BY RAUL HERNANDEZ
Notebookventura@gmail.com
Trump and his unabashed crew of political gangsters would make Tony Soprano and his mob proud in the way they are bulldozing their way through the White House cabinet confirmation process by shamelessly trying to hide, shuffle and withhold documents about theiTrump and his unabashed crew of political gangsters would make Tony Soprano and his mob proud in the way they are bulldozing their way through the White House cabinet confirmation process by shamelessly trying to hide, shuffle and withhold documents about thr business.
usiness dealing, if they come to light, could disqualify these billionaires and millionaires from serving in Trump’s cabinet. Trump’s transition team with the help of Senate Republicans are rushing the nominees through the process and circumventing federal law, which is unprecedented.
This lack of transparency and honesty shows public contempt and disdain by Trump along his Rubber Stamp Republican Congress. These are the same shady characters who were on the fast-track to gut the ethics watchdog before public outcry stopped them dead in their tracks.
Trump’s nominees behave like Cosa Nostra crime figures trying desperately to hide union and casino gambling ties to a senate subcommittee investigating organized crime rather than people who want to serve the American taxpayers.
Today, Trump announced that he planned to name his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to senior advisor to the president, according to several news outlets.
Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and has been involved inTrump’s successful presidential campaign. By naming the real estate and media scion to his White House staff, Trump can ensure that Kushner will continue to serve as his consultant.
This move raises questions about nepotism.
Tuesday, Jeff Sessions will go before a senate committee to get approval for the attorney general post. Hopefully, Sessions’ senate hearing will be televised by the major networks. This will allow Americans and the rest of the world to have front-row seats and learn why Sessions excluded certain documents from his past from public scrutiny.
Sessions, however, continues to defend, tout and is proud of his record. The same record that didn’t pass the smell test in 1986 when he failed to get a federal judgeship over racist statements he made.
As attorney general, Sessions will keep the National Guard busy when protestors resort to the streets to get justice after Sessions fails to do his job as the nation’s chief prosecutor and protect the civil rights of minorities and women.
I believe that under Sessions and Trump administration there are going to be more shootings of unarmed black men by police. Attorney General Sessions and the Department of Justice will also drag their feet or ignore egregious incidents involving police abuse and brutality.
There is a reason the National Police Union endorsed Trump.
Background and Scorecard as of last week on the Trump cabinet vetting process, according to New York Times.
Before Mr. Trump’s cabinet nominees begin their Senate confirmation hearings, they are required to file an extensive form, the 278, that lists stockholdings, business interests, board seats and other arrangements benefiting them, spouses, minor children, business partners or potential employers.
The Office of Government Ethics reviews incoming officials’ disclosures; flags potential problems; and negotiates an ethics agreement letter in which the nominee agrees to divest, resign or otherwise eliminate potential conflicts. The letter helps protect nominees if they are ever accused of deriving improper financial benefits from government service.
The process is thorough, and complicated for wealthy individuals with vast holdings. Penny Pritzker, a Hyatt Hotels heir now serving as commerce secretary, filed a 278 form that was 184 pages long, and she agreed to sell stakes in more than 200 entities.
Mr. Trump’s team has been far behind in this process. But instead of delaying hearings until his picks reveal their business ties, the transition team has joined some Senate Republicans in pushing to hold hearings without all the needed information — and in some cases pressuring the ethics office to sign off on incomplete disclosures. In one instance, a nominee filed an incomplete 278, and the transition team called the ethics office minutes later looking for an ethics agreement letter.
Russian Economy Got Good News after Trump was Elected
Trump’s election and speculation that he could end economic sanctions was apparently welcomed news by Russians. Russia’s economy was on the upswing going into 2017, according to a Forbes article published Dec. 26, 2016.
T0 read the entire article click here: “Russia’s Economy Goes Out With A ‘Bang”
“Next year is shaping up to be a much better one for the Russian Federation. Following back-to-back years of economic recession and much of the Western world putting its leader, Vladimir Putin, in the dog house because of his actions in Ukraine and his support for Bashar Assad in Syria, Russia is ready to make a comeback,” the Forbes article stated.
On Nov. 6 and before the election, Forbes reported that Russian marketplace under Putin was in bad shape. It was titled: “Russia’s Road to Economic Ruin.”
“A financial crisis there could bring down Putin and his KGB-style dictatorship. Russia is nearly broke, and Putin is desperate to get U.S. economic sanctions lifted.
Trump lifting economic sanctions against Russia will benefit Putin and possibly make him stronger.
The media has written very little about Russia’s struggling economy and Putin.
Huffington Post Headline: Wall Street Journal Editor Says His Newspaper Won’t Call Donald Trump’s Lies ‘Lies’
“I’d be careful about using the word ‘lie,’” says Editor Gerard Baker in the article.
That is such BS.
DICTIONARY.COM defines of LIE as a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
Antonyms: truth.
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The reason why the Wall Street Journal doesn’t call America’s serial liar a liar or points this out in the newspaper’s editorial or opinion pages is obvious. It is because the newspaper is afraid of a lawsuit. However, Trump is a public figure, and labeling this liar a liar would have to be made with malice.“A lie, is a lie, is a lie,” Rather wrote in a Facebook post. “Journalism, as I was taught it, is a process of getting as close to some valid version of the truth as is humanly possible. And one of my definitions of news is information that the powerful don’t want you to know.”
Journal Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker’s comments on how the paper plans to report on the president-elect’s “future (likely?) lies is deeply disturbing,” Rather added.
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