“Pound sand” shouldn’t take too long to type.
They have to ask? Isn’t that disclosure mandatory?
If it’s not, it’s certainly something that the Orange One will support, as part of his campaign to drain the swamp.
You misunderstood; he drained the swamp, and everything left at the bottom of the jar was funneled into his Cabinet appointees.
Dems asked for the Sec State nominee Rex Tillerson’s tax returns to determine the nature of his business and income relationships with nations antagonistic to U.S. interests and Mitch McConnell said fuck off. We live in Trumpland now, there are no rules or laws or agreed upon protocols and norms of behavior.
From what I read, Tillerson’s disclosures would provide most of the information that the Democrats are seeking. I was not being cute–I’m really asking if the information is mandatory as part of the conflict-of-interest vetting required by all appointees who have to be confirmed.
Six Senate Democrats on Wednesday sent a letter to Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency asking him to disclose any ties he has with the energy industry.
“The Democratic senators asked Pruitt to explain his role in the Rule of Law Defense Fund, as well as to provide a list of the group’s donors and expenditures. They also asked for any communications and meetings Pruitt had with the fund, in addition to any legislation on issues that the group had taken a position on.”
The mayor of NYC is being investigated for exactly the same reason. The tabloids are having a field day with it. Using a non-profit as a political operation. Pruitt ought to be called on the carpet but under OK law or post Citizens United its probably legal.
If that is true then Trump’s given reasons (aside from the ongoing audit BS) for refusing to divulge his tax returns are equally sound. Do you really believe viewing Trump’s general financial disclosure statements are as revealing and enlightening as would be access to his full tax returns?
I would not want to pre judge his loyalties but it is all over the Internet that he drinks a glass of oil instead of oj for breakfast every day.
I believe for most of the guys actually responsible for confirming this meathead his energy/oil ties are the strongest part of his resume. If the democrats are trying to shame him or the Repugs who will support him, they might as well try to shame a prostitute for wearing a revealing dress. These guys moved past trying to disguise their intentions on November 9th.
No. As I understand it, the disclosures for persons being voted on by the Senate are more detailed. If someone out here knows more than me about this, please enlighten us.
I’ll bet the required disclosures are whatever Mitch McConnell decides they are.
Before we get into a hubub about this Pruitt character, we first need to resolve the increasingly urgent mystery if Trump did, indeed, legitimately win this past election. I don’t think Trump did actually win the election. It’s perfectly clear to everyone in the entire world that Trump partnered with Putin to secretly and digitally cast millions of illegal votes for himself. Have any doubts about this? Then lets see the actual tax returns that disclose the closed-door bedroom ties between Trump and Vladimir! I’ve seen a painting of those two kissing! ON THE MOUTH!!! We need to uphold the Constitution of the nation and force Trump to PROVE that he actually did win the election. Until he does this, his victory in November is fake news.
Yeah, sure. Obama is a secret Kenyan and his birth certificate negating this fact proves nothing. We’ve already discussed that issue. Now, I want to see Trump’s tax returns. Until then, i cannot, in good conscience, refer to him as our President. I demand a full Congressional inquiry by the United Nations into this matter.
Ooops! Sorry. That was more than 140 characters, but you get my point.
What goes around comes around.
[quote=“old_curmudgeon, post:12, topic:48950”]As I understand it, the disclosures for persons being voted on by the Senate are more detailed.
[/quote]
There’s a decent overview about the Senate’s random disclosure rules at Politico.
If the incoming Trump “administration” can demand the names of gov’t employees, not even agency heads or managers, who have worked to push clean energy goals (as established by the government the people elected the past 8 years) then the very least they can do is disclose Trump’s nominee’s energy ties.
From Politico:
Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush, warned that the patchwork approach to releasing nominees’ information adds risks for both sides in the confirmation process. Keeping details out of the public eye puts pressure on Democrats and their aides “to do a lot of homework, and they may or may not have time to do that,” he said.
“If minority members and staff members don’t spot it, then it goes under the radar screen,” added Painter, who recently became vice chair of the watchdog nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Another angle is that if the Dems ask specific questions of the nominees 1) that information becomes a potential news event and 2) any discrepancies between the formal Senate questionnaires and the additional disclosures sought by the committee members could be considered perjury by the nominee and not simply a secretarial error in completing the form. See: Sessions, Jefferson
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/senate-disclosure-rules-trump-cabinet-232918
That’s the third time today you’ve made me laugh so hard my stomach started to hurt.
To top it off, that was one of my mother’s all time favorite expressions and I love you so for using it.
Fight the fight. Every one of Herr Drumpf’s nominees should be grilled about their conflicts of interest, along with their positions on the elements vital to the department they are expected to run. If Mitch doesn’t like it, Tough! I have no respect for Mitch, or for the Nazi Party he helps to rule. We deserve better than these folks, and it’s time to stand up EVERY TIME to make certain we get better.
CMD: Center for Media and Democracy have the pre-nomination advert (letter) from Pyle: http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/12/04/revealed-trump-energy-plan
This is straight out of the Koch / ALEC play book.