Anthony McAuliffe (2 July 1898 – 11 August 1975) was the United States Army general who was the acting division commander of the 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne, Belgium, during World War II's Battle of the Bulge, famous for his single-word reply of "Nuts!" in response to a German surrender ultimatum
This was a decidedly bad story from April 7th.
Today we have a story that may not get too much media attention, at least not yet. It appears to finally be a good story about reining in Trump’s imperial power grab and attempt to cover-up failures in his Covid-19 response.
The Government Accountability Office is moving quickly to conduct oversight — and it's got more protection than other Trump targets.
Aside from the prediction in my nutshell summary, i.e. “the GAO is likely to dispatch most of its 3,000 investigators, experts and analysts into an arena that could make it a target for the president’s fury. And its quiet early work could soon become very loud: The office is required under the new law to brief Congress every month and issue a bimonthly public report on its findings” here’s more of what you need to know:
... with little fanfare, Congress’ independent, in-house watchdog is preparing a blizzard of audits that will become the first wide-ranging check on Trump’s handling of the sprawling national rescue effort.
And even as Trump has gone to war against internal watchdogs in his administration, the Government Accountability Office remains largely out of the president’s grasp because of its home in the legislative branch.
The GAO has quickly taken advantage of its perch, exploring the early missteps inherent in launching a multitrillion-dollar law that touches every facet of American life. By the end of April, at least 30 CARES Act reviews and audits — "engagements," per GAO lingo — are expected to be underway, according to interviews with senior investigators.
Topics will range from the government’s handling of coronavirus testing to its distribution of medical equipment, and from the nation’s food supply to nursing home infections and any missteps in distributing the emergency cash payments that began landing in millions of Americans’ bank accounts this week.
Read the article.
Impeachment was an exercise in futility.
A couple of nights ago I stumbled on “The Untouchables” on the free Starz Encore service and decided to watch it again because I needed a happy ending. As you know, Al Capone was eventually brought down not for being a murderer but for income tax evasion. It was dogged perusal of his financial records with the help of the mob accountant (at least in the movie) who turned states evidence that sent Capone to prison. He did time not for his major crimes but for believing he was above all laws, including paying income tax.
The moral of the story is that if you break the law don’t underestimate the proverbial folks wearing green eye shades.
I don’t want to get my hopes up. After all, the GAO’s findings about Trump’s guid pro quo withholding funds from Ukraine in trade for investigating the Bidens should have, in a just world, led to his removal from office.
In the summer of 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withheld from obligation funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) for security assistance to Ukraine. In order to withhold the funds, OMB issued a series of nine apportionment schedules with footnotes that made all unobligated balances unavailable for obligation.
Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law. OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA). The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA.
We all know that Trump could eventually end up in deep trouble and even face criminal prosecution in New York State court for his financial shenanigans. Under a Democratic administration he could be indicted for breaking federal financial laws.
What he is doing now with his Covid-19 politicking is a different kettle of fishiness. It’s immoral but not illegal. The actual laws being broken don't seem to involve him, rather they involve stock trades by members of Congress.
However, what the GAO may find, what I think they are likely to find, is massive and dangerous mismanagement and probably fraud in the Covid-19 response.
Trump could take a significant political hit for this if what he did could be dumbed down enough so the typical Fox News viewer can understand it and be enraged enough to vote for Joe Biden.
After all, come November there will be few Americans who haven’t either had Covid-19 or know someone who did. Inevitably unless there is an effective treatment some will have known someone who died.
Considering how many Trump supporters don’t believe they have to wear masks and adhere to social distancing recommendations, more of them may be in this group than those who understand the risk of the virus and have taken prudent precautions.