In a 253-page transcript released by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday, fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick painted a picture of a department ignorant of and hostile to the idea of an inspector general’s independence.
When Trump fires one of these IGs because he’s “lost confidence” in them, in fact it’s the opposite. He has total confidence that they’ll do their jobs and that terrifies Trump and his sycophants.
Is there anything - anything - about the Trump administration and current Republican party that is not directed toward or does not contribute to the dismantling of the institutions of government and destruction of democracy?
Feature, not bug.
The sad part is that with a completely impotent if not complicit (half of a) Senate, Mikey is as beyond the touch of the law as he believes himself to be.
It’s simple really.
The Trump administration is a Mob Organization.
You either support the Mob Boss in all things, or you get kneecapped.
If you get too ambitious, the Mob Boss has you whacked (removed from your job.)
If you take too big of a cut of the Mob’s Money, you get whacked.
If you “rat out” the Mob to the Congress, you get whacked.
If you don’t “toe the line” the “Enforcers” (in this case Bill Barr’s DOJ) will “give you some corrective encouragement” by publicly “Investigating” you, thus destroying your career.
Brian Bulatao and Petty PompousAss were classmates at West Point, and later with other classmates started a company called Thayer Aerospace. Petty PompousAss brought him into the CIA when he was Director.
Somehow I can’t not believe that Bulatao didn’t understand Linick’s role at IG, but was pressuring Linick to lay off his buddy.
Hey, if you’re going to use a triple negative you’ve got to give us a warning.
Now my brain hurts.
I’m sure that Chuck Grassley will express Collinsian levels of deep concern, and perhaps even delay a Trump appointment for another week or two…
But after they graduate…
Sternly-worded postcard.
They had their fingers crossed.
Linick described Brian Bulatao, Under Secretary of State for Management and close friend of Pompeo, as lacking an understanding of what an inspector general’s role is.
Don’t assume “lack of understanding” when “corruption” offers a better explanation.
Trumps calling Michael Cohen a “rat” pretty much confirms what Cohen was saying to Congress was true. What other possible conclusion could there be?
I was curious about the specific mandate of the Inspector General for the State Department, and also of the Under Secretary of State for Management, and so naturally I did a google search.
The IG has no mandate apart from that for all IGs through the Office of the Inspector General, and when you click on the link for the OIG overview, you are directed to a five-minute YouTube video:
In other words, it’s not in writing!
There is no end to the grift in this administration. Whether it is true or not, rumor is that trump’s handler Putin made a fortune by using the machinery of government to funnel money into his own pocket. Once you control the watchdogs and the prosecutorial power, there is no practical limit to what can be done in the US, given the funds that flow out of the treasury for legitimate purposes. Tapping that stream by kickback is an obvious option. Not that Saudis and defense contractors have ever been involved in such a scheme:
They have no idea how the government works or that it isn’t a free-wheeling reality show.
Remarkable. It’s as if a corporation’s chief accountant were to discover that his bosses expected him to cook the books, and when he replied that he couldn’t do that, the bosses looked at him with amazement, and asked “Then what are you here for?”
I’ve been wondering if one of the post Trump reforms will be placing IG under Congressional control. Hired by, and can only be removed by, a select committee. Not sure if this would make it impossible for IG to function as they could be viewed as spies or even partisan.
