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ETHICS? WHAT ETHICS?

RNC Picked Up the $60,000 Tab for Trump and Guests at UFC Cage-Fighting Match Where He Got Booed – Ethics Violation?

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President Donald Trump, his two adult sons Donald Jr.and Eric, and three GOP Congressmen attended a cage-fighting match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Saturday night, where the American leader of the free world got booed by those many see as his base.

According to The Washington Post, the evening, including tickets for the event and security cost $60,000, and the tab was picked up by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

It’s unclear why the RNC would pay the bill. It was not a fundraising event. As the Washington Post notes, the three congressmen –House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Rep. Peter King (R-NY) – may be in violation of House ethics rules as a result.

“Members of the House are allowed to take free tickets for sporting events if the event is a ‘bona fide’ fundraiser, according to House ethics rules,” the Post explains. “The event was not an official fundraiser nor a campaign event, so it is unclear how the lawmakers could accept tickets. Members also have to receive written approval to take a gift. The official said the RNC paid because the president attended.”

As it turns out, Saturday’s “night out” was not the first time the president has entertained – and gotten booed – on the RNC’s dime.

“A week earlier, the RNC had paid $465 per seat in a luxury suite at Nationals Park for Trump, 11 members of Congress and senior White House staffers to attend the fifth game of the World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros,” where the president was also greeted by loud booing. “The RNC also previously paid for the president to attend the college football national championship game in Atlanta.”

 

 

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ETHICS? WHAT ETHICS?

Former DA Pam Bondi, Who Was Suspected of Pay-to-Play, Lands White House Job to Assist in Trump Impeachment Defense

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Former Florida Republican District Attorney Pam Bondi, who suffered from questionable ethical choices while in office, will join the White House in a taxpayer-funded role to create messaging to defend President Donald Trump against all-but-certain charges of impeachment.

Bondi “will be tasked with assisting on communications and strategy and other special projects,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

But Politico describes Bondi’s role a bit differently, saying she will be a “senior adviser and legal guru, who can help to make President Donald Trump’s case on TV.”

A top supporter of President Trump, Florida GOP Congresman Matt Gaetz, who also has a history of questionable ethics choices, heaped unwarranted praise on his fellow Floridian.

“It’s going to be important for White House to marshal legal minds around the country to carry the president’s message and defense during impeachment, and Pam Bondi is respected by attorneys general past and present as a consequence of her leadership in her time in Florida.”

During Bondi’s time as Florida’s top law enforcement officer, she looked the other way despite 22 complaints filed against Donald Trump’s fake university. Trump ultimately paid $25 million to settle a group of lawsuits from several states, lead by New York.

Attorney General Bondi did not join those lawsuits, but she did at about the same time as she refused to investigate or prosecutor Trump for fraud, accept a $25,000 campaign donation from him, and donations from at least one other Trump family member in what The New York Times suggested was a “pay-to-play” scheme. Bondi denied doing anything improper.

One activist group alleged it had uncovered $635,000 in questionable donations to Bondi’s campaign, and filed an FBI complaint.

Bondi came under fire for attacking marriage equality as Florida’s AG, suggesting gay couples do not maintain “stable and enduring family units,” which is false. She even went as far as filing an “emergency” petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to block marriage for same-sex couples from being allowed in her state. Bondi was caught lying about a honoring LGBT Pride.

As a candidate for re-election to her post as AG, Bondi literally had the execution of a death row inmate rescheduled so she could attend a fundraiser.

 

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