Imagine Democrats who were fond of claiming, falsely, that President Donald Trump’s family did all kinds of unethical things, thinking that if they voted for Joe Biden they were going to get a paragon of ethical virtue.
Were these Democrats asleep during the campaign? Or just watching CNN? Apparently. Did they miss every single story about Hunter Biden? How about the ones about Jim Biden, Joe’s brother?
Now, as I reported before, even the claim that Biden wouldn’t have conflicts with his Administration and his family was a bunch of bull. Biden immediately showed this when his transition team, which used taxpayer dollars, defended his son Hunter when it was announced the FBI was investigating him. Anyone who really thought that Biden was going to be anything other than what he always has been was kidding themselves.
Apparently, Walter Shaub, Barack Obama’s head of the Office of Government Ethics, bought it all. Hook, line, and sinker.
But now his illusion has been blown apart and we have to give him credit for being very vocal about being very dumb. It shows that at least he’s honest on this.
He tweeted a piece from The Washington Post about how some of the children of Biden’s most trusted staffers have been getting top jobs in the administration. In addition to the children of five trusted advisers, including Biden’s right-hand man, Steve Ricchietti, getting top jobs, other relatives of top Biden aides also have gotten administration jobs including the wife of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the sister of White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Shaub was mad.
Warning for language.
I’m sorry, I know some folks don’t like hearing any criticism of him. But this royally sucks. I’m disgusted. A lot of us worked hard to tee him up to restore ethics to government and believed the promises. This is a a real “fuck you” to us—and government ethics. https://t.co/NRuc7hpOHi
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
Let’s play a game. See if you can guess which one of these special assistants at the treasury department has a daddy who’s one of the top aides to the president. See if you can guess the economic background of this privileged white boy. pic.twitter.com/kZCi1tHONH
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 16, 2021
Could you tell the difference?
Let’s hear a little more from Walter Shaub on Steve Ricchietti’s family.
“It feels like the taxpayers are funding a career-building charity for the Ricchetti family,” Shaub previously told Fox News. “Add to that the fact that you’ve got Ricchetti’s brother lobbying the administration, and this feels like a very special episode of the Partridge Family where they all pile in the van and go visit Washington — only they should call this show the Patronage Family.” [….]
Another of Steve Ricchetti’s sons, Daniel Ricchetti, is a senior adviser in the office of the undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, and his daughter Shannon Ricchetti is deputy associate director at the office of the White House social secretary.
EVEN THE F-ING HEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL PERSONNEL, WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE KEEPING THEM HONEST, HAS A CHILD WHO’S A RECENT COLLEGE GRAD WORKING IN THE ADMINISTRATION. AND THE SPOUSE OF THE WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. This is ridiculous. What a fucking failure.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
When little problems like this, which are so damn easy to avoid, crop up, it’s a sign of much bigger rot. Because if you can’t even do the easy things, you sure as hell can’t do the hard things.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
We could have told him. Indeed, we did. He and other Democrats just didn’t listen.
Do I sound bitter? HELL, YEAH, I’M BITTER! I’m the stupid moron who fell for his false promises. I wasn’t naive enough to think he’d be a transformative president. He told us he’d be plain vanilla. But I thought there was momentum behind his ethics promises. Boy was I stupid.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
Well, yes. But at least you get it now.
Shaub also pointed out how the ethics promises that Biden made were full of holes and had all kinds of exceptions so as to basically nullify any effect. So they looked good to people easily taken in, but actually stopped nothing.
Take his much touted “golden parachute payment” ban. Exciting, right? Turns out, it only applies if the payment is expressly for going into the UNITED STATES government. If the payor says “I’m giving this to you because you’re going into govt,” they can keep it!
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
In two decades of govt ethics, I’ve only ONCE seen a payment for going in to the U.S. govt. But I’ve seen plenty offered for going into govt. And the people who drafted this sham prohibition new no one would ever offer a payment expressly for going into the U.S. govt.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
And it only bans CASH or something substituting for an agreed upon payment. It does NOT ban an employer saying, we normally make folks forfeit unvested stock options, but we’ll let you keep your millions in options because you’re going in the US govt.” THAT’S ALLOWED!
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
Or howabout this? Biden’s ethics pledge bans appointees working on matters involving former employers and clients. This month, the administration quietly issued guidance saying it doesn’t apply to clients that paid for speeches!!!! Yellen, for instance, made $7 million that way.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
The guidance also quietly said it doesn’t apply if a news channel paid you to appear on TV. You can work directly with them. But remember how made we were when the Trump admin gave waivers to former Fox News personalities? Welp, here we go again. https://t.co/QvGStfsU7h
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
Shaub then pointed out problems with some other high-level positions, basically showing how corporations owned Biden.
And I don’t love having a milk lobbyist running USDA or a “strategic advisor” (i.e., shadow lobbyist) running the State Department. Or the brother of Biden’s top WH advisor lobbying the Executive Office of the President through a firm the Biden appointee founded.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
We’ve got a Raytheon board member leading DOD. We’ve got private equity fund people in the WH and at State. You’ve got corporate execs and big firm lawyers who represent corporations throughout. And personnel is policy.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 18, 2021
Welcome to a little reality, Walter, glad you finally get what we’ve been screaming about Biden for a long time.
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