• About
  • The Poetry of Protest

Show Me Progress

~ covering government and politics in Missouri – since 2007

Show Me Progress

Tag Archives: Conflict of Interest

Investigate Trump’s Russian ties

10 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Conflict of Interest, Congressional investigations, Donald Trump, national security, Russia, Vladimir Putin

Today I sent this text as an email to Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill:

During the recent election campaign, there were intimations that the Russian government was cooperating with the Trump campaign. Today that was confirmed in an interview given to the Washington Post by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump is also known to have financial relations with members of the Russian oligarchy who are close associates of Vladimir Putin. I doubt that I am alone in my concern that our naive and poorly informed President elect may have acted in ways that compromise the security of the United States by allowing a relatively unfriendly power the ability to meddle in our internal affairs. I worry that this Russian influence may extend into the future and further compromise our government.

I urge you to do whatever you can to see that President-elect Trump’s Russian ties are investigated and their nature and extent made public. Given the position that Mr. Trump will occupy, an investigation of this sort demands a non-partisan special prosecutor. At the very least, though, concerned members of Congress can make sure that the call for such action is heard, perhaps by holding shadow hearings if the Republican congressional majority refuses to act. President-elect Trump’s many and various conflicts of interest are important, and paramount among them are his Russian ties and the suggestion that he and his campaign allowed the Russian government to meddle in the recent election.

Thank you for entertaining my comments.

I sent a similar email to Republican Senator Blunt; for obvious reasons I omitted the phrase in the second paragraph suggesting shadow hearings if Republicans won’t act.  Instead I urged Blunt to put the welfare of the country over partisan considerations.

I don’t expect action from Blunt – or, truth be told, from McCaskill – but I do want them to hear and be aware of this sentiment. If any of you share this concern, I urge you to join the call for investigation with similar letters to your  congressmen, your local papers or whatever other venues you have access to.

Reps. Clay and Carnahan sign letter to Clarence Thomas

10 Thursday Feb 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Clarence Thomas, Conflict of Interest, Elena Kagan, Gini Thomas, Lacy Clay, missouri, Orin Hatch, Russ Carnahan, Supreme Court

Today Rep. Athony Wiener (D-NY) sent a letter to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asking that he recuse himself from hearing challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to Wiener and the letter’s 73 cosigners, the fact that Thomas’ lobbyist wife, Virginia (Gini), has worked in a professional capacity to defeat the legislation constitutes a conflict of interest. Wiener also noted Gini Thomas’ involvement with clients that had benefited from the Court’s Citizen United ruling.

Among the cosigners were Missouri’s Lacy Clay (D-1) and Russ Carnahan (D-3). Notably absent were signatures from any of the Republican members of the Missouri delegation. While their abstinence may be understandable from a political point of view, it is certainly questionable given that, as Think Progress‘ Ian Milhiser notes apropos the federal recusal statute:

… conservatives have already interpreted this ethics law in a way that requires Justice Thomas to recuse himself from the health care litigation. After progressive Judge Stephen Reinhardt was assigned to the appellate panel that was to hear a challenge to anti-gay Proposition 8, supporters of the anti-gay law called for Reinhardt to recuse because his wife’s organization advocates against Prop 8.

Certainly, in light of Gini Thomas’ activities – and the added fillip that her husband has for many years failed to report her income as he is required to do – it would seem that there is more substance to Weiner’s claims than in the efforts of conservative Orin Hatch to trump up objections to Elena Kagan prior to the court’s inevitable review of the ACA. Hatch recently questioned Kagan’s impartiality to hear cases related to the ACA on the basis that she served as Obama’s Solicitor General while it was taking shape, although Kagan had previously stated that “she had not been involved in legal strategy sessions about how to defend the health-care plan against charges that it is unconstitutional.”

It will be interesting to see how the Missouri GOPers react as this little conflict of interest contest rolls out. Meanwhile, kudos to Clay and Carnahan. Somebody needs to call Thomas out about what seems to be a pattern of abuse related to his judical activism.

Sam Graves, Andy Blunt and the Conflict of Interest Caper

22 Tuesday Jan 2008

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Conflict of Interest, Graves (Sam), Show Me Ethanol, Steeleman (Sarah)

Republican State Treasurer Sarah Steelman is sticking to her ethical guns and withholding tax incentives from an ethanol plant with investors who have first-degree ties to elected officeholders.  

If the relatives do not divest,and do so quickly, the rest of the stockholders will find themselves bearing the burden of millions of dollars in interest on loans written to get the Show Me Ethanol  plant operational.

A couple of years ago, Ms. Steelman issued a proclamation that she would not tolerate conflicts of interest and she would withhold state incentives from companies that did not comply.  A part of that proclamation was that no investor in any company petitioning for preferential treatment, such as below-market interest rates on economic development loans, can have investors with ties to elected officials.

Seems simple enough, doesn’t it?  

Somehow, though, that simple, straight-forward, easily understood, common-sense edict just clean evaded Missouri Congressman Sam Graves (MO 06) and uber-lobbyist Andy Blunt, the more-weaselly brother of our nefarious governor, Matt Blunt.

But it gets better.

Sam Graves “forgot” about the investment in Show Me Ethanol when he filed his congressional financial disclosure paperwork – until reporters started digging around in his investments.  Made aware of this development, his memory improved instantly, and he amended the paperwork two days before the story broke in Roll Call about Graves’ specious financial reporting.    

Just fifteen months ago, Sarah Steelman conditionally approved Show Me Ethanol to receive the below-market interest rates on loans for the development of the project, but when Steelman says “conditional” she means it.  

One of those conditions is the prohibition against elected officials having  connections to any investors who might benefit.  Incentives will be withheld if a company has a single investor who is a legislator, statewide elected official, director of any state department, or the parent, sibling, spouse or offspring of any of those officials.  

What can I say?  She takes conflict of interest seriously, and is having no part of it on her watch.  

Show Me Ethanol has been unable to comply.  That is because investors include the characters mentioned above, as well as Republican state representative John Quinn of Chillicothe and his wife, Mary.  

Graves mouthpiece, Jason Klindt, once cornered, tried to put a noble spin on it, saying that “She [Lesley Graves]  didn’t want Show Me to be held to some sort of different standards just because she was an investor.”  

Actually, I would take the opportunity and correct his willful dishonesty and point out that the company will enjoy a “special standard” –  once she and the other prohibited investors bow out – but until then, the company has to play by the same rules everyone else is bound by.  But he is a spin doctor, and just doing what spin-doctors do:  shining the most flattering light possible on every utterance and act.  And the pressure must be tremendous – his guy is facing a tough reelection battle, where he is being challenged by  former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes – a savvy politician with skills, name recognition and money.  In other words, for the first time since he slid into the seat in 2000, he is facing a real opponent – and she has a whole passel of supporters who will be pointing out all of his myriad ethical lapses for the next ten months.

Spin that, Jason.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007

Categories

  • campaign finance
  • Claire McCaskill
  • Congress
  • Democratic Party News
  • Eric Schmitt
  • Healthcare
  • Hillary Clinton
  • Interview
  • Jason Smith
  • Josh Hawley
  • Mark Alford
  • media criticism
  • meta
  • Missouri General Assembly
  • Missouri Governor
  • Missouri House
  • Missouri Senate
  • Resist
  • Roy Blunt
  • social media
  • Standing Rock
  • Town Hall
  • Uncategorized
  • US Senate

Meta

  • Log in

Blogroll

  • Balloon Juice
  • Crooks and Liars
  • Digby
  • I Spy With My Little Eye
  • Lawyers, Guns, and Money
  • No More Mister Nice Blog
  • The Great Orange Satan
  • Washington Monthly
  • Yael Abouhalkah

Donate to Show Me Progress via PayPal

Your modest support helps keep the lights on. Click on the button:

Blog Stats

  • 773,055 hits

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...