Day: 10/17/2019

Mulvaney Admits Trump’s Quid Pro Quo: ‘We Do That All the Time – Get Over It’

Posted by on October 17, 2019 at 2:32 pm. 3 Comments :

For the past several weeks Donald Trump has been adamantly denying that there was any quid pro quo in his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Nevermind that the whistleblower’s complaint said there was, and that Trump’s “transcript” (executive summary) of the phone call corroborated that account. Trump insisted that the phone call was “prefect,” which is a bizarre way to describe it, as if it were being graded for criminal content.

Trump Penthouse Phone

On Thursday morning, though, Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, held a press conference to announce the astonishing decision by Trump to host the 2020 G7 summit meeting at his own Doral Miami golf resort. Even a Fox News political editor was shocked by this shameless and purposeful grifting. But more to the point, Mulvaney turned Trump’s denials of a quid pro quo on their head. Mulvaney was asked explicitly whether U.S. foreign aid was withheld from Ukraine pending their agreement to dig up dirt on Trump’s political opponents. And in a roundabout way he confessed that it was. That resulted in this exchange with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent, Jonathan Karl (video below):

Karl: To be clear, what you described is a quid pro quo. It is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democratic server happens as well.”
Mulvaney: “We do that all the time with foreign policy.” […]
Mulvaney: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy.

So there you have it. An outright admission that the Trump White House uses its power to extort foreign leaders in order to get them to perform purely political favors. And not only did Mulvaney admit it, he volunteered that they “do that all the time.” Mulvaney then tried to use another incident when funds were similarly withheld to justify the Ukraine affair. However, he noted that in that case the U.S. demands involved immigration issues, which can reasonably be argued are in our national interest.

The problem with Trump’s extortion of Ukraine was that the demands involved a smear campaign on one of his political opponents. That is most definitely not in the national interest. That’s strictly a personal interest of Trump’s and a violation of every ethical tenet of diplomacy. It’s also a violation of the law. And it does not – or should not – happen all the time.

With regard to the “server” mentioned in this exchange, it’s a reference to a Democratic National Committee computer that was hacked by Russians. Trump has adopted a ludicrous conspiracy theory that claims the server contains some incriminating secrets and was spirited away to Ukraine. Of course, there is no evidence of anything remotely resembling that nonsense. But it seems like Mulvaney was willing to grab onto it in order to avoid the more damaging allegation that Trump was seeking dirt on Joe Biden. In fact, that may be the real motive here.

It will be interesting to hear Trump’s response to this admission of a quid pro quo after all his ranting. Although he is so brazen in his dishonesty he might just continue to deny it. Or he could say Mulvaney never said this. Or, in pinch, he’ll claim that he doesn’t know Mulvaney at all, he was just a coffee boy.

UPDATE: Later in the day Mulvaney walked back his remarks and now says that he never said there was a quid pro quo. Of course, he DID say it, and it’s on video. If he wants to say he misspoke and offer a correction, that’s fine. But he can’t say he didn’t say it.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Politics Editor on Trump Holding the G7 at Doral: It’s Beyond My Imagination

Posted by on October 17, 2019 at 12:03 pm. 8 Comments :

As if there weren’t enough going on in the world today, Donald Trump had his Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, hold a press conference to make a couple of important announcements. One turned out to be an admission that Trump did engage in a quid pro quo with the Ukrainian president. The other was an announcement that the G7 Meeting for 2020 will be held at his own Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami.

Trump Baby on Cash Pile

Apparently Trump has stopped caring about even the appearance of impropriety as he mocks the Congress and the American people with his shamelessly self-dealing and contempt for the Constitution.

Trump originally suggested his bedbug infested Doral resort at the close of the last G7. And that didn’t go well. But Trump’s disrespect for even the most basic expressions of ethics is painfully obvious. It’s as if he wants you to know that he’s a barefaced grifter and is daring you to do something about it. He’s rubbing his depraved corruption in our faces and laughing as he believes that he’ll get away with this, or any other immoral misconduct he might conceive.

But Trump may be in for a surprise. The first take on this by Fox News was by their digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt (video below). When he was asked about the decision to use Doral he replied with a sense of amazement…

“I got to tell you, the idea that this administration, dealing with what this administration is dealing with, right? A lot. You’ve got the unraveling in Syria. You’ve got the march toward Trump impeachment here at home. A breaking news story every day. The world is on fire.

“Why? It is beyond my imagination […] That is an unnecessary problem to create for himself. But then the next step, today. To do it now and do it in this way. I just wish I could think of a good reason for it.”

From Trump’s perspective, there may be more than one good reason for it. First, it makes him richer. Second, it promotes his brand worldwide. Third, it kicks sand in the face of his critics, including the media. And fourth, it serves as a distraction from the other atrocities he’s currently involved with.

The other countries in the G7 should seriously consider declining to attend this fraud. They should all agree to meet somewhere else, like maybe Greenland, the country Trump thought he could buy. And the hospitality industry should protest loudly. By selecting his own failing property, Trump is effectively saying that there is no other hotel or convention facility in all of America that is suitable to host this event. That, of course, isn’t true. But Trump’s putrid greed is sending that message to the nation and the world.

What will be truly unbelievable is if Congress let’s Trump get away with this. They have the right and the duty to review this decision and impose some measure ethical standards on this president whose morality has gone rogue. They need to take action and rein in contemptuous behavior. If not just because it is so flagrantly wrong, but to also make it clear that he can not run roughshod over the law and the American people who he plainly despises.

UPDATE: Trump’s “handlers” apparently managed to convince him that violating the Constitution by directing business to his own property was a bad idea. So Trump has withdrawn his intention to hold the 2020 G7 summit at Doral. Naturally, he blamed his backtracking on the “Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility because he’s too big a wimp to take responsibility. And the recidivist grifter turned his 3-tweet retreat into an infomercial for his bedbug infested golf dump and exalted his would-be – and imaginary – charitableness.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.