Current Events > 'No other President would have survived defrauding Veterans' Charities'

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https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/11/11/no-other-president-would-have-survived-defrauding-veterans-charities/

One of the many perversities of the Trump era is the low bar to which presidential accountability has now become set. We are currently watching unfold the saga of presidential bribery and extortion of a foreign power in order to sabotage a domestic opponent, and to pursue an outrageous conspiracy theory designed to exonerate a hostile foreign power to which that president remains shockingly solicitous. Taken together with the Mueller probe (and its all of a piece), its the greatest presidential scandal in American history.

But it should still leave us speechless that only a few days ago the President of the United States was held liable by judge of defrauding veterans to the tune of millions of dollars via a fake charity he used for vainglorious personal and campaign expenses. To recap:

So it has come to pass with a New York judges ruling Thursday that the president had misused money given to the Donald J. Trump Foundation and, as part of a settlement, will have to pay $2 million in damages. Not only did he use the money for himself, including the purchase of a 6-foot-tall portrait of None Other, but he also filled the board of directors with family members (the usual suspects: Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric) and at least one officer, Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who didnt know he was even on the board, according to court documents.

The man who popularized fake news apparently also invented a fake charity. Theyre tons of fun until you get caught. But there was nothing fake about the money Trump spent that was intended for others.

In addition to the portrait, for which he paid $10,000 (albeit at an auction for another charity) but which later hung in his Doral golf resort in Miami, Trumps other charitable interests included about $250,000 to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit business. Best of all, he used $12,000 from the charity to buy a jersey and a helmet autographed by then-Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

Our eyes glaze over reading this stuff becausewell, its Donald Trump. But thats only because our sense of moral outrage has become deadened by his behavior. Try, if you can, to imagine that Barack Obama had raised money for veterans only to spend it on a giant portrait of himself and a bunch of sports memorabilia. It would have singlehandedly destroyed his presidency and would likely have forced his resignation. George W. Bush was certainly no saint, and his administration was guilty of misdeeds of horrendous consequence. But he would never have been so tawdry and venal as to steal money from veterans for such things. If he had, it would likely have ended his presidency. Same for Clinton, Bush Senior, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. None of them would have survived such a revelation.

But in this funhouse horror of an administration, the news that the President of the United States was forced by a judge to repay $2 million to real charities because of these grifter scams was just another Thursday. It wasnt even the top headline of the day.

Donald Trump skates by because we have come to expect this level of debasement from him. Because they refuse to hold him accountable, we have come to expect it of the entire Republican Party.

But we must not let ourselves become numb to it. The House impeachment proceedings should include this gross business among the other counts of Trumps high crimes and misdemeanors. The public should be reminded of it during the next years campaign ads. And the shame of it should follow him and his entire family of grifters for the rest of their lives.

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As much as we should avoid lowering the bar for this president, we should have the self-respect as Americans to demand the same level of accountability from all of our public servants. If the realities of partisan politics prevent us from doing so while he is in office, then the shame, opprobrium and criminal and civil consequences must follow him and his co-conspirators after they cease pretending to work on behalf of the American people.

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He owned the libs by doing this, so it's fine.
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He loves our vets more then any other President.
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Why does the USA keep electing these criminal Republican presidents? First George W Bush for two terms and now Trump.

Barack Obama isnt a saint and he got blood on his hands too but the extremes with GWB and Trump just makes me... It is just beyond shocking.
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Literally IOlYAR
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It's amazing how much they're letting Trump get away with just to "own the libs". Traitors.

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@Awesome
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That is such a big sacrifice, the Trump family certainly knows big sacrifice like no other, not even the deceased in Arlington have made sacrifices that big or beautiful before.

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doesn't matter who has to pay, as long as you win!
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You know, I've never really understood veteran charities. If you get seriously injured, you get medically retired and 100% disability from the VA. What's all the extra funding for?
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Soggy_Pocket posted...

You know, I've never really understood veteran charities. If you get seriously injured, you get medically retired and 100% disability from the VA. What's all the extra funding for?

an incompetent VA and other shit they dont cover but is needed
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spudger posted...

@Awesome

Guy blocked me from the first day it was an option so don't waste your breath
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Bio1590 posted...

spudger posted...

@Awesome

Guy blocked me from the first day it was an option so don't waste your breath

sad!
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Soggy_Pocket posted...

You know, I've never really understood veteran charities. If you get seriously injured, you get medically retired and 100% disability from the VA. What's all the extra funding for?

Not all veterans are seriously injured and get 100% disability?

A good example of a different kind of Veteran Organization is Warrior Expeditions - a veteran set it up specifically for combat veterans. They hook participants up with all the gear and supplies they need to complete a hike on one of several trails (like the Appalachian Trail) and there are volunteers along the way whose house they can stop at to get a warm meal or a soft bed for a night.

The philosophy is that in older times, soldiers had to march all the way back from war at its conclusion. The march gave them an opportunity to reflect on what they had experienced, to internalize it all, to help mentally prepare for a return to normal life in society. In the modern day, people don't march. They hop on a 12 hour plane flight and they're home, and it's like night and day from what they experienced. So this hike helps them rediscover their normal selves and normal life through that reflection.

Another one would be organizations like the Navy and Marine Corps Relief society, which offers benefits like family planning education, budgeting training, no-cost loans of several hundred dollars to help a member out with something like paying for a hotel room or covering the cost of a flight to make it home for an important event, stuff like that.

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Bio1590 posted...

Guy blocked me from the first day it was an option so don't waste your breath

I'm being blocked by glitteringfairy.

I see it as a sort of badge that these users who go on about liberals being "sensitive snowflakes" can't handle any sort of scrutiny towards themselves.

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Soggy_Pocket posted...

You know, I've never really understood veteran charities. If you get seriously injured, you get medically retired and 100% disability from the VA. What's all the extra funding for?

Lol.
Someone I know lost his leg above the knee and tried getting a job for over a year before getting any disability. Now he does have it, but has no dental coverage. He basically gets medical but has to drive for 4 hours to see a specific person over his leg.
Then the wait times are horrendous too. The VA was supposed to pay some toward his kids' college but never did.
If it hadn't been for donations, he probably would have become homeless during those months be was waiting to get anything. The VA is shit.
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Solar_Crimson posted...

Bio1590 posted...

Guy blocked me from the first day it was an option so don't waste your breath

I'm being blocked by glitteringfairy.

I see it as a sort of badge that these users who go on about liberals being "sensitive snowflakes" can't handle any sort of scrutiny towards themselves.

How do you know if someone is blocking you?
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TheRealDill2000 posted...

How do you know if someone is blocking you?

In his case, I saw this posts right before they disappeared after calling him out on something.

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He literally told me he was blocking me lol
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Burn all this man's properties to the ground
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