Fiscal And Economic Policy
Pence “inherited a $2 billion budget reserve from his predecessor, Mitch Daniels, and the state … added to that reserve under his watch, though not before requiring state agencies, including public universities, to reduce funding in years in which revenue fell below projections.” The state finished fiscal year 2014 with a reserve of $2 billion budget cuts ordered by Pence for the $14 billion annual state budget include $24 million cut from colleges and universities $27 million cut from the Family and Social Services Administration and $12 million cut from the . During Pence’s term as governor, the unemployment rate reflected the national average. Indiana’s job growth lagged slightly behind the national trend. In 2014, Indiana’s economy was among the slowest-growing in the United States, with 0.4 percent GDP growth, compared to the national average of 2.2 percent this was attributed in part to a sluggish manufacturing sector. and announced in 2016 that they would be closing two facilities in Indiana, sending 2,100 jobs to Mexico the Trump campaign criticized the moves and Pence expressed “deep disappointment”. Pence was unsuccessful in his efforts to persuade the companies to stay in the state, although the companies agreed to reimburse local and state governments for certain tax incentives they had received. The led by Pence had approved $24 million in incentives to ten companies who sent jobs abroad. $8.7 million had been paid out by August 2016.
Usa: Media Questions Committee Why Didn’t They Hand Over Everything They Asked For
On Sunday’s State of the Union, Schiff and Bash discussed the committee’s three previous hearings and the revelations made during those sessions about the Capitol storming.
When Bash brought up the subject of how much evidence the committee turned over to the Justice Department, she asked the congressman the obvious question.
“What will come of it?” Bash asked, adding, “Will the Justice Department file charges?
Why haven’t you given the Justice Department everything they’re asking for — and they say they need to possibly do that?”
Capitol Storm Hearing: Republicans Downplay Importance
+++ 1:45 p.m .:
The Republicans continue to try to downplay the importance of the investigative committee for the storming of the Capitol.
According to John Thune, hardly anything new can be expected.
“It seems like it’s mostly a reboot,” said the South Dakota senator.
Update from Tuesday, June 21, 11 a.m.:
The campaign by former US President Donald Trump and his supporters against those responsible in the states after the 2020 presidential election is the focus of the next public hearing of the investigative committee on the Capitol storm.
The panel’s meeting this Tuesday is intended to show that Trump pressured local officials to overturn the election results, a panel official announced.
A statement from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is responsible for organizing elections in the US state of Georgia, is expected.
Trump asked Raffensperger in a phone call to collect enough votes for his electoral success in the state.
A recording of the conversation was released to US media.
Among other things, it could be heard Trump saying, “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” Georgia was one of the states in which the November election decided in favor of Trump’s challenger Joe Biden.
During Thursday’s public hearing, Raffensperger and others would report on how they experienced this pressure, the committee official said.
Read Also: Trump Lies To Date
Other Investments And Debt
In 1984, Trump posed as his own spokesman John Barron and made false assertions of his wealth to secure a higher ranking on the Forbes 400 list of wealthy Americans, including by claiming he owned over 90 percent of his family’s business. Audio recordings of these claims were released in 2018 by journalist Jonathan Greenberg.
When the stock market crashed in October 1987, Trump told the press he had sold all his stock a month before and taken no losses. But SEC filings showed that he still owned large stakes in some companies. Forbes calculated that Trump had lost $19 million on his Resorts International holdings alone.
Challenging estimates of his net worth he considered too low, in 1989 Trump said he had very little debt. Reuters reported Trump owed $4 billion to more than 70 banks at the beginning of 1990.
In 1997, Ben Berzin Jr., who had been tasked with recovering at least some of the $100 million his bank had lent Trump, said “During the time that I dealt with Mr. Trump, I was continually surprised by his mastery of situational ethics. He does not seem to be able to differentiate between fact and fiction.”
A 1998 New York Observer article entitled “Tricky Donald Trump Beats Jerry Nadler in Game of Politics” reported that “Nadler flatly calls Mr. Trump a ‘liar’,” quoting Nadler stating, “Trump got $6 million in the dead of night when no one knew anything about it” by slipping a provision into a $200 billion federal transportation bill.
From The Recesses Of My Mind
As I look back on the tsunami of corruption stories coming out about the Trump Administration, Im struck by the general impression these stories leave with us. One might be tempted to think that Donald Trumps association with the dark side of the law was something that began on Inauguration Day or at the very least on the day he announced his candidacy for President. And this is most unfortunate. Its unfortunate because Donald Trump has ALWAYS been a crook.
The Mainstream Media has rather kindly omitted a large portion of the Presidents less than honest past. Ive always found this rather curious. The media had no problem digging into Bill Clintons past somewhat shady financial dealings during the Whitewater scandal. George W. Bushs rather disreputable tenure with the Texas Air National Guard certainly wasnt covered under the rug by Dan Rather and CBS. Barack Obamas association with Bill Ayers or Tony Rezko certainly didnt escape media attention.
Yet somehow the Mainstream Media has shown great reluctance in shedding light on Donald Trumps less than honest business record. Ive always gotten the impression that the reason for this slight omission has something to do with Mr. Trumps extremely litigious past. I get the feeling that various members of the press quite literally shake in their boots at the prospect of being sued for libel, slander, defamation of character or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
You May Like: How To Contact Donald Trump By Mail
Trump Wont Release His Tax Returns Which Is Unprecedented For A Recent Presidential Candidate
Every major party nominee in the past three decades has released his or her tax returns. But Donald Trump is still refusing to do so, and is giving a nonsensical justification for it.
Trump says he wont release his returns because hes currently under an IRS audit. But as the IRS has confirmed, being audited doesnt mean he has to keep his returns secret. Furthermore, Trump has many previous years of tax returns that are no longer being audited that he could release but he refuses to.
So there has naturally been a lot of speculation on what Trump is trying to hide here. Do the returns show hes not as rich as he says he is? That hes given far less to charity than he claims? That hed rarely even paid taxes? That he has a lot of money offshore?
How much tax is Trump paying or sheltering domestically vs. in foreign jurisdictions? That needs to be known to ascertain which nations Trump has financial ties to and where he may be susceptible to pressure, Richard Painter and Norm Eisen write at the Washington Post. Until Trump releases his returns, we wont know.
The Question Is No Longer Donald Trumps Criminality But Whether America Will Care
A stunning week of bombshell disclosures and tightening probes are closing in on POTUS45. The big unknown is how America will react.
America still had the naïve ability to be shocked back on Nov. 16, 1973, when a rambling then-President Richard Nixon stood up before 400 Associated Press journalists. Wallowing in the Watergate scandal, the 37th president joked morbidly about his plane crashing before he could be impeached, then uttered these famous words: People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook.
Quitting before he could be impeached and pardoned by successor Gerald Ford, Nixon never had his day in court. Some 48 years later, a Watergate-style investigation and accelerating probes in both New York and Atlanta have the nation now asking whether their ex-president is a crook. And with each passing day, new revelations about Donald Trumps involvement in Jan. 6 coup plotting or other misdeeds are raising the stakes.
In 2022, the real question for a frazzled, exhausted America is becoming less whether the 45th president was a crook, but more what are we going to do about it?
This may sound like a weird thing to say about a man whos been through a handful of business bankruptcies or divorces, two presidential impeachments and finally getting unceremoniously booted from the Oval Office after just one term, but last week might have been the worst week of Trumps 75-plus years on Earth. Consider:
Also Check: How Much Is A Night In Trump Tower
Is Donald Trump A Crook
Small business management columnist, author, speaker and business owner
Just the other week, New York’s Attorney General filed a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump and Trump University, accusing him of engaging in “persistent fraudulent, illegal and deceptive conduct.” According to reports, the suit seeks restitution of at least $40 million for the 5,000 people across the country who were coaxed into “paying for a series of expensive courses that did not deliver on their promises.” Trump, of course, denied all the allegations, accusing the Attorney General of being a “political hack looking to get publicity.”
So is Donald Trump a crook? Did he really dupe 5,000 people out of their money? I don’t know the man personally. But I’m going to take an educated guess that Mr. Trump is no more of a crook than any other businessman, big or small. However, he is definitely getting what he deserves: attention. Donald Trump loves publicity even if it means doing outlandish things…like supporting Miley Cyrus. He is not afraid of giving his opinion. He welcomes conflict and invites his enemies to attack him so he can attack back. This is a big part of his fame, his notoriety, his business model. Should it be part of your business model too?
So should you be like Donald Trump? The landscaper? The deli-owner? Should you let your personal belief system overlap with your professional life? I think the answer is easy.
A version of this blog appeared previously on Inc.com
Hearing On The Storming Of The Capitol: Senator Wanted To Overturn The Election Result
+++ 9.50 p.m .:
In the USA, the people only choose the President indirectly.
Ultimately, it is the 538 Electoral College electors, nominated by the states, whose votes bring the President and Vice President into office.
When certifying these results on January 6, 2021, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wanted to present then-incumbent Vice President Mike Pence with a list of “alternative” votes from the Electoral College.
This emerges from a series of text messages between Johnson’s adviser Sean Riley and Pence confidant Chris Hodgson, revealed at the fourth hearing into the Capitol riot.
Overturning the election result in this way was not an issue for Hodgson.
He flatly refused the request.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does It Cost To Stay At Trump Hotel
Lafayette Square Protester Removal And Photo Op
On June 1, 2020, federal law enforcement officials used batons, rubber bullets, pepper spray projectiles, stun grenades, and smoke to remove a largely peaceful crowd of protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White House. Trump then walked to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where protesters had set a small fire the night before he posed for photographs holding a Bible, with senior administration officials later joining him in photos. Trump said on June 3 that the protesters were cleared because “they tried to burn down the church and almost succeeded”, describing the church as “badly hurt”.
Religious leaders condemned the treatment of protesters and the photo opportunity itself. Many retired military leaders and defense officials condemned Trump’s proposal to use the U.S. military against anti-police brutality protesters. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General , later apologized for accompanying Trump on the walk and thereby “creat the perception of the military involved in domestic politics”.
Relationship With The Press
Trump began promoting himself in the press in the 1970s, and continued to seek media attention throughout his career, sustaining a “lovehate” relationship with the press. In the 2016 campaign, Trump benefited from a record amount of free media coverage, elevating his standing in the Republican primaries.New York Times writer Amy Chozick wrote in 2018 that Trump’s media dominance enthralled the public and created “must-see TV.”
As a candidate and as president, Trump frequently accused the press of bias, calling it the “fake news media” and “the enemy of the people“. In 2018, journalist Lesley Stahl recounted Trump’s saying he intentionally demeaned and discredited the media “so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you”.
As president, Trump privately and publicly mused about revoking the press credentials of journalists he viewed as critical. His administration moved to revoke the press passes of two White House reporters, which were restored by the courts. In 2019, a member of the foreign press reported many of the same concerns as those of media in the U.S., expressing concern that a normalization process by reporters and media results in an inaccurate characterization of Trump. The Trump White House held about a hundred formal press briefings in 2017, declining by half during 2018 and to two in 2019.
You May Like: Is Donald Trump Wearing A Toupee
Donald Trump Calls Former Afghan President ‘total Crook’ Says ‘he Got Away With Murder’
Republican former President Donald Trump has called Afghanistan’s former President Ashraf Ghani “a total crook,” adding, “He got away with murder.”
Trump made his comments during a Tuesday night interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. Hannity asked Trump about his dealings with Taliban leaders and the Afghan government as Trump prepared to withdraw U.S. military troops from the region.
First, Trump said that he negotiated with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the Taliban’s co-founder. Trump said he told the Taliban leader that the U.S. troop withdrawal was a “conditions-based agreement.” If the Taliban harmed any Americans or allies, Trump said, the U.S. would retaliate by bombing the leader’s home village as well as other parts the country.
“I wanted to get a deal done with the Afghan government,” Trump continued. “Now, I never had a lot of confidence, frankly, in Ghani. I said that openly and plainly I thought he was a total crook.”
Trump then said that Ghani “spent all his time wining and dining our senators.” He added, “The senators were in his pocket. That was one of the problems that we had. But I never liked him… He got away with murder in many, many different ways.”
Trump didn’t explain in what ways Ghani “got away with murder.”
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment.
