BREAKING (but not surprising): McConnell is corrupt

“For the McConnells corruption is a family affair,” said American Bridge spokesperson Amelia Penniman. “It’s no wonder he’s been an historically obstructionist Senate Majority Leader: he’s been too busy abusing his office in pursuit of sweetheart deals for his political benefactors to get anything meaningful done for the country. That’s about as swampy as it gets.”

• “A trove of more than 800 pages of emails sheds new light on the working relationship between Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the most potent power couples in Washington — including their dealings with McConnell supporters from their home state of Kentucky.”
• “Chao has met at least 10 times with politicians and business leaders from the state in response to requests from McConnell’s office…In some cases, those people later received what they were hoping for from Chao’s department, including infrastructure grants, the designation of an interstate highway and assistance in getting state funds for a highway project.”
• “At least a dozen of the emails show McConnell’s staff acting as a conduit between Chao and Kentucky political figures or business leaders, some of whom have had prior relationships with the couple.”
• “Just days after Chao was sworn in, McConnell’s state director emailed a Chao lieutenant asking the secretary to meet with maritime industry lobbyist Jim Adams about proposed changes to ‘Buy American, Hire American’ requirements for offshore drilling equipment. The lobbyist and his wife, a Kentucky state senator who used to work for McConnell, donated $1,500 to McConnell’s 2014 reelection campaign, according to FEC filings.”
• “Carmack also requested a meeting in April 2017 for Greg DeLancey, the general manager of Taylor Motors in Murray, Ky., a government contractor that provides bus services primarily to the Defense Department. Carmack wrote that DeLancey was ‘the Calloway county GOP chairman and about to be the first district GOP chair.’ Chao met with someone from Taylor Motors in July 2017.”
• American Oversight’s “executive director and founder, Austin Evers, said they show an unusually close relationship between a Senate leader and a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet — and that ‘Secretary Chao built a political operation in her office to favor Kentucky.’”
• “There’s a normal channel and a Kentucky channel,” Evers said. “It would be surprising if there was also an Arizona channel and a California channel.”
• “And, on a tentative list of staff duties Inman shared with McConnell’s office soon after he started, ‘Kentucky’ is listed as one of Inman’s responsibilities. No other state is included in any of the other 26 staffers’ list of duties.”
• “The email cache is also sprinkled with instances of McConnell staffers referring to meeting-seekers’ personal ties to the couple and their status as GOP supporters.”
• “In one email thread from March 2017, McConnell’s staff describes Hart County, Ky., Judge/Executive Terry Martin — the county’s top elected leader — as a “loyal supporter” and ‘friend.’ Chao met with Martin two weeks later and again a year later.”
• “‘This is the kind of stuff the American public hates,’ said Caroline Ciccone, executive director of Restore Public Trust, adding that a ‘prudent elected official’ will avoid favoritism ‘not just because it looks bad, it’s because it is bad.’”

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Published: Feb 19, 2019