Kleptocratic governments steal resources fromm their country. Does this sound familiar?
Gowdy investigating Trump EPS Cabinet guy, Pruit, for stealing resources.
"House Republicans Just Ramped Up Their Investigation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt"
The agency chief’s elaborate security spending draws scrutiny from members of his own party.
Clint Hendler Apr. 14, 2018
"On Friday, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chair of the House Oversight committee, sent Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt notice that the GOP-controlled committee was expanding its investigation into Pruitt’s spending."
"How Many Reasons to Love the Scott Pruitt Investigation? Let Me Count the Ever-Growing Ways"
Whitney Kimball 14 April 2018
https://theslot.jezebel.com/how-many-reasons-to-love-the-scott-pruitt-investigation-1825258115
"On Thursday, house and senate democrats sent a letter to Pruitt detailing allegations by Kevin Chmielewski, a former EPA deputy chief of staff. Chmielewski alleged that Pruitt spend hundreds of thousands on:
- first-class flights
- private security firms
- redecorating the office
- a soundproof [phone?] booth
- using EPA staff as personal apartment scouts
- using the emergency sirens to bypass traffic
- giving “one of his closest confidents” a job which she didn’t do for several weeks
- manipulating the Safe Drinking Water Act to give old colleagues five-figure raises
- renting a condo from the wife of an energy lobbyist (and then never paying the tab)"
Wow! Scott Pruitt is a really dirty guy! This is a man Tweety has praised?!
The evidence, the TRUTH, is overwhelming that Tweety is a kleptocrat having never divested himself of money making properties, AND using every opportunity to line his pockets with tax dollars on a daily basis.
Tweety and his Cabinet appointees are laughing all the way to the bank. Tweety is lining up "friends" via Cabinet appointments for his pursuit of riches during, AND after he is out of office, if he lives that long. His Navy sycophant doctor [Now coincidentally the head of the VA . . . gosh, how did he earn that job?]says he could live to 200 years old!
"David Shulkin’s travel spending is the tip of the iceberg in Trump’s scandal-ridden cabinet"
Max de Haldevang Obsession: "America First" March 29, 2018
"David Shulkin spent a scandal-free year and a half as a senior Veterans Affairs official under president Barack Obama, and flew through the Senate in a 100-0 vote for his confirmation to run the department under president Donald Trump.
"Many things that can lead to a culture of corruption in an administration. You can hire people with few ethical scruples. You can fail to educate them about ethics. You can fail to punish those who violate existing codes.
But rot often begins at the top. In this case, Trump refusing to divest from his business empire might set a bad example for the rest of the government, says Richard Painter, White House ethics counsel under George W. Bush. “Because the president himself has such a cavalier attitude towards his own conflicts of interest, the others working for him have a cavalier attitude themselves,” he said.
That’s created a culture of following the letter of the law—which is largely based on norms—rather than its spirit, says Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight."
"How the spouses of Trump’s cabinet are spending your tax money"
By Gabrielle Bluestone Mar 26, 2018
"President Trump’s Cabinet chiefs have come under fire for their spending over the past year, from EPA head Scott Pruitt’s $43,000 soundproof booth, to Health and Human Services chief Tom Price’s estimated $900,000 in private and military jet travel (he has since left the administration). But more unusual is the role that the spouses of agency directors have played in both approving controversial expenses or benefitting from them."
"While it's not unusual for agency spouses to have visible, supportive roles at agencies, it is for them to get involved in operational decision-making, particularly since they aren't vetted or Senate-confirmed the way their spouses are. “The level of involvement where you see Ben Carson and his wife picking out the table, that's very unusual,” said Jessica Tillipman, assistant dean at George Washington University and an expert on governmental ethics."
"Trump is Leading the Most Corrupt Administration in U.S. History, One of First-Class Kleptocrats"
By Alexander Nazaryan 11/2/17
http://www.newsweek.com/2017/11/10/trump-administration-most-corrupt-history-698935.html
Do we need to read this article? We see daily how the EPA lead, the former VA lead, and other Cabinet members appointed by Tweety, and praised by Tweety, take trips, try to buy expensive furniture, get body guards/security way beyond the normal government spending limits.
"$1 million in private flights and a $31,000 table —here are the 6 Trump Cabinet members under scrutiny for their lavish spending of taxpayer money"
Brennan Weiss Mar. 17, 2018, 1:12 PM
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cabinet-officials-spending-taxpayer-money-under-fire-2018-3
"In August 2017, Mnuchin came under fire for a a $26,900 flight to Kentucky on an Air Force jet, a trip that coincided with the August 21 solar eclipse. Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, viewed the eclipse from the lawn of Fort Knox, just outside the eclipse's path of totality. "
"The Energy 202: Trump Cabinet officials' spending is a story that won't go away"
By Dino Grandoni March 15, 2018
"Remember Scott Pruitt's $25,000 soundproof phone booth? The one the Environmental Protection Agency said its administrator needed to have secure communications with White House officials and others in the administration?
It's actually Scott Pruitt's $43,000 soundproof phone booth."
"The extravagant spending of Trump’s champagne cabinet"
All while their agencies suffer.
Rebekah Entralgo Twitter Mar 14, 2018
https://thinkprogress.org/extravagant-spending-trump-cabinet-4827459800c2/
"Trump Cabinet Official Appears to Be Spending $139,000 on His Office Door"
By Michael Biesecker and Matthew Daly/AP March 8, 2018
"(WASHINGTON) The Interior Department is spending nearly $139,000 to upgrade three sets of double doors in the office of Secretary Ryan Zinke (ZIN’-kee)."
"Trump's Cabinet Scandals: Is Abuse Of Office Contagious?"
by Peter Overby 8 March 2018
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/08/591524460/trumps-cabinet-scandals-is-abuse-of-office-contagious
"One regular part of White House press briefings these days is the update on corruption allegations in Trump's Cabinet.
Most recently, the questions have focused on Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, who piggybacked a mini-vacation on taxpayer-paid travel to two conferences in Europe, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, a gifted brain surgeon in trouble for ordering custom-made chairs, dining table and hutch for his office. They cost $31,000."
