Grand Theft Government: White House Edition
Hang on to your wallets, folks! There’s a crime wave shaping up across America. In addition to looting our government of all your personal data, the doors have been opened for crime like you’ve never seen before.
Today’s column will attempt to enumerate a few of many ways the Trump administration has broken the law and/or made law breaking easy again.
In his first day in office last month, Trump signed an executive order rescinding one issued by former President Joe Biden prohibiting executive branch employees from accepting major gifts from lobbyists and banning people jumping from lobbying jobs to executive branch jobs, or the reverse, for two years.
Thus Washington’s revolving door was open again, allowing incoming government workers to have ethical conflicts coming in and go out into lucrative lobbying jobs.
For the latest news about who’s going through that portal, see The Revolving Door Project.
Yesterday was a big day for criminals, with actions coming out of the Oval Office setting the precedent of a get-out-of-jail-free card for Democrats in return for supporting the President and his policies.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was granted a full unconditional pardon for crimes committed including trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s seat in the Senate to the highest bidder.
In 2020, then-President Trump commuted Blagojevich’s 20 year prison term, and received an endorsement shortly thereafter.
Via the Associated Press:
Standing before a crowd of more than 100 reporters and well-wishers at the steps of his house, the governor-turned-convicted felon even offered an endorsement of Trump’s bid for a second term.
“I’m a Trumpocrat,” said the one-time contestant on Trump’s reality TV show, “Celebrity Apprentice.” “If I had the ability to vote, I would vote for him.”
This time around, Trump was doing the commentary:
“It’s my honor to do it," Trump said during remarks from the Oval Office. "He was set up."
Trump called the Democratic former governor a "very fine person" and said he didn't know him other than he was on his TV show, "Celebrity Apprentice."
New York Mayor Eric Adams was told the Justice Department was dropping corruption charges on Monday. This action followed release of a city government directive to employees softening up prior restrictions on ICE enforcement actions. Top officials were told to keep their heads down and refrain from criticizing President Donald Trump — and trust that Adams will make sure the city doesn’t get federal grants pulled.
Critics of the NY Mayor’s tenure claimed the action made it appear as though Federal prosecutors won’t press charges on elected officials that help the Trump Administration implement its agenda.
Adams isn’t off the hook entirely. The Department of Justice memo indicated charges were dropped without prejudice or commenting on the evidence, which means if Adams steps out of line, he could be charged again.
FYI– Steve Bannon just pleaded guilty to felony fraud for helping to defraud donors who were giving money to build a border wall. The plea allows Bannon to avoid jail time. Trump cannot pardon Bannon in this case since it involves only state charges.
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As Trump returned to power with obvious conflicts between his personal and business interests, including his launch of a new cryptocurrency token, he has systematically moved to dismantle the federal government’s public integrity guardrails .
Crimes for the future… The Securities and Exchange Commission cryptocurrency task force has been downsized recently, with many of its 50 lawyers and staff members being transferred or demoted.
At the heart of the Trump administration’s actions on crypto is bringing a stop to enforcement actions stemming from previous chair Gary Gensler’s position holding that most digital assets are securities contracts and subject to S.E.C. oversight.
The alternative money industry, which has been fighting for legitimacy for years, has been plagued with fraudulent pumping and dumping schemes, where digital currencies are touted by sponsors and then sold off when they hit peak value.
From the New York Times:
Since Mr. Trump’s victory, crypto companies have mobilized to try to punish S.E.C. officials who brought legal cases against them. Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase, said on social media that his company would not work with law firms that hired senior S.E.C. officials who had been involved in the crypto crackdown.
Mr. Gensler, who left the S.E.C. the day Mr. Trump was inaugurated, joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he had taught before President Joseph R. Biden Jr. tapped him.
After the announcement, Tyler Winklevoss, one of the founders of the Gemini crypto exchange, said his company would not hire any M.I.T. graduates, even as interns.
Dissolution of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created in 2011 to prevent another financial crisis, will bring all manner of bad news to Americans.
Via Nina Burleigh at American Freakshow:
According to its own website, which is in the process of being “disappeared” (we can start using that as a verb, like in Soviet Russia, can’t we?), CFPB lists some of its successes. Its rules are saving consumers $6.1 billion a year in bank fees. The agency recovered $363 million from 39 public enforcement actions that involved harm to service members and veterans. Almost 23 million Americans have had at least one medical collection removed from their credit reports, almost 7 million consumer complaints were sent to companies for response, and 63 million Americans have used the database for answers to hundreds of common financial questions.
The total destruction of the agency has been a wet dream of Wall Street, the banksters, and every two-bit payday loan hustler since it opened its doors in 2011. As recently as October, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon promised a “knife fight” with the agency for its rule making it easier for consumers to switch banks.
CFPB would have been the agency overseeing Elon Musk's social media platform (Xitter) launch of a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment services. Now, his associates have been granted access to confidential information about their competitors.
Eeeeew. Can you imagine Elon Musk’s version of Google wallet or Apple Pay? How much will they siphon off for far-right “charities?” Will MAGA goons go door-to-door to ‘encourage’ businesses to accept this app? Soon the world’s richest man will have all your personal data and store your money… What could possibly go wrong?
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The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prevents U.S. companies from paying bribes to foreign government officials to win business, was paused this week “until new Attorney General Pam Bondi can design new guidance.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. In the meantime, bribes are just the cost of doing business.
The White House said the action was needed because American companies “are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field.”
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On Monday, the recently fired head of the Office of Special Counsel, which processes whistleblower complaints and handles the Hatch Act prohibiting federal employees from partisan activities on the job, sued over his dismissal days earlier.
Trump separately fired the head of the Office of Government Ethics. Here’s how that came to pass, via Politico:
STATUS CHECK — Sen. Adam Schiff asked White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and the Office of Government Ethics Director David Huitema to verify whether Elon Musk is in compliance with federal conflict of interest and ethics requirements in his capacity as a “special government employee,” our colleague Mia McCarthy scooped. Schiff asked in letters whether Musk has completed a financial disclosure or if he was given a written waiver that would exempt him from the federal criminal conflict of interest statute. Huitema was removed from his post by Trump later on Monday.
Both officials have received temporary restraining orders in theory preventing the dismissals from taking place. Whether or not the administration will ignore those orders is today’s thousand dollar question.
Via the New York Times:
Following Trump's purge of its pro-worker leadership, the National Labor Relations Board has reportedly dropped its opposition to a SpaceX lawsuit arguing the agency itself is unconstitutional. Bye, bye NLRB. I’m certain that’s one court order the Trump administration will have no problem implementing.
The cruelty is the point. Speaking of court orders, Elon Musk is mad about Judge McConnell’s decision to unfreeze federal grants. So he posted on his social media site a picture of the judge’s daughter, her full name, her position where she works, and a page of a signed financial statement she filed.
U.S. Mint: “We have not made a batch of pennies since April of 2023.”
Trump, 2025: “I have strongly ordered the U.S. Mint to immediately stop making pennies!”
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Ruling to release records in jail injury reversed by Jeff MacDonald & Kelly Davis at the Union-Tribune
Danielle Pena, an attorney who did not work on the Greer case but has represented families of multiple people who have died in San Diego County custody, said releasing review board reports is in the public interest. “It would lead to comprehensive reform and accountability,” she said.
When Martinez was campaigning for sheriff in 2022, she pledged to make the review board’s reports public, but she changed her stance after winning the election and has released little more than summaries of in-custody deaths.
A bill signed into law in 2023 requires California sheriffs to release internal jail-death records. Martinez has begun to release some records under that law, but gaps in what her office has so far made available raise questions about whether it is fully complying.
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Flu season in the US is the most intense it’s been in at least 15 years via The Associated Press
So far this season, the CDC estimates, there have been at least 24 million flu illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths — including at least 57 children. Traditionally, flu season peaks around February.
Overall, 43 states reported high or very high flu activity last week. Flu was most intense in the South, Southwest and western states.
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Military Drops Recruiting Efforts at Prestigious Black Engineering Awards Event by Steve Beynon at Military Times
The decision to abandon the Black engineering event marks a significant shift in military recruiting strategy -- and sparked calls of discrimination.
"It's f---ing racist," one active-duty Army general told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "For the Army now, it's 'Blacks need not apply' and it breaks my heart."
While the services are pulling out of BEYA, a well-established pipeline for high-caliber STEM talent, they remain engaged with other events. Last week, the same Army recruiting unit that would have attended BEYA instead participated in a National Rifle Association-sponsored event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white gathering that recruiters acknowledge is less likely to yield high-quality applicants.
