A Transport of Delight
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Yesterday afternoon, an article in RawStory began with a sentence that should have been shocking, but has become almost business-as-usual for the Trump administration. Though even at that at least still manages to creep through into the "Oh, my God, enough already" territory, which is impressive. It read:
"A multi-billion-dollar natural gas export company just made its first and only federal political donation ever, and it landed squarely in the pocket of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's son-in-law."
For those keeping score, this would be the same Sean Duffy who, as Transportation Secretary, took his family on a cross-country road trip of the U.S. for a proposed reality series on YouTube described as supposedly being be part of the 250th anniversary celebration of the United States -- a trip that was paid for by donations from companies such as Boeing, Toyota, Shell, United Airlines, Royal Caribbean Group, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, all of which Sean Duffy oversees as Transportation Secretary -- a limited series which still has not aired anywhere, nor is there an announced date.
Man, where is Hunter Biden's laptop when you really need it, for a great scandal?
I can only imagine the infuriated outrage (outrage, I say!!) in the office of James Comer (MAGOP-KY), chairman of the crack House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. No doubt he's betwixt and between himself, bursting to begin a new investigation -- though torn between whether it should be for this donation to Sean Duffy's son-in-law for how closely it supposedly overlaps his blistering fury over Hunter Biden, his laptop and salary from oil and gas production company Burisma (though, in fairness, Hunter Biden got personally paid for actually sitting on the board of directors and doing nothing, while Michael Alfonso -- Sean Duffy's son-in-law -- is merely doing nothing more than running for Congress to serve in Sean Duffy's old seat, and only received a mere $125,000 for his campaign, the first-ever political donation multi-billion dollar Fairwood Peninsula Energy has ever made), or whether the House investigation should be of Sean Duffy's family grift road trip series that has yet to exist.
What a dilemma.
To be clear, the dilemma is not whether to investigate Sean Duffy's son-in-law or Sean Duffy himself -- or investigate both. No, no, the question is how does James Comer and his fellow MAGOPs on the Oversight Committee explain why they're not going to investigate either case.
(I anticipate something like, "Well, sir, we were just following the mandate of the Committee. We failed to notice it. It was an oversight. We have done our sworn duty.")
Again, to repeat -- because it bears repeating as much as possible:
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy gets donations from major corporations he oversees to pay for a "realty series" about his family road trip that has no air date set.
And the son-in-law of Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy gets a $125,000 donation to his political campaign from a multi-billion dollar corporation, their first ever, that his father-in-law oversees.
Man, it's like they're not even trying to hide the grift.
In fairness, that's because it's all pouring in so heavily that it's almost not possible to hide it. And of course that's not the case for just Sean Duffy (and the Duffians) alone, but so many in the Trump circle, from the Grand Poobah on down -- Don Jr., Eric Trump, Jarod Kushner, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, for starters. As the expression goes, a fish rots from the head down.
We're at the point where "Hey, if Trump can get the grift, where's ours?" is the administration slogan. And if we do it in the open air, that must make it okay, since everyone can see it!
Yes, everyone can see it. The question is if MAGOPs in Congress care in the slightest?
And, yes, I know, that was a trick question, since that's not actually a "question". It's 11 words after which I stuck a squiggly line with a dot underneath.
As eye-rolling, teeth-gnashing, utterly galling as this unrelenting larceny all is, I am comforted by two things.
First was this report in RawStory on Friday that said --
“Senior House Democrats and committee aides are eyeing hearings, subpoenas and document requests aimed not at the White House itself, but at the companies and financial firms orbiting Trump's world, a bet that Trump-linked businesses will prove easier to crack than a West Wing expected to stonewall oversight entirely.
“…The groundwork is already underway, two inside sources told Reuters. Letters have gone out to Paramount Skydance, YouTube parent Alphabet, private prison operator GEO Group, security firm Salus Worldwide Solutions and commodity traders Vitol and Trafigura, seeking records that could pave the way for subpoenas down the line.
"In a statement to Reuters, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said, ’From sketchy Pentagon contracts lining the pockets of the president's sons, Trump's crypto billions, and the shady backroom deals for Trump donors, we will ensure we combat corruption when Democrats take back the House in November.’”
Which is a great plan, I think.
And the second is remembering that what helped overthrow the long, dictatorial regime of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, finally push the public too far, and shockingly defeat him in last year's election was -- corruption.
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