Qatar is in talks with the Trump administration to lease a jet to replace its aging Boeing jets, which are currently operating as Air Force One. According to a report from The Washington Post, government ethics officials are concerned that such a transaction would violate the emoluments clause in the Constitution. Trump is visiting Qatar this week as part of a three-country tour through the Middle East, which also includes Saudi Arabia and the UAE; therefore, this topic is likely to be discussed further. In another interesting twist, Laura Loomer, a far-right internet personality who is seen as Islamophobic, who normally backs Trump on most issues, criticized him by equating the sale of a plane to an Islamic takeover of America. This is an outrageous statement, but Loomer seldom disagrees with Trump on anything.
Tag: USA
Close Ally of Orban Sanctioned By The US.
Last Week, the U.S. government sanctioned Hungarian president Viktor Orban’s cabinet minister, Antal Rogan. According to a report in Politico, Rogan has allegedly used his office to enrich himself and other Orban allies. In particular, Rogan set up a procurement system that funneled lucrative government contracts to Rogan’s allies and Orban’s Fidesz Party in a broader sense. According to a report in the BBC, Rogan runs the Hungarian Intelligence Service, and NATO allies are loath to provide the Orban government with sensitive information for fear that it may end up in the hands of President Putin, with whom Orban has a close relationship. The sanctioning of Rogan will likely prove meaningless as the incoming Trump administration will rescind the order due to his close ties with Orban.
Update on Ericsson Corruption Scandal.
I wrote an article a year ago on the U.S. Department of Justice monitoring the telecommunications company Ericsson over corrupt practices in China and Djibouti. Today, Ericsson announced that the monitoring program instituted by the Justice Department has ended. According to a website called capacitymedia.com, the Department of Justice released a statement saying it was satisfied that Ericsson had met its compliance requirements. According to Ericsson’s president, Borje Ekholm, Ericsson is committing to being more transparent with its business practices in the future. Only time will tell if this is a true statement or not.
US Sanctions Ugandan Parliament Speaker.
Today, the U.S. government sanctioned the Ugandan parliament speaker Anita Among and her Husband over alleged corruption and human rights abuses. According to an article in the AP, Among, a close ally of the Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, has been in the spotlight for receiving $894,000 in the form of per diems and “entertainment” allowances. This is a massive problem in a country that can barely fund its healthcare and education systems. According to a report in ABC, Lt General Peter Elwelu was sanctioned for allowing extrajudicial killings. Finally, three ministers were sanctioned for being involved in a bizarre scheme to steal roofing material for impoverished communities.
Menendez faces New Federal Indictment.
Yesterday, the U.S. government unsealed a new indictment relating to Robert Menendez. According to a report in the BBC, Menendez is facing new charges that he accepted gifts such as tickets to Formula One races in return for praising the Qatari government. The indictment also includes details of Menendez’s efforts to help a New Jersey Businessman, Fred Daibes, secure a lucrative investment in Qatar by making positive comments about Qatar. According to a report in the New York Times, this indictment expands upon the allegations that Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted gifts such as gold bars from the Egyptian government and failed to register as foreign agents while conducting business on behalf of Egypt. This new indictment will strengthen the government’s case into Menendez’s dodgy business doings.
Santos Expelled from the House of Representatives.
On Friday, George Santos, the scandal-ridden member of the House of Representatives from New York, was finally expelled. Santos is facing numerous fraud charges that made his position untenable. According to a report in The Guardian, the vote to expel Santos was 311 for expulsion and 114 against. One hundred ten members of his party voted to remove him, which shows that he was seen as a liability within the party. According to a report in Reuters, he is only the sixth member of the House of Representatives expelled from the House in history. Despite all of the outcry over Santos, he still has some supporters. One in particular left a flower bouquet outside his recently vacated office.
Santos Announces That He Will Not Run for Re-election.
Today, representative George Santos has announced that he will not run for re-election after an ethics report ruled that Santos was involved in criminal schemes with the goal of personal financial enrichment. According to an article in the Washington Post, Santos has railed against the report, calling it a “disgusting politicized smear.” According to a report in the Guardian, the ethics committee found a clear pattern of behavior of fraud that emerged during Santos’s time in the house and that he should be removed one way or another. In recent weeks & months, the calls for Santos to be removed came from both sides of the aisle, with some Republicans publicly admitting that he had gone. Even though Santos will not run again for re-election, he still faces many legal issues.
Eric Adams and Turkish Money in New York Politics.
Last week, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, got himself embroiled in a fundraising scandal. According to an article in Reuters, Adams’s chief campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, had her home searched by FBI agents on November 2nd due to Adams’ possible involvement in a scheme to funnel foreign money from a Turkish donor to his mayoral campaign. On top of that, according to a report in the New York Times, Adams allegedly pressured the New York Fire Department (NYFD) to sign off on the Turkish government’s new consular building despite safety concerns. A follow-up article in the Times stated that Adams had cultivated close ties to the Turkish business community in New York. Many people this time of year are looking forward to turkey and all of the fixings; however, for Adams, the fixings surrounding Turkey could be bribery and corruption, not stuffing and mashed potatoes.
Trump Fraud Trial Update.
A few days ago, Donald Trump testified in his fraud trial in New York City. By all accounts, Trump made a spectacle of the proceedings and lashed out at everyone from the judge to the New York State Attorney General Letitia James. According to a report in the Washington Post, Trump, instead of mounting any credible defense, used the proceeding to try and score political points to bolster his election credentials. The Post article states that Trump may be using this trial as a dry run for his conduct in his upcoming criminal trials. The trial continues.
Former Albanian PM Ensnared in Corruption Probe.
The former Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha, was recently charged with corruption offenses. According to a Reuters article, Berisha hopes to steer the privatization of land once owned by a local football club, FK Partizani, in such a way that it would benefit a company owned by his son-in-law. According to a report from the AP, Berisha believes these charges are politically motivated by the current PM, Edi Rama. Berisha has a checkered history involving corruption; according to ABC News, in 2021, Berisha was banned from entering the US due to numerous allegations of corruption during their tenure as PM from 2005 to 2013. It is unclear how this will play out, but I would assume that Berisha may well be facing a stretch behind bars.
Crispin Corruption Report 