Tag Archives: Stefanik

Only the Best People

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Que Theme from The Twilight Zone

And:

But where are the clowns
Send in the clowns
Don’t bother, they’re here

[4th stanza of Send in the Clowns by Stephen Sondheim]

To understand the musical reference, see Wikipedia at https://tinyurl.com/27nxhtxh

The majority of Americans who voted are about to get the full dose of what they chose. Unfortunately, the rest of us will too. You may decide for yourself who are the fools here.

Donald Trump has boasted many times that based on his deep knowledge of people, his administration would and did hire only “the best people.” Now that he has managed to bamboozle a majority of Americans into reinstalling him in the presidency, we can, once again, see this claim playing out in real time with real effects on the country. It is impossible to see his appointments as anything but political payoffs to a collection of traitors and incompetents who have no chance of successfully managing the federal government, even the reduced (emasculated?) one that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (in the new Department of Government Efficiency) imagine in their fever dreams. Hard to imagine Musk co-leading anything with anyone but time will tell.

Trump has said these two acolytes will “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” None of these people seem to have the slightest insight into the complexity of the federal government’s operations or their impact on the economy and the welfare of the American people. Rough times ahead.

Maybe that is what Trump really wants: destroy the government to prove what a giant of … something … he is. Catastrophic failure seems inevitable. In the last Trump administration, Trump’s goals, to the extent he had any well-formed thoughts about goals other than enhancing his personal wealth, were largely defeated by the Keystone Kops character of many of his appointees. It was also true that working for Trump was an ordeal beyond the tolerance of many of his appointees, so much so that Cabinet-level appointees quit or were fired in numbers that equaled the total of Reagan and George HW Bush combined and far exceeded the combined total for Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama.

We also know that many of Trump’s former Cabinet members, and his Vice President, have stated flatly that he is unfit for office. Nevertheless, the American people have spoken, rejecting an intelligent, experienced Democrat in favor of a multiply-convicted felon, rapist, corrupt, racist, dishonest remorseless serial liar, insurrectionist traitor, and violator of his oath of office. What can go wrong? Everything. And we’re still more than two months from Trump’s assuming office.

Announcements of his intended nominations for Cabinet and other critical high positions in the government are chilling beyond anything one might have imagined. If there is any good news in any of these appointments, it is that some of these people will no longer be in Congress. But that is killing with faint praise because they will be positioned to impose much more serious harm on the nation and the world.

Trump has, for example, chosen Matt Gaetz as the next Attorney General. As recently as June 18, 2024, the House Committee on Ethics has had this to say about the estimable Mr. Gaetz:

Notwithstanding the difficulty in obtaining relevant information from Representative Gaetz and others, the Committee has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in this matter.  Based on its review to date, the Committee has determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review.  During the course of its investigation, the Committee has also identified additional allegations that merit review.

Accordingly, the Committee is reviewing allegations pursuant to Committee Rules 14(a)(3) and 18(a) that Representative Gaetz may have:  engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.  The Committee will take no further action at this time on the allegations that he may have shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.

Recall that in Trump v United States, the worst decision in American legal history, the Supreme Court held that the President’s “discussions” with the Justice Department seeking to suborn DOJ into supporting false claims of 2020 election impropriety were “absolutely immune” from criminal prosecution.

The Gaetz appointment appears to be causing something of a stir among some Republicans, too much even for the Wall Street Journal.

This is a bad choice for AG that would undermine confidence in the law. Mr. Trump lauded Mr. Gaetz’s law degree from William and Mary, but it might as well be a doctorate in outrage theater. He’s a performer and provocateur, and his view is that the more explosions he can cause, the more attention he can get. “It’s impossible to get canceled if you’re on every channel,” he once said. “If you aren’t making news, you aren’t governing.”

The larger objections to Mr. Gaetz concern judgment and credibility. The U.S. Attorney General has to make calls on countless difficult questions of whom to investigate and indict. Mr. Gaetz’s decisions simply wouldn’t be trusted. He’s a nominee for those who want the law used for political revenge, and it won’t end well.

Contesting for the most insane actions by an elected president in history, I have just seen that Trump has, as predicted, appointed anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy, Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. While Kennedy has had many jobs and roles during his lifetime, he has never had a management responsibility even remotely on the scale of HHS. This appointment, like many others, seems destined to produce a nightmarish disaster for the country.

Even the Wall Street Journal found RFK Jr to much to choke down:

Only months ago Mr. Trump was calling the Kennedy family scion a “liberal lunatic,” yet now he wants to hand RFK Jr. the power to “make America healthy again.” Good luck making sense of this nomination.

Mr. Trump’s desire to focus on America’s health agencies is welcome, but RFK Jr. won’t make America healthier. He’s more likely to harm public health by spreading confusion and attacking the American companies that are saving lives and feeding the world.

Trump selected Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. Russian media has gleefully reported her claims that the Biden administration was intent upon prolonging the war in Ukraine, “out to destroy Russia” and that the Democratic Party was the enemy of democracy driven by an “insatiable hunger for power.” Armed with those deep thoughts, Gabbard joined the Republican Party and endorsed Trump’s candidacy. Given her positions and statements, some commenters have labeled her a “Russian asset.” Quite possible.

Trump chose Elise Stefanik to be Ambassador to the United Nations. This is the same Elise Stefanik who supported the January 6 attack on the Capitol and stated that she would have violated the law, the Constitution, and her oath of office by refusing to certify the 2020 election result. A solid Trumpian choice to represent the country in the council of nations.

Trump anointed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security – you remember her, the person who shot her dog because she disapproved of his behavior. She will likely struggle with Trump’s related selection of Tom Homan as “border czar.” Homan served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration. About this appointment, Trump reportedly said that in addition to overseeing the southern and northern borders along with maritime, and aviation security, Homan “will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.” Homan’s appointment apparently does not require Senate confirmation.

The reference to aviation security being under Homan is curious in that the Transportation Security Administration is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Trump may be signaling an intention to move it. I will leave to your imagination the implications of that for the travel security process at airports. Or maybe Trump simply doesn’t know anything about the organization of the federal government.

As the lead lunatic and merciless serial killer played by Woody Harrelson in the 1974 movie, Natural Born Killers, said when asked what he had to say to his fans, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Trump has chosen a Fox News anchor, Pete Hegseth, for Secretary of Defense. Hegseth’s qualifications are that he was a soldier once and wrote some books attacking our current military policies. He is well-educated with a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Axios reports that Hegseth opposes using women in combat roles, believes the military is too “woke,” has (per CNN) urged Trump to pardon some U.S. servicemen accused of war crimes and to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A quote attributed to him says, “You’ve got top-down political generals who’ve gained rank by playing by all the wrong rules that cater to the ideologues in Washington, D.C.”

It seems likely that Hegseth, who has been with Fox since 2014, is going to disrupt the chain of command while the U.S. is involved in large support roles in at least two wars: Middle East and Ukraine. Do you feel safer? Oh, and check out the photos of his tattoos. Oh, and check out the stories about his alleged sexual assault, that Hegseth denied but paid hush money anyway to secure the obligatory non-disclosure agreement. Curiously the stories I have seen don’t mention anything about DNA testing. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung reportedly has crowed that “Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration.” No doubt, Trump will be pleased with Cheung’s praise.

Trump also picked for Secretary of State the man he referred to as “little Marco” during the 2016 primaries. Rubio will exit the Senate, but Florida will no doubt elect a “suitable” MAGA replacement, so no joy there.

Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Michael Waltz, another Florida Republican, is reported to be a “China hawk” and likely opposed to giving more aid to Ukraine. If so, the seeds of internal conflict among Trump’s Cabinet on the Ukraine may be sown. Republican leaders generally seem disinclined to support Ukraine, and NATO itself, against Russia’s expansionist agenda, so Trump may well be on the verge of giving “aid and comfort” to one of our country’s principal adversaries. Treason, anyone?

Perhaps driven by his problematic experience with the gaggle of lawyers trying to help his campaign undermine the electoral process in 2020 and thereafter (also 2016, don’t forget), Trump has chosen William McGinley as White House counsel. Without a hint of awareness of the irony of it, Trump touted McGinley as someone who would resist the “weaponization of law enforcement.” Reportedly, McGinley’s MAGA credentials are solid: he was White House Cabinet secretary, Republican National Committee outside counsel for election integrity and general counsel for the GOP Senate campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Trump also chose right-wing Christian religious fanatic former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Likely this means the slaughter in Gaza will continue. One report I saw indicates Muslims in Pennsylvania and Michigan who supported Trump are now upset with his pro-Israel nominations. This is what you get for single-issue protest votes.

In a related development, Trump appointed Steven Witkoff, a New York real estate baron, his special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff, co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee and a regular Trump golf partner, has reportedly been central to Trump’s connection with the Jewish business community.

Perhaps the least surprising and least interesting appointment so far is that of White House Chief of Staff that went to Trump campaign co-chair Susie Wiles, a Florida political operative. Lots of political folks from Florida in Trump’s crew.

Semi-finally, based on reports I’ve seen so far, the new CIA Director will be John Ratcliffe who was Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence. Ratcliffe previously was a Republican House member from, where else, Texas.

I will close this post for today with further observations about the Gaetz appointment. While Hegseth’s appointment as Secretary of Defense is shocking even for someone like Trump, it is put to shame by the elevation of Gaetz to the top federal law enforcement post.

USAToday noted that “Trump chose Gaetz to end ‘weaponization’ of Justice Department.” Again, awareness of irony is in short supply among these MAGA Republicans. USAToday notes

Trump and Gaetz both became fierce critics of the Justice Department after being investigated.”

Yes, that is to be expected, I suppose, but the idea that Gaetz is going to “end the weaponization of DOJ,” the agency Trump tried so hard to weaponize, is absurd. Trump only desisted because of threats by multiple DOJ leaders to resign if he put Jeffrey Clark in charge. Then the Supreme Court came along and found that Trump didn’t need to worry about weaponization of DOJ or any other federal agency because he was “absolutely immune” from prosecution for doing that very thing.

In replay of the replay of the replay, two female senators, Murkowski and Collins, engaged in brief public “shock” at the Gaetz nominations. Five will get you ten they will vote for confirmation.

Finally, here are some reactions among former government officials with knowledge:

“I cannot imagine a worse pick for Attorney General than Matt Gaetz.” [Edward Whelan, a deputy assistant attorney general during the George W. Bush administration]

“On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d call it a disaster.” [Harry Litman, a top Justice Department official during the Clinton administration]

“Our next Attorney General will be tasked with the safekeeping of the rule of law and our democracy, and Matt Gaetz is not fit for that job.” [Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee]

“He’s just trolling America at this point.” [Alyssa Farah Griffin, White House and Pentagon spokesperson in the first Trump administration]

“it must be the worst nomination for a Cabinet position in American history. Gaetz is not only totally incompetent for this job, he doesn’t have the character.” [John Bolton, Trump’s first term national security adviser]

Meanwhile, Jack Smith is closing his criminal prosecutions of Trump who will walk away unscathed for his traitorous behavior in office.

To end, finally, I turn to one of the smartest humans to share his brilliance with us in modern times: Edward O. Wilson (two Pulitzer Prizes), requoted from Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross:

Along with ants, bees, wasps, and termites, we humans are one of the only nineteen species on the entire planet that are eusocial. In other words, we work together to ensure our collective future. Group selection over individual survival developed with the core huma traits we have honed to this day including sympathy, empathy, and teamwork.

Altruism was essential to build and support community as a portion of the group members made sacrifices for the good of the group as a whole.

The authors added:

While it might not always seem the case, humans throughout history have more often chosen community and altruism over isolation and selfishness because irresolvable rivalry, from an evolutionary perspective, is deadly.

 

Stefanik Admits She Would Sabotage the Constitution

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While the media have lost their minds over the gratuitous political hit job by the Special Counsel investigating President Biden’s possession of confidential government documents, the story about Elise Stefanik’s repudiation of her oath of office has all but disappeared from CNN.com where reports indicate her remark was made.

The story is that Stefanik said she would not have done what VP Pence did on January 6 – she admitted she would not have certified the election of Joe Biden. She declared this despite the fact that virtually all legal scholars worthy of the name agree that refusing to certify would have violated the Constitution.

Stefanik has thus admitted she is unfit for office. She is a fascist who places submission to the Great Leader Trump ahead of her fealty to the Constitution. Such a person cannot be trusted to honor her oath of office or to act in the public interest.

Stefanik’s rejection of the Constitution to seek the favor of Donald Trump is consistent with some other behavior related to the January 6 insurrection incited by Trump. In the moment, Stefanik posted on Twitter:

Then, Stefanik, revealing her true colors, said that the DOJ probes into those involved were “baseless witch hunt investigations.” Stefanik has also called those convicted and jailed for their actions “hostages.” http://tinyurl.com/mry7fkkc

In a typical Stefanik response, she had an advisor attack Liz Cheney for pointing out the flip-flop, accusing Cheney of “having a mental breakdown looking at archives of years old press releases.” The response was a pathetic deflection but not a response to the substance of the fact that Stefanik has changed her position 100 percent to align with Trump’s preposterous claim that the entire January 6 episode was just a peaceful demonstration by concerned citizens.

When challenged repeatedly to address her turnaround, Stefanik deflected to rant about other issues and other aspects of her speech, raving about Hunter Biden and repeating Republican talking points divorced from reality. http://tinyurl.com/49dw7dky

Stefanik has made clear she cares nothing about the truth and has no sense of responsibility to follow oaths she takes as a public official. Stefanik is an enemy of the United States, a traitor to its values as reflected in the Constitution to rejecting her obligations to the Constitution are not protected by the Speech and Debate Clause of Article I, Section 6.

The oath of office taken by Congressional representatives is clear:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Stefanik has now rejected that oath and on that basis alone should be removed from Congress and barred from any future ballots for federal office.

DOJ Should Investigate Stefanik for Obstruction of Justice

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Reliable reports say that Elise Stefanik, member of Congress and GOP Conference Chair, has filed an ethics complaint with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct against Judge Arthur Engoron who is presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump. https://tinyurl.com/y4mka7xs and https://tinyurl.com/3nyb2p4p

Trump is accused of fraud and has already been found guilty. The question remaining in the case is the extent of the penalties that should be imposed on Trump and the Trump Organization.

You may wonder how it is that Trump has been found guilty already when the trial is still ongoing. I will explain.

Judge Engoron concluded based on the pleadings in the case that the legal standard for “summary judgment” had clearly been met. Summary judgment is a process by which courts routinely adjudicate claims when there is “no dispute of material facts” evident from the pleadings. Cornell Law School elaborates using Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which is typical:

… in order to succeed in a motion for summary judgment, a movant must show 1) that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, and 2) that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/summary_judgment]

“Judgment as a matter of law” means that, given the undisputed material facts, there is no legal basis for finding other than in favor of the movant. Even in a jury trial, motions for summary judgment may be brought and granted when there is no dispute of material fact in the evidence.

That brings up another point to understand. The Trump civil fraud trial is a “bench trial,” meaning there is no jury. The parties are relying on the judge to hear the evidence and issue the decisions. Why? Because Trump’s attorneys did not demand a jury trial and you don’t get a jury unless you ask for one.

Returning to Rep Stefanik’s complaint, she is not a party to the litigation and has no “standing” to be one. “Standing” is a very important principle used in all courts. In Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992), for example, the U.S. Supreme Court established these principles to determine whether a party has “standing” to sue:

    1. The plaintiff must have suffered an “injury in fact,” meaning that the injury is of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent;
    2. There must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct brought before the court;
    3. It must be likely, rather than speculative, that a favorable decision by the court will redress the injury. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/standing]

The “standing” principle is the one that prevents people from filing legal complaints based on their political opinions where there is no specific injury to their interests. If it were otherwise, the legal system would be completely bogged down as everyone who was unhappy with anything could sue. Imagine you don’t like the way a local car dealer is promoting sales. Unless those promotions have directly impacted you in the purchase of a car from the dealer, you can’t sue in court to compel the dealer to change its advertising or pay you damages because you are offended by its commercial practices.

So, what is going on with Stefanik, a rapid conspiracist and Trump worshipper?

Simply this: Stefanik has attempted to derail Trump’s civil fraud trial, which he is losing badly, by challenging the judge’s conduct of the case in which she has zero actual interest other than her political desire to prevent Trump from being held accountable. In short, she has no standing to challenge the judge. What happens to Trump in his civil fraud trial is none of Elise Stefanik’s business. Her filing against the judge is an effort to obstruct justice. She is using her position as a member of Congress to try to influence the outcome of a civil fraud trial in which she has no economic or other interest other than her political desire to prevent Trump from being held accountable.

The extreme language used by Stefanik suggests that Donald Trump himself, or lawyers working for him, were intimately involved in drafting the document. It repeats most of the hysterical claims Trump and his lawyers in the fraud case have made, trying to provoke the judge into making a reversible error and for which Trump has been twice fined.

The GOP has long claimed to be the party of “law and order” but as regards Trump, it seems unwilling to let the legal system play out. If Judge Engoron has violated the judicial ethics code and made egregious trial management errors that have prejudiced Trump, the legal system provides appropriate remedies that all other Americans would have to pursue.

Stefanik and her Republican cronies aren’t willing to use the legal system properly because they’re afraid Trump will be found guilty of civil fraud and the multiple felonies with which he has been charged. So, they attack the judges, attack the clerks, attack the legal system in an effort to interfere with the system of justice established by state and federal law. They are terrified that Trump, at long last, will be exposed for the criminal that he is and held accountable under the law, like any other American would be in similar circumstances.

The Above the Law article cited in the opening paragraph of this post makes the point that Stefanik’s argument about the valuation of the Mar-a-Lago club is false:

In fact, the court simply noted that this was the value assigned by Palm Beach County tax assessors — a value which Trump himself militated for in an effort to decrease his tax liability. And that’s the entire point of this trial: Donald Trump committed persistent fraud by representing the value of his assets as astronomically high or preposterously low depending on whether he was seeking to evade taxes, score a conservation easement, or get a loan.

He also had a nasty habit of leaving out unpleasant details like rent control restrictions, options to purchase at below-market rates, and the fact that local governments had already put the kibosh on future development. Indeed, Trump told just such a lie on the witness stand Monday when he shrugged off a 2002 document in which he agreed that Mar-a-Lago could neither be converted to a private residence nor subdivided for development, writing that “the Club and Trump intend to forever extinguish their right to develop or use the Property for any purpose other than club use.”

On the witness stand, Trump made the idiotic claim that he still retained development rights because “‘Intend’ doesn’t mean we will do it.”

Another article about Stefanik’s maneuver notes that:

the complaint has all the hallmarks of Trump’s legal team pulling the strings by using the New York Republican as a cut-out to go after Judge Engoron. [https://tinyurl.com/4rv63d38]

Those indicators include multiple legal citations in correct form that Stefanik, a non-lawyer, would likely not have specified on her own.

Given the virtually identical stream of accusations made by Trump and his lawyers in court, the Stefanik complaint does appear to be a ruse perpetrated to derail the trial in which Stefanik has no legally cognizable interest.

For that reason, she is using her office to obstruct the justice process. DOJ should initiate an investigation into the backstory for her action and charge her with obstruction if the facts thus found are as they strongly appear to be.