Tag: “only the best people”

Trump blasted for naming ‘war criminal’ and Iran-Contra convict Elliott Abrams as Iran envoy

AlterNet logoFollowing the resignation Thursday of State Department Iran envoy Brian Hook, President Donald Trump named as his replacement current special representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams, a notorious warmonger and supporter of Latin American death squads who was convicted in 1991 of withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal.

“Like most Trump appointees, he is not fit for the position, and will continue to hurt U.S. interests by enacting a failing strategy that will only succeed in spreading chaos and misery.”
—Sina Toossi, National Iranian American Council

Abrams will now serve in both roles simultaneously, alarming anti-war groups who say someone with a record as blood-stained as his “should be barred for life from government positions and recognized as the war criminal that he is.” Continue reading.

US envoy to UK investigated over racist, sexist remarks: report

The Hill logoPresident Trump’s envoy to the United Kingdom is being investigated by the State Department’s internal watchdog over complaints he made sexist and racist remarks and allegedly used his government position to benefit the president’s personal business in the country, CNN reported on Wednesday.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson, the billionaire former NFL chairman who has served in his post since 2017, is alleged to have made racist generalizations against Black people, questioned why Black History Month should be celebrated and described women as decorative objects in “cringeworthy” remarks, according to multiple sources that spoke with CNN.

Johnson’s alleged remarks toward the Black community and women in general were particularly shocking, the sources told CNN. Continue reading.

New HHS spokesman Michael Caputo deleted racist tweets related to the coronavirus

WASHINGTON – Michael Caputo, the new Department of Health and Human Services spokesman, allegedly deleted xenophobic tweets before starting his new role last week.

Caputo, a Republican political operative who worked on President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, deleted nearly his entire Twitter feed before April 12, according to a report by CNN. He started his new position as assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS on April 15.

Many of the now-deleted tweets reviewed by CNN included xenophobic comments and were about coronavirus.  Continue reading.

Social Security commissioner invested in company that makes COVID test touted by Trump

AlterNet logoIn early 2020, Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul engaged in several stock transactions that appear to have anticipated market reactions to the coronavirus crisis, according to financial disclosure forms.

Specifically, Saul made seemingly prescient investments in Abbott Laboratories, UnitedHealth, thecloud workflow company ServiceNow and Eurofins, a foreign company that manufactures personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers, among other things.

Though Saul — a wealthy New York businessman with prior government service and decades of financial expertise — has a substantial and diverse portfolio, the timing of the transactions, together with his activity in the administration and investment experience, is intriguing. Continue reading.

New Trump Appointee to Foreign Aid Agency Has Denounced Liberal Democracy and “Our Homo-Empire”

Merritt Corrigan, USAID’s new deputy White House liaison, has condemned the “tyrannical LGBT agenda” and celebrated Hungary’s right-wing prime minister as “the shining champion of Western civilization.”

A new Trump appointee to the United States’ foreign aid agency has a history of online posts denouncing liberal democracy and has said that the country is in the clutches of a “homo-empire” that pushes a “tyrannical LGBT agenda.”

In one post, Merritt Corrigan, who recently took up a position as deputy White House liaison at the U.S. Agency for International Development, wrote: “Liberal democracy is little more than a front for the war being waged against us by those who fundamentally despise not only our way of life, but life itself.”

Corrigan’s new position in the Trump administration, confirmed by two officials, has not been previously reported. Continue reading.

McConnell sets vote for Trump media agency pick, who has ties to Steve Bannon

Michael Pack is also under active investigation by D.C. attorney general for alleged self-dealing, self-enrichment

Corrected, 6:20 p.m. | The Senate on Thursday will consider the nomination of conservative filmmaker Michael Pack, who has collaborated with former Breitbart News head Steve Bannon and is being actively investigated by the attorney general for the District of Columbia for alleged self-dealing and self-enrichment.

Pack, whose nomination has been pending for several years, was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The agency has an annual budget of roughly $1 billion and includes U.S. taxpayer-funded news outlets Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a May party-line 12-10 vote, advanced Pack’s nomination after a heated exchange between the panel’s Republicans and Democrats about breaking committee tradition by considering a nominee who is under an active criminal investigation. Continue reading.

Hundreds Of Federal Coronavirus Contractors Were Hired Without Bids — Or Qualifications

A firm set up by a former telemarketer who once settled federal fraud charges for $2.7 million. A vodka distributor accused in a pending lawsuit of overstating its projected sales. An aspiring weapons dealer operating out of a single-family home.

These three privately held companies are part of the new medical supply chain, offered a total of almost $74 million by the federal government to find and rapidly deliver vital protective equipment and COVID-19 testing supplies across the U.S. While there’s no evidence that they obtained their deals through political connections, none of the three had to bid against competing firms. One has already lost its contract for lack of performance; it’s unclear if the other two can fulfill their orders on time, or at all.

They are among about 345 first-time federal contractors promised at least $1.8 billion in deals by the Trump administration since March, representing about 13 percent of total government spending on pandemic-related contracts of $13.8 billion, a ProPublica analysis of federal procurement data found. Like the three companies, many of the new contractors have no experience acquiring medical products. Continue reading.

Chris Wallace Slams Kayleigh McEnany: ‘I Never Saw A W.H. Press Sec. Act Like That’

The Fox News anchor went after the White House press secretary for her behavior at Friday’s press briefing.

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace took aim at White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Sunday, slamming her for going after reporters about their religious faith and for telling them what questions they should be asking.

McEnany had on Friday accused journalists of “desperately” wanting churches and places of worship to stay closed after she was questioned about President Donald Trump’s claim he would “override” governors who ignored his demand to immediately reopen churches amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A reporter was asking what legal authority the president has to do so.
“I spent six years in the White House briefing room covering Ronald Reagan. I have to say, I never — and in the years since too — I never saw a White House press secretary act like that,” Wallace said to a panel on “Fox News Sunday.” Continue reading.

Senate Foreign Relations advances controversial Trump nominee in party-line vote

Panel approves conservative under investigation to lead agency overseeing Voice of America

CORRECTED, May 22 | The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a party-line 12-10 vote Thursday, advanced the nomination of Michael Pack to lead the government’s international broadcasting operations after an exceptionally heated exchange between the panel’s Republicans and Democrats about breaking committee tradition by moving forward with a nominee who is under an active criminal investigation.

President Donald Trump has made confirming Pack, who was first nominated nearly two years ago to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a priority. Trump is seen as especially wanting an ally in place to make editorial changes at Voice of America, whose coverage of China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic he has criticized.

The vote came after the committee agreed to move into a closed session for roughly 20 minutes to discuss Democrats’ concerns with the nominee. Last week, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia disclosed to ranking member Bob Menendez of New Jersey that it was actively investigating Pack for alleged self-dealing and self-enrichment. Continue reading.

Democrats raise ruckus over demoted Transportation watchdog

Mitch Behm will continue in his previous role as deputy inspector general, according to the department

Three high-ranking House Democrats on Tuesday demanded to know why an acting inspector general at the Department of Transportation was abruptly removed in favor of a political appointee.

House Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter A. DeFazio, D-Ore., and Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations Chairman Gerald E. Connolly, D-Va., demanded in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao that acting Inspector General Mitch Behm, who was stripped of his duties May 15, be reinstated immediately.

Behm will continue in his previous role as deputy inspector general, according to the department. Continue reading.