Trump Staff Picks, Co-Conspirators and the Revolving Door of Departures

[rareboy]

I don't think it was a mystery that this dog was a hot fucking mess.

 

[KaraBulut]

I'm beginning to see a pattern...

Transportation Department watchdog asked DOJ to consider criminal probe of then-Secretary Elaine Chao over ethics concerns [CNN]

The Transportation Department's inspector general asked the Justice Department in December to consider a criminal probe into then-Secretary Elaine Chao over her alleged misuse of office, documents made public Wednesday said, including her alleged use of staff for personal tasks like sending Christmas ornaments to family.

The Justice Department and the US Attorney's Office in Washington, however, declined to pursue the case in the final weeks of the Trump administration, stating there "may be ethical and/or administrative issues to address but there is not predication to open a criminal investigation," according to Transportation Department Deputy Inspector General Mitch Behm's 38-page report detailing his office's extensive ethics concerns surrounding Chao's conduct...

Chao, who is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, had used agency staff for tasks that "appear to be personal in nature," the report stated, citing its investigation.

 

[TX-Beau]

I'm beginning to see a pattern...

Transportation Department watchdog asked DOJ to consider criminal probe of then-Secretary Elaine Chao over ethics concerns [CNN]

I don't know why I was surprised. Can we start calling her Mitch's Chinese spy wife yet? Or has the toad already gotten there first?

 

[KaraBulut]

I don't know why I was surprised. Can we start calling her Mitch's Chinese spy wife yet? Or has the toad already gotten there first?

Chao is the latest of several Cabinet officials who were recommended to the DOJ for prosecution but strangely, never prosecuted under William Barr's leadership.

Remember this guy? The guy who had a flag that was raised at the Interior Department when he was in the building?

Crooked Ryan Zinke Avoided Prosecution Because a Crooked Department of Justice Covered for Him [Montana Post]

 

[TX-Beau]

Chao is the latest of several Cabinet officials who were recommended to the DOJ for prosecution but strangely, never prosecuted under William Barr's leadership.

Remember this guy? The guy who had a flag that was raised at the Interior Department when he was in the building?

Crooked Ryan Zinke Avoided Prosecution Because a Crooked Department of Justice Covered for Him [Montana Post]

It is kind of astounding how all the thieves, and crooks and bigots found each other so very quickly.

 

[KaraBulut]

From March, 2021:

Re: Trump Staff Picks

It didn't get much press in 2020 but Dr Ronny Jackson is now Rep Ronny Jackson- he was elected by Texans to sit in Congress.

And there's this...

Rep. Ronny Jackson made sexual comments, drank alcohol and took Ambien while working as White House physician, Pentagon watchdog finds [CNN]

An Inspector General Report released this week confirmed the rumors about Dr. Jackson operating a pill mill out of the White House physician's office.

https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jan/09/2003373440/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2024-044_REDACTED%20SECURE.PDF

The report found that:

• White House physicians were dispensing a lot of controlled substances. A lot. Among the most commonly prescribed were stimulants like Modafinil and sleeping pills like Zolpidem (both Schedule IV controlled substances).
• The White House physician's office also ran a pharmacy out of their offices. Federal law requires that controlled substances stored and dispensed by pharmacies be inventoried, tracked and records kept about who received the medications. The White House physician's office did not comply with these Federal laws about controlled substances.
• Record keeping was inadequate and the pharmacy was not verifying the identification of people receiving controlled substances from their inventories.
• The White House physician was purchasing expensive brand name drugs instead of the generic form of the drug as required by regulations.

The report specifically cites Navy regulations about controlled substance prescribing. The White House Physician during the Trump Administration was Dr Ronny Jackson, an active duty Navy physician. Previous Inspector General Reports specifically cited Dr Jackson for taking Zolpidem (Ambien) and drinking alcohol while on duty. He was also found to have made sexually inappropriate comments toward patients and White House staff members.

If you or I did this, we would be fired, reported to the State Licensing Board and possibly be charged with a felony.

Dr Jackson, now Rep Jackson (R-TX) was re-elected to Congress in 2022.

 

[KaraBulut]

Peter Navarro is about to be sent to prison. He was an economist with fringe-y views on trade policy who became a key Trump advisor during the 2016 campaign and then again after the election.

Navarro refused to testify to the Jan 6th commission, citing "executive privilege" which led to a DOJ indictment for contempt of Congress. Millions of dollars in legal fees later, Navarro was found guilty and sentenced to 4 months in prison.

Of note, Steve Bannon was found guilty of the same crime in July, 2022 and has been out on an appeal bond for 18 months, even though he was previously indicted for fraud in connection with the fraudulent "We Build the Wall" organization and is currently under indictment by the State of New York for fraud.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/08/politics/peter-navarro-prison/index.html

Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to President Donald Trump who was convicted of contempt of Congress, has been ordered to report to prison after a judge denied Navarro’s effort to stay out of prison while he appeals the conviction.

Navarro was sentenced by Judge Amit Mehta in late January to four months behind bars after a jury in Washington, DC, found him guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena related to the congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

“Defendant’s request for release pending appeal is denied,” Mehta wrote in his ruling Thursday. “Unless this Order is stayed or vacated by the D.C. Circuit, Defendant shall report to the designated Bureau of Prisons facility on the date ordered by the BOP.”

 

[KaraBulut]

From March, 2021:

An Inspector General Report released this week confirmed the rumors about Dr. Jackson operating a pill mill out of the White House physician's office.

https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jan/09/2003373440/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2024-044_REDACTED%20SECURE.PDF

....

If you or I did this, we would be fired, reported to the State Licensing Board and possibly be charged with a felony.

Dr Jackson, now Rep Jackson (R-TX) was re-elected to Congress in 2022.

Well, well, well. Remember this guy? The doctor who didn't know how to read a scale? The doctor who ran a pill mill out of the White House Physicians Office, dispensing speed and sleeping pills without proper documentation? The guy who ran for the US House from Texas and won; then got re-elected two years later? They guy who was handcuffed and arrested at a rodeo in his home district? The guy who brags that he was a Navy Rear Admiiral?

Ooops.

Rep. Ronny Jackson was demoted by Navy following investigation into his time as White House physician

Rep. Ronny Jackson was demoted by the Navy in 2022 after a Pentagon watchdog investigation into his time as White House physician substantiated allegations of inappropriate conduct.

www.cbsnews.com

Rep. Ronny Jackson was demoted by the Navy in 2022 after a Pentagon watchdog investigation into his time as White House physician substantiated allegations of inappropriate conduct — a development that was not publicly known at the time.

"The substantiated allegations in the DoDIG investigation of Rear Adm (lower half) Ronny Jackson are not in keeping with the standards the Navy requires of its leaders and, as such, the Secretary of the Navy took administrative action in July 2022," a Navy spokesperson told CBS News.

Records show Jackson was demoted from rear admiral (lower half) to captain. The demotion was first reported by The Washington Post.

That's a bust-back from 1 star Admiral down to Captain. That almost never happens.

 

[KaraBulut]

From March, 2021:


An Inspector General Report released this week confirmed the rumors about Dr. Jackson operating a pill mill out of the White House physician's office.

https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jan/09/2003373440/-1/-1/1/DODIG-2024-044_REDACTED%20SECURE.PDF

The report found that:

• White House physicians were dispensing a lot of controlled substances. A lot. Among the most commonly prescribed were stimulants like Modafinil and sleeping pills like Zolpidem (both Schedule IV controlled substances).
• The White House physician's office also ran a pharmacy out of their offices. Federal law requires that controlled substances stored and dispensed by pharmacies be inventoried, tracked and records kept about who received the medications. The White House physician's office did not comply with these Federal laws about controlled substances.
• Record keeping was inadequate and the pharmacy was not verifying the identification of people receiving controlled substances from their inventories.
• The White House physician was purchasing expensive brand name drugs instead of the generic form of the drug as required by regulations.

The report specifically cites Navy regulations about controlled substance prescribing. The White House Physician during the Trump Administration was Dr Ronny Jackson, an active duty Navy physician. Previous Inspector General Reports specifically cited Dr Jackson for taking Zolpidem (Ambien) and drinking alcohol while on duty. He was also found to have made sexually inappropriate comments toward patients and White House staff members.

If you or I did this, we would be fired, reported to the State Licensing Board and possibly be charged with a felony.

Dr Jackson, now Rep Jackson (R-TX) was re-elected to Congress in 2022.

Another day, another investigation.

Trump's White House physician, Ronny " Dr Feelgood" Jackson, now a member of Congress, has been under investigation by the House Ethics committee. Their investigation shows that he spent campaign funds on an expensive country club membership ($12,000) and he used campaign funds to pay for personal meals.

Ronny Jackson spent thousands in donor funds at swanky club, House watchdog says

The House Ethics Committee voted unanimously to continue a two-month-old probe into Jackson’s conduct

www.the-independent.com

The OCE report also stated that Jackson’s campaign has paid membership fees totaling at least $6,839.18 at the club since October 2020, including $4,910.11 worth of payments between October 2021 and January 2024.

Jackson’s campaign committee also spent $11,928.27 during that 2020 to 2024 period for “fees, meals and other services” but the OCE was unable to determine whether any of that was legitimately campaign related because neither Jackson nor the club cooperated with the office’s investigation.

In the end, the Ethics Committee decided that the expenses weren't serious enough to recommend further action against Dr Jackson.

The House Ethics Committee on Monday cleared two Texas Republican congressmen — Wesley Hunt of Houston and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo — for violating campaign finance law by allegedly spending campaign money for personal use.

In a statement, the committee said it unanimously decided to close the investigations, including ones against two other representatives for the same accusations. The committee said in several investigations it resolved Monday, there was evidence that the member’s campaigns did not fully comply with campaign finance standards, as well as reporting or recordkeeping requirements for campaign spending.

The Committee also decided not to pursue action against another Republican, Wesley Hunt [R-TX] who had more expensive tastes in clubs. Rep Hunt spent over $74,000 at a Houston area hotel, including a membership at the Oak Room club at the hotel. US House members make $174,000 per year. Spending $74,000 in two years would be about 1/3 of his salary.

Texas congressmen cleared in ethics investigation over campaign finance spending

The ethics committee said existing law and guidance from the Federal Election Commission is “often ambiguous” and provides gray areas of spending.

www.texastribune.org