Vox's Riley Beggin covers the latest corruption- in- plain- view intended to line the pockets of con man Donald "Rump" Trump and what Democrats are doing about it:
The House Oversight Committee is investigating military spending at an airport near a Trump property in Ayer, Scotland, as well as visits to that property by service members, in the latest of a growing number of inquiries into government expenditures that seem to financially benefit President Donald Trump and his businesses.
The military has spent $11 million on fuel alone at the Prestwick Airport near Trump’s Turnberry resort since fall of 2017, Politico reported. And reporting by the Guardian found the airport has provided discounted rooms and complimentary rounds of golf at the Trump resort for some US military members. The expenditures are unusual given buying fuel from Prestwick Airport costs the government (and, ultimately, taxpayers) more than refueling at military bases, such as the nearby Lakenheath Air Base in England. [snip]
In the case of the military spending in Scotland, lawmakers are concerned the stops at Prestwick are a means of propping up the president’s failing business venture at the expense of US taxpayers, given both the airport and the nearby Trump resort have been struggling for years. The two are interconnected as resort’s success in part depends on the airport staying open, the committee found.Trump's Pentagon ass- kissers are stonewalling/ slow- walking the Committee so far, which may end up being just another bullet in an obstruction of Congress article of impeachment. Speaking of which:
House Democrats return to Washington this week poised to significantly broaden their nascent impeachment inquiry into President Trump beyond the findings of the Russia investigation, but they will confront a fast-dwindling political clock.
Undeterred by lackluster public support for impeachment, Democratic lawmakers and aides have sketched out a robust four-month itinerary of hearings and court arguments that they hope will provide the evidence they need to credibly portray Mr. Trump as corrupt and abusing his power.
Beyond the president’s efforts to impede the special counsel’s investigation, Democrats also plan to scrutinize his role in hush payments to two women who said they had affairs with him and reports that he dangled pardons to officials willing to break the law to implement his immigration policies. Democrats also demanded documents last week related to whether his resort properties illegally profited from government business. [snip]
For now, Democratic congressional investigators agree they should push ahead, even if impeachment ultimately remains beyond their grasp.Would Trump be convicted in the Senate? Hardly. But the lawlessness must be addressed and the case laid out for the American people. Otherwise our lawmakers are giving tacit approval for violating the Constitution and the laws of the land by Trump and potential future Presidents.
“If we aren’t able to collect the evidence that we need to present a credible case before the election, well, at least maybe we will have put enough evidence out there that the public can exercise another form of regime change that is in the Constitution and vote,” said Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, a Pennsylvania Democrat on the committee.
The Judiciary Committee will take a substantial step to organize its effort this week. Lawmakers are expected to vote to establish rules and procedures governing the inquiry, including allowing staff lawyers to question witnesses and the president’s lawyers to more formally offer a defense, according to an official familiar with the committee’s plans.
Brandon Ambrosino reports that pool boy and masseuse enthusiast Jerry Falwell, Jr., one of Trump's favorite Pharisee evangelical grifters, may have pushed the offering envelope too far:
Based on scores of new interviews and documents obtained for this article, concerns about Falwell’s behavior go well beyond that—and it’s causing longtime, loyal Liberty University officials to rapidly lose faith in him.
More than two dozen current and former high-ranking Liberty University officials and close associates of Falwell spoke to me or provided documents for this article, opening up—for the first time at an institution so intimately associated with the Falwell family—about what they’ve experienced and why they don’t think he’s the right man to lead Liberty University or serve as a figurehead in the Christian conservative movement.
In interviews over the past eight months, they depicted how Falwell and his wife, Becki, consolidated power at Liberty University and how Falwell presides over a culture of self-dealing, directing university resources into projects and real estate deals in which his friends and family have stood to make personal financial gains. Among the previously unreported revelations are Falwell’s decision to hire his son Trey’s company to manage a shopping center owned by the university, Falwell’s advocacy for loans given by the university to his friends, and Falwell’s awarding university contracts to businesses owned by his friends. (our emphasis)In fact, Falwell is a perfect figurehead in the "Christian conservative movement," in that he's a monumental fraud, hypocrite, bigot and grifter. Having Falwell fronting it would be the only thing remotely honest about that "movement."
As always, we wrap up our recommended reading with Infidel 753's link round- up for a comprehensive look around the internet. He's assembled the usual collection of interesting, aggravating, amusing links to check out, so please do so.
