Dear Readers, Vigilance and activism are keys to mitigating the harm that can be done to our country’s well being at the behest it of the republican President-elect and his surrogates. The following story, “Congressional phones jammed by calls for Trump conflict-of-interest investigation,” published on 11/18/16 by the Washington Post, was due to tips their representatives received from alert readers. At the end of the of the article, WaPo acknowledges this with the words, “Thanks to the concerned Washington Post readers who called and emailed with the tip.”
Gas-lighting during this presidential transition period is another key word to keep in mind. This is a frighteningly effective psychological tactic which refers to peoples being repeatedly told that what they have seen and heard with their own eyes and ears isn’t real or true. This is when the public is led to question and doubt their own common sense and their own internal moral compass. We, as the American public need to guard against this phenomenon.
Here is what Elise Viebeck wrote in this Washington Post article:
“If you’re trying to call the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ( (202) 225-5074), you might find yourself on hold for … the afternoon.”
“The committee’s phones became jammed most of Friday after several Facebook posts calling for an investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s finances started to go viral. The messages urged readers to call the panel to “support the call for a bipartisan review of Trump’s financials and apparent conflicts of interest.”
“Some mentioned the ethical questions surrounding Trump’s daughter and son-in-law’s choice to join his private meeting Thursday night at Trump Tower with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.”
“This is a state meeting and they had no security clearance … and she is supposed to be running his businesses during his presidential term,” stated one post, referring to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. “Can you spell yyyuuuge conflict of interest?”
“The Abe meeting was Trump’s first in-person conversation with a foreign leader since he won the election last week. “It was a pleasure to have Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stop by my home and begin a great friendship,” Trump posted on Instagram with a photo.”
“The presence of Kushner and Ivanka Trump was not the only controversy to spring from the sit-down. The president-elect did not give reporters — including photo journalists — access to the meeting, a break with protocol. That’s why you are not seeing many videos or images from Abe’s visit at major news outlets.”
“Over on Capitol Hill, an oversight panel aide said staff members are answering calls as fast as they can, but that the system is “backed up.” That’s true — we tested it ourselves. As of 3:30 p.m., calls were going through to voice mail after a message stating the line is “not available.”
“Thanks to the concerned Washington Post readers who called and emailed with the tip.”
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
“The level of hypocrisy is too damn high … “! Unreal ..
LikeLike
Dear Horty,
It is worse than what we predicted. As always, thanks a million for your support and for this reblog.
Hugs, Gronda
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most welcome! It’s not getting any better … saw the encounter w/ our fellow blogger … 😳
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Horty,
I am saddened by what happened but I am choosing to simply ignore any further writings by this blogger. Life’s too short.
Hugs, Gronda
LikeLiked by 1 person
You got it! I commented on safety pins … was called ‘hypocrite’ … 😢 … clear!
LikeLiked by 1 person
BTW, seen it before! 😳
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Horty,
Some men are just too emotional and hypocritical. I missed the safety pin blog response.
All is well! Hugs, Gronda
LikeLiked by 1 person
All is well … hugs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gronda, the conflict of interest story was well reported by Curt Eichenwald of Newsweek a few months ago, but main stream media felt it was unimportant for an election. In the article, Eichenwald said experts felt even a blind trust would not be enough to offer protections, because some leaders may want to curry favor from the President-elect and accept a business deal. Having his children manage it will make the conflicts worse. Having his children manage it and be involved in meetings like this is blatant conflict of interest.
But, this is not the lone hypocrisy of the man, nor will it be lonely going forward. Of course, the David Fahrenthold story of Trump self-dealing with his Foundation, which is also a conflict and illegal, got little main stream air play.
This man has done very little to alleviate fears of those who are concerned about him. My guess is his followers won’t pay attention and the blind followers will accept his twitter feed as gospel.
Keith
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dear Keith,
His followers who fit the definition of haters will not care but others may when they realize that they have gotten more than they ever wanted.
I like you read all of Kurt Eichenwald’s Newsweek articles which the establishment media paid scant attention. The reporting by David Farenthold while excellent, was rarely referred to by the main media outlets. This is just one reason why I have been so critical of their news coverage during this election process.
Ciao, Gronda
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Readers, This is a comment from Keith from the Musingsofanoldfart blog which I received in my email system but which did not appear here:
“These guys should win Pulitzer Prizes for their work. And, of course, today Trump said he only settled the three Trump U lawsuits as he was President-elect and was sorry he did not have a chance to defend himself in court. The New York AG called Trump U a case of blatant fraud. This story was deep in my newspaper today and I am sure far too many are unaware their were class action court cases.”
LikeLike
Dear Keith, And I believe in the tooth fairy. Ciao, Gronda
LikeLike
The media, esp. CNN and MSNBC are one of the culprits. I’ve been saying this for a long time. I’ve tuned out these 2 cable outlets. Sick , tired, and disgusted.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Renxkyoko,
I have done likewise. I have written my thoughts to Chuck Todd at MSNBC by email Chuck@msnbc.com. I will be sending a letter to CNN via mail. I have been avoiding watching both TV channels.
Hugs, Gronda
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Andrea Mitchell is the worst on MSNBC. Chuck Todd doesn’t even pretend. But Andrea Mitchell…….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve nominated you for the Treasure Trove Award.
You don’t have to do a thing.
Nothing.
If you want to you can copy the award from
my page and use it as an opportunity to
to thank some of bloggers who follow your
blog –or not.
Danica at Living a Beautiful Life made the
Award.
It’s my way of saying Thank you for your
support of Art by Rob Goldstein.
To find out more click here. http://wp.me/p47Ymh-5rA
LikeLiked by 1 person