{"id":33519,"date":"2017-01-08T12:14:49","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T20:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=33519"},"modified":"2017-01-08T12:19:05","modified_gmt":"2017-01-08T20:19:05","slug":"gop-hypocrites-abandon-criteria-for-cabinet-nominees-that-they-demanded-from-obama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=33519","title":{"rendered":"GOP Hypocrites Abandon Criteria For Cabinet Nominees That They Demanded From Obama"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Inauguration Day draws closer, Donald Trump’s transition continues to break with ethical standards<\/a> that have had bipartisan approval for decades. Now his cabinet nominees are scheduled to have hearings in a slap-dash, marathon day of Senate gabfests. This is designed deliberately to make it impossible for senators and citizens to fully consider the nominees.<\/p>\n

\"Mitch
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The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is expressed its misgivings<\/a><\/strong> with the Republican scheduling. The OGE director warned that the plan to hold confirmation hearings before the completion of ethics reviews is “of great concern.”<\/em> In a letter to the Senate he said:<\/p>\n

“As OGE\u2019s director, the announced hearing schedule for several nominees who have not completed the ethics review process is of great concern to me. […] I am not aware of any occasion in the four decades since OGE was established when the Senate held a confirmation hearing before the nominee had completed the ethics review process.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also expressing concern was the Democratic National Committee. They called for the hearings to be delayed until the ethics office had sufficient time to complete the reviews. Absent that, DNC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that “the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn is that they are concerned about what will be exposed.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Among the reviews still being conducted are FBI background checks, OGE investigations into conflicts of interest, and financial disclosures. And what makes this all the more interesting is that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had the very same concerns. Not now, but back in 2009 when it was Obama’s nominees being considered. McConnell wrote to then-Majority Leader Harry Reid to insist that all these reviews must be completed and returned in enough time to review prior to the hearings.<\/p>\n

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Mitch McConnell to Reid in 2009: nominee "financial disclosures must be complete… prior 2hearing being scheduled." pic.twitter.com\/wxCfXTPS6g<\/a><\/p>\n

— Norm Eisen (norm.eisen on Threads) (@NormEisen) January 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n