors would not necessarily be moved to drag Trump before a jury without unimpeachable evidence. Trump is notoriously good at stymying prosecutions, so he pretty openly gets away with a lot.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Bribery? He's giving out a resource he's allowed to give out at his judgment. Obviously they never envisioned they would be sold but I don't see bribery here.

Then I think that you are willfully blinding yourself to the obvious. The Constitution explicitly lists bribery as grounds for the impeachment of public officials, including the president. So it is officially acknowledged by the Constitution that it is real and bad, and Trump was obviously a real bad president when it came to corrupt behavior. Once out of office, Trump became liable for federal prosecution under the law cited by Zorq. Proving it in a court of law requires evidence that would convince a jury, so prosecutors would not necessarily be moved to drag Trump before a jury without unimpeachable evidence. Trump is notoriously good at stymying prosecutions, so he pretty openly gets away with a lot.

I'm saying that he's allowed to pardon whoever he chooses to. Accepting money to do so is horribly wrong but I think it's a case of the law not envisioning such misconduct.

 

[Elixir]

I think it's a case of the law not envisioning such misconduct.

IOW, just another case of Trump fucking America in the ass, because he can.