The swamp

[Phil1111 1,149]

Rule change sharpens Dem investigations into Trump

These new rules will open the floodgates of the swamp.  " The change allows staff of House committees to conduct depositions without any lawmakers present, freeing up the panels to move through witnesses in their investigations quickly without the constraints of the previous Congress. ...

They want sworn testimony. That indicates to me they’re looking for facts and not show,” added Cash, who is now a lawyer at Day Pitney specializing in criminal and national security law. ...

The change will allow committees to quicken the pace of their investigations if they take advantage of it, given that they will not be constrained by lawmakers’ schedules.

“It can increase the speed, the efficiency and the punch of investigations,” said Jack Sharman, former special counsel to Congress for the Whitewater investigation. “If you remove the member-present requirement, then that reduces a lot of the logistical drag on the investigation.”

So the House can have 50 lawyers and staffers conducting 50 depositions simultaneously. With all testimony and admissions under oath. i.e. Ivanka's China deals, Jared's Saudi loans, trump's tax and Russian money laundering deals. Oh! forgot Donald Jr. he'll be in there as well.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by Phil1111

[ryoder 1,590]

Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article226577419.html

That refers to swamp-thing Sec of Labor Alexander Acosta.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

14 hours ago, ryoder said:

Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article226577419.html

That refers to swamp-thing Sec of Labor Alexander Acosta.

Absolutely disgusting....Anybody involved in this should rot in jail.

[gowlerk 2,190]

1 hour ago, SkyDekker said:

Absolutely disgusting....Anybody involved in this should rot in jail.

It's amazing what money and the power that goes with it can buy.

[kallend 2,026]

On an earnings call in April 2017, Boeing's CEO Muilenburg was asked how deregulation early in Trump's term affected the company.

Muilenburg replied that "the [Trump] administration has been very engaged across government agencies and with industry to find ideas and ways and opportunities to simplify and streamline.

"Things like FAA certification processes is one place that we're seeing some solid progress," he said. "That's helping us more efficiently work through certification on some of our new model aircraft, such as the Max, as it's going through flight test and entering into service."

[SkyDekker 1,465]

On 3/18/2019 at 2:23 AM, kallend said:

On an earnings call in April 2017, Boeing's CEO Muilenburg was asked how deregulation early in Trump's term affected the company.

Muilenburg replied that "the [Trump] administration has been very engaged across government agencies and with industry to find ideas and ways and opportunities to simplify and streamline.

"Things like FAA certification processes is one place that we're seeing some solid progress," he said. "That's helping us more efficiently work through certification on some of our new model aircraft, such as the Max, as it's going through flight test and entering into service."

I am pretty sure that deregulation and "finding efficiencies" is exactly why the 737 MAX 8 crashes happened.

Totally new aircraft, but by allowing it to be called a 737 no new type rating is required and pilots can be seamlessly moved from old airframe to new other than some very minor "differences" training.

This is pretty common. The 757 and 767 require the same type rating. One is a narrow body, the other a wide body. There are 242 system differences between the aircraft. In at least one case, two switches in the same location in the overhead panel, with the same label, had opposite effects when activated.

Maybe "efficiency" and "number of regulations" shouldn't be the measuring stick for governments and regulatory bodies.

[ryoder 1,590]

Kirstjen Nielsen is leaving The Swamp:

NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/us/politics/kirstjen-nielsen-dhs-resigns.html

[gowlerk 2,190]

Trump should put someone who can get things done in charge of homeland defense. Jared would be the perfect guy. Except for that confirmation thing.

[ryoder 1,590]

"Kirstjen Nielsen Joins Desperate Caravan Fleeing White House In Search Of Better Lives"

-- Andy Borowitz

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Don't look at the source. Just read the story and try to decide if it's real or fake.

 

https://politics.theonion.com/trump-vows-extensive-search-to-find-new-dhs-director-wi-1833895329

[DJL 235]

43 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Don't look at the source. Just read the story and try to decide if it's real or fake.

 

https://politics.theonion.com/trump-vows-extensive-search-to-find-new-dhs-director-wi-1833895329

They don't even have to make it up anymore, Neilsen quite because she couldn't legally do what he wants so he wants someone who will do it anyway.

[kallend 2,026]

“Flailing administration seeks Cabinet secretary willing to sacrifice dignity for employer’s vanity. No relevant experience needed. Successful candidate must be morally flexible. Familiarity with abusive personalities a plus. Willingness to be publicly humiliated required. Employee will be fired in about 12 months and thereafter be permanently unemployable. Non-disclosure agreement mandatory. Interested candidates should contact the prison warden.” - WaPo

Edited April 9, 2019 by kallend
Correcting source.

[DJL 235]

30 minutes ago, kallend said:

“Flailing administration seeks Cabinet secretary willing to sacrifice dignity for employer’s vanity. No relevant experience needed. Successful candidate must be morally flexible. Familiarity with abusive personalities a plus. Willingness to be publicly humiliated required. Employee will be fired in about 12 months and thereafter be permanently unemployable. Non-disclosure agreement mandatory. Interested candidates should contact the prison warden.” - NYT

That's from Dana Milbank, WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kirstjen-nielsens-attempt-to-suck-up-to-trump-ended-badly-it-always-does/2019/04/08/7d982baa-5a38-11e9-9625-01d48d50ef75_story.html

[kallend 2,026]

Stephen Moore and Herman Cain are Trump nominees for the Fed.

As Krugman says, "send in the clowns".

[BillyVance 34]

5 hours ago, DJL said:

They don't even have to make it up anymore, Neilsen quite because she couldn't legally do what he wants so he wants someone who will do it anyway.

Funny, Mazie Hirono of HI praised Neilsen's termination. I don't think she's gonna like who Trump replaces her with.

[kallend 2,026]

Another member of the Trump clan involved in sleazy deals, has to resign rather than face investigation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/us/maryanne-trump-barry-misconduct-inquiry.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR1xR3J8QdsVsi5eEEprMICYW3p-5bAH0ouhJG8sRynwe-zaLF6D-gzOKRM 

Edited April 11, 2019 by kallend

[kallend 2,026]

Donald Trump’s older sister has retired as a judge, prematurely ending an investigation into whether she broke judicial rules by allegedly taking part in tax fraud schemes with the president. 

Clearly the ethics gene is missing in this family.

From The Independent:

Maryanne Trump Barry, an 82-year-old federal appeals court judge, filed her retirement papers in February, 10 days after a court official notified four complainants in the case the probe was “receiving the full attention” of a judicial conduct council.

The complaints made last October stemmed from an investigation by the New York Times that uncovered details of an alleged scheme committed by Mr Trump and his siblings to fraudulently avoid tax over the course of several decades. 

 

The potentially criminal behaviour saw the Trumps reportedly avoid gift and inheritance taxes on money passed to them from the real estate empire of their father, Fred Trump.

They allegedly did this by setting up a shell company, of which Judge Barry was a co-owner, which siphoned cash from their father's business by marking up purchases already made by his employees.

Judge Barry, who lives in Manhattan, decided to stop hearing cases shortly after her brother’s inauguration in 2017, and until February was listed as an inactive senior judge. She never publicly revealed the reason behind her decision.

Her status as an inactive judge meant she kept her salary and was still subject to conduct enquiries, but in announcing her retirement later than month, it forced an end to the probe. 

The individuals who filed the complaints were told the case had been dropped without reaching any conclusions, according to the Times. 

Scott Shuchart, a lawyer who previously worked for the Obama administration, said he filed one of the complaints against Judge Barry as a concerned member of the legal profession. 

He told the newspaper it was “galling” she could escape a misconduct probe while continuing to receive a state pension, which is likely close to $200,000 a year. 

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Why would the investigation stop because she retired?

[kallend 2,026]

36 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Why would the investigation stop because she retired?

Lawyers make their own rules.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

2 hours ago, SkyDekker said:

Why would the investigation stop because she retired?

Because it was an 'internal' investigation by the Judicial Conduct Council. 
Not a criminal investigation. 

[SkyDekker 1,465]

1 hour ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Because it was an 'internal' investigation by the Judicial Conduct Council. 
Not a criminal investigation. 

And that should be completed to find out if anything happened and how it could be avoided in the future.

[billvon 2,991]

Trump to Homeland Security - break the law; I'll pardon you if you get convicted!
=============================================

Trump’s Message to Homeland Security Official: Close the Border Despite an Earlier Promise of a Delay

NYT

April 12, 2019

President Trump last week urged Kevin McAleenan, whom he was about to name as acting secretary of homeland security, to close the southwestern border despite having just said that he was delaying a decision on the step for a year, according to three people briefed about the conversation.

It was not clear what Mr. Trump meant by his request or his additional comment to Mr. McAleenan that he would pardon him if he encountered any legal problems as a result of taking the action.

==============================================

[yobnoc 142]

7 minutes ago, billvon said:

Trump to Homeland Security - break the law; I'll pardon you if you get convicted!
=============================================

Trump’s Message to Homeland Security Official: Close the Border Despite an Earlier Promise of a Delay

NYT

April 12, 2019

President Trump last week urged Kevin McAleenan, whom he was about to name as acting secretary of homeland security, to close the southwestern border despite having just said that he was delaying a decision on the step for a year, according to three people briefed about the conversation.

It was not clear what Mr. Trump meant by his request or his additional comment to Mr. McAleenan that he would pardon him if he encountered any legal problems as a result of taking the action.

==============================================

He's just suborning crime right out in the open now.  I really think it's true, what he said about shooting someone on 5th Ave.

 

It's a dark time in this country these days. 

[turtlespeed 220]

3 hours ago, yobnoc said:

He's just suborning crime right out in the open now.  I really think it's true, what he said about shooting someone on 5th Ave.

 

It's a dark time in this country these days. 

Yet not quite as dark as it would be.

[yobnoc 142]

50 minutes ago, turtlespeed said:

Yet not quite as dark as it would be.

This is unsubstantiated whataboutism.  You can state your unqualifiable opinion on the matter, but it doesn't have anything to do with what we see happening right in front of us.  Forgive me for not having any faith in your ability to see alternate universes.