Only The Best: Wilbur Ross Edition

After their failed effort to include a "citizenship" question on the 2020 Census, something that was designed to undercount and intimidate immigrants, it's been widely reported that Commerce Secretary and sleepy octogenarian Wilbur "Zzzz" Ross will be canned by an angry and vindictive Trump. The Census gambit was a Rethuglican priority to reset Congressional boundaries, starve Dem districts of Federal resources, and generally tilt the playing field in their favor.

Staff at the Commerce Department are also on pink slip watch for the inept Ross, and have provided Politico with a look at his somnolent habits:

“He’s sort of seen as kind of irrelevant. The morale is very low there because there’s not a lot of confidence in the secretary,” said a former outside adviser to Commerce who is still in touch with many employees inside the department. “He’s not respected in the building.”

Ross doesn’t hold routine meetings with senior staffers, according to a person familiar with the department’s inner workings and a former outside adviser -- a departure from past practice that one source attributed to the secretary’s lack of stamina.

“Because he tends to fall asleep in meetings, they try not to put him in a position where that could happen so they’re very careful and conscious about how they schedule certain meetings,” said the former outside adviser. “There’s a small window where he’s able to focus and pay attention and not fall asleep.”

The Commerce Department isn't the State Department, Defense Department or Treasury Department in terms of a weighty mission, but it does handle everything from oceanic and atmospheric research and export licenses, to collecting national business data and conducting the Census. Ross is just another Trump appointee who is far below the quality of a Cabinet secretary, but someone who will do Trump's bidding in his government vandalism project.

BONUS:

To be fair, I’m sure every department is a disaster in their own way. That’s the goal. https://t.co/a7X1OP9aVf

— Schooley (@Rschooley) July 22, 2019

(photo: Ross, left, getting his beauty rest on trip to Saudi Arabia. On Demand News)

"One Of The Biggest Grifters In American History"

Kleptocrat and un- indicted co- conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump has an affinity for fellow grifters. One of them, his Secretary of Commerce, multi- millionaire "Offshore" Wilbur Ross, is giving Rump a run for his money as the biggest grifter of all:

It is difficult to imagine the possibility that a man like Ross, who Forbes estimates is worth some $700 million, might steal a few million from one of his business partners. Unless you have heard enough stories about Ross. Two former WL Ross colleagues remember the commerce secretary taking handfuls of Sweet’N Low packets from a nearby restaurant, so he didn’t have to go out and buy some for himself. One says workers at his house in the Hamptons used to call the office, claiming Ross had not paid them for their work. [Ed. -- sound familiar?] Another two people said Ross once pledged $1 million to a charity, then never paid. [Ed. -- sound familiar?] A commerce official called the tales “petty nonsense,” and added that Ross does not put sweetener in his coffee.   

There are bigger allegations. 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. (our emphasis)

Also, Wilbur, like Rump, has deep connections to Russian oligarchs controlled by Rump's supervisor, Vladimir Putin, as well as to a Cypriot bank that Special Counsel Mueller is looking at as a primary money laundering front for those same Russian oligarchs. Add to that that he's a small- bore cheapskate and deadbeat, just like... well, you know. Ergo, he fits right in with the Rump crime family.

(Photo: "I lifted this from the supermarket." - CNBC image)

Let's Play Indictment Roulette!

Here's the challenge:  Which of these Trumpkins do you think will be the next one(s) indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller (you can opine in the comments):

- Former National Security Advisor Michael "Jack D. Ripper" Flynn and his son

- Rump son-in-law Jared "Mr. Ivanka Trump" Kushner

- Rump Commerce Secretary "Offshore Wilbur" Ross

- Other (must name)

Vote early and often!