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GOP lawmakers rant and whine about 'rabid' attacks on Louis DeJoy: 'We didn't hear anything about Obama!'
February 24, 2021
House Republicans opened an investigative hearing into the U.S. Postal Service by whining that embattled postmaster general Louis DeJoy was the victim of "insane, rabid" attacks.
The House Oversight Committee grilled former president Donald Trump's appointee about changes he made last year that led to widespread delays in delivery that complicated mail-in voting in a pandemic year -- but GOP lawmakers complained that Democrats were only trying to score cheap political points.
<p>"Let's remember what Mr. DeJoy actually did with the postal service," said Rep. Jody Hice (R-KY). "First, he removed the blue boxes, drop boxes. But in so doing an attempt to sabotage the election? Absolutely not. It's a routine process. In fact, over the past couple of decades approximately 35,000 of these drop boxes have been removed and some 12,000 under President Obama's watch. We didn't hear anything about it then. It's only when Mr. DeJoy continues the process of scaling down."</p><p>Hice then claimed the postmaster general removed mail sorting machines because they took up too much room and reduced overtime to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/11/901349291/postal-workers-decry-changes-and-cost-cutting-measures" target="_blank">cut costs</a>, all of which are continuing to cause delays, and the lawmaker <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/02/theres-no-end-to-this-mail-slowdown-continues-under-trump-era-honcho.html" target="_blank">said</a> the changes were necessary.</p><p>"If that much overtime is in part of the operating procedures and yes, then there's a serious problem with overtime," Hice said. "Now perhaps all of this that I am saying is water under the bridge at this point. I certainly hope so."<br/></p><p>Hine then suggested Democrats only cared about the changes to the postal service because DeJoy was a major Republican donor, and he claimed the postmaster general deserved better treatment.</p><p>"If moving blue boxes and mail sorters and trying to bring sanity to overtime usage is somehow viewed as criminal activity by the postmaster, then what in the world is going happen with the business plan he comes up with, and what is any postmaster general, be it Mr. DeJoy or someone else going to do to try to ride the ship of postal service," Hice said. "I'll be very much interested in hearing questions answered. We've got to get input and deal seriously with him reform issues get beyond nonsensical, insane, rabid rhetoric that is been coming for the past year, and I hope will be able to do that."</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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NY prosecutors zeroing in on Donald Trump Jr. amid probe into Trump Organization: report
February 24, 2021
New York prosecutors are exhausting a substantial amount of resources for its investigative probe into former President Donald Trump's personal and business finances. Now, according to The Daily Beast, Trump's son, Don. Jr. and Allen Weisselberg described as "one of the former president's most trusted officers" are also said to be at the center of the prosecutors' investigation.
The publication reports that Trump Jr.'s role in the Trump Organization along with his active participation in his father's Make America Great Again (MAGA) campaign has made him a person of interest for prosecutors.
<p style="margin-left: 20px;"><em>During his father's administration, Trump Jr. became a chief MAGA spokesman and campaigner while simultaneously serving as the Trump Organization executive vice president, fronting the business with his brother, Eric Trump. According to his company bio, Trump Jr. is involved in "deal evaluation [and] analysis," as well as the leasing operation, among other functions. Trump Jr. has also overseen the organization's international dealings, the growth of which were somewhat hampered due to his father's ascension to the presidency.</em></p><p>Despite holding the highest office in the land, Trump still managed to make millions off foreign business ventures based on profits from "licensing agreements and buildings in various nations across the globe." According to Forbes, Don. Jr. and his brother Eric, also "unloaded $118 million worth of the president's real estate since his January 2017 inauguration, striking deals everywhere from New York City and Los Angeles to Charleston, South Carolina, and the Dominican Republic."</p><p>Weisselberg has also found himself at the center of multiple investigations conducted by federal prosecutors. His name was also floated around amid the highly publicized case involving Trump's alleged former mistress Stormy Daniels. At the time, Weisselberg was caught in the middle of that case " for his alleged role in masterminding a plot to conceal the Trump-directed hush-money payoff during the 2016 election" to the pornographic film star.</p><p>Although Trump's senior advisers have repeatedly waived off prosecutors' investigations insisting there is nothing to be concerned about, the latest investigative details underscore Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's office's dedication to holding Trump and his family accountable for any possible wrongdoing.</p>
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Veteran US diplomat William Burns, nominated to lead the CIA, pledged Wednesday to keep the agency free of politics and said China would be his biggest focus if confirmed.
Burns was picked by President Joe Biden to replace retiring Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel and to help restore an air of independence after former president Donald Trump allegedly tried to manipulate the country's spies for political reasons.
<p>He told the Senate Intelligence Committee that his career in the Middle East and Russia made him appreciate the value of untainted intelligence.<br/></p><p>"I learned that good intelligence, delivered with honesty and integrity, is America's first line of defense," he told the panel.</p><p>"I learned that intelligence professionals have to tell policymakers what they need to hear, even if they don't want to hear it. And I learned that politics must stop where intelligence work begins."</p><p>He said Biden stressed that "he wants the agency to give it to him straight."</p><p>"And I pledged to do just that, and to defend those who do the same."</p><p>Burns also told the panel that China was the main challenge the country faces, echoing views stated by Biden and other top officials of his administration.</p><p>"Out-competing China will be key to our national security in the decades ahead. That will require a long-term, clear-eyed, bipartisan strategy, underpinned by domestic renewal and solid intelligence," he said.</p><p>He said that while in some areas, like nuclear non-proliferation, the United States can cooperate with Beijing, it is nevertheless "a formidable, authoritarian adversary."</p><p>The CIA in particular has faced challenges, with China having recruited a number of US diplomats and spies over recent years and also, starting a decade ago, bringing down the CIA's own network of informants in the country.</p><p>Burns also stressed in a statement to the hearing that the fight for technological superiority in espionage, including the use of artificial intelligence, will also be a key part of his mission. </p><p>Until his nomination Burns was president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading Washington foreign policy think-tank.</p><p>If approved as expected by the Senate, Burns will be the first career diplomat to lead the CIA. </p><p>But he has deep experience in security and intelligence matters after spending over three decades in the US foreign service, including a stint as ambassador to Russia from 2005-2008. </p>
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