The Many Faces of US Politics...

[Eamonnca1]

Opinion: Elon Musk's efficiency department is highly inefficient
By Kathryn Anne Edwards

After spending $118 million of his personal wealth on the campaign to reelect Donald Trump as president, billionaire Elon Musk has been tapped to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency in the new administration with Vivek Ramaswamy, the chief executive officer of a pharmaceutical company and (very) brief Republican presidential candidate. It's no coincidence that the acronym for this new department is DOGE, which happens to be the name of a cryptocurrency hawked by Musk.

Musk might find this amusing, but for the rest of us it can be downright Orwellian, the notion that the path to efficiency is through additional administrative bureaucracy, especially when that bureaucracy will have tenuous, if any, authority. You see, Congress controls spending, not an executive agency, and actions it tries to implement will likely be met with significant legal challenges. If anything, DOGE shows how blustering campaign promises are built on fiction, reflecting a lack of knowledge of how government works. (Spoiler alert: It's not a company.)

Let's start from scratch. Say you are concerned the federal government is prone to waste, fraud and abuse and needs to be kept under close watch. You assume that because it's the government and not a private company with a profit motive there's less efficiency. What do you do? Your primary constraint, the one that supersedes all others with no exceptions, is the U.S. Constitution, which gives the power of the purse to Congress. Congress creates every federal agency, mandates their tasks and approves their funding. If you want efficiency, it must start with Congress.

And a president can't decide on a whim not to spend money Congress has allocated. We've been here before. After Richard Nixon withheld funds allocated by lawmakers, Congress passed the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 enshrining the legal authority of Congress, not the president, to allocate spending. As president, Trump was found to be in violation of the Act when he withheld aid to Ukraine, a move that led to the first of his two impeachments.

Although keeping a careful eye on spending is the purview of Congress, it's a lot to put on members or its committees, as both are constantly churning through elections and majority status. Better to create a congressional agency instead. Unlike executive agencies, which report to the president, these agencies report to Congress, just like the Congressional Budget Office. This new agency would have the power to audit every other government agency and its recommendations would ideally have the power of Congress, unlike the flimsiness of DOGE, which has no legal authority (even to exist, since it's not being created by Congress!).


What's stopping Trump from asking for Congress to create this efficiency agency? For one, it (largely) already exists, having just celebrated its 100th birthday. Say hello — again — to the Government Accountability Office, the hawkish auditor of the federal government that clawed back $70 billion from agencies in fiscal 2023 as part of hundreds of actions to properly steward federal funds. The GAO staff is comprised of experts in the areas they oversee, and these quiet technocrats punch well above their weight. The agency calculates that it gives back $133 to the government for every $1 it spends.

The returns could be much higher because the GAO points out that the biggest problems it finds are often left unaddressed by Congress. The agency curates a "high risk list," or areas where the potential for waste, fraud and abuse is high and requires changes in law to fix. Some items have been on the list since the early 1990s.

What the federal government needs to combat wasteful spending is effective leadership, not cowboy CEOs with no sense of how the government works leading a make-believe agency with no power. Americans deserve better.

Kathryn Anne Edwards is a labor economist and independent policy consultant. ©2024 Bloomberg. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.

[whitey]

Just heard (Democrat) Joe Klein on Smerconish

Makes a lot of sense

https://josephklein.substack.com/p/not-a-democrat

[03,05,08]

Joe has pardoned his son Hunter, after previously stating he wouldn't use his presidency to do aforementioned.

[bennydorano]

Not a good look

[Tony Baloney]

Not a good look

Indeed. I have read people say it legitimises future Trump pardons, however the same fella doesn't need a reason or an excuse. The 6th Jan "patriots" will be out.

[TabClear]

Not a good look

Indeed. I have read people say it legitimises future Trump pardons, however the same fella doesn't need a reason or an excuse. The 6th Jan "patriots" will be out.

Absolutely. Understand why Biden did it obviously and I am sure most people would have done the same. Democrats cant turn round and criticise Trump now. As a general query, why should Presidents have this power?

The US political system is unfit for purpose across the board.

[J70]

Trump campaigned on releasing the insurrectionists. He got elected anyway.

But yeah, Biden should not have done this.

I've said before, the pardon stuff needs to be regulated and overseen. Right now it's completely arbitrary and open to corruption, as so blatantly exhibited by Trump openly using it to impede investigations in his first term. Clinton had a whopper or two also.

[armaghniac]

Absolutely. Understand why Biden did it obviously and I am sure most people would have done the same. .

Would they? are most people outright liars and fakes?

[red hander]

Not a good look

Water off a duck's back for Genocide Joe, Netanyahu's partner in mass murder, the doddering old piece of rancid shit.

[TabClear]

Absolutely. Understand why Biden did it obviously and I am sure most people would have done the same. .

Would they? are most people outright liars and fakes?

Are you saying that if someone had the ability to potentially stop their child going to jail the majority of people  would not use that power?

[seafoid]

https://www.ft.com/content/6c95004a-a569-4633-9eab-88479bcbc086
 Trump's team sees trade through the prism of hierarchies of power — ie as a tool to increase America's market dominance in a world where trading "partners" are anything but equal. Trade policy is thus not just defensive, or driven only by domestic goals (such as bringing industrial processes onshore to create jobs); it also aims to suck economic activity from rivals to America, and to weaken them, say by forcing the producers of commodities in other countries to slash their export prices.

[Denn Forever]

Not one of Joe's best moves, but I suppose he learned from the best.

[befair]

No point in the Dems being squeaky clean when the Trumpies use every dirty trick in the book

[Eamonnca1]

No point in the Dems being squeaky clean when the Trumpies use every dirty trick in the book

Seriously. Even if he didn't pardon him the Fox News crowd would still find a way to turn it into a criticism. F*** them. F*** them to high heaven. Joe absolutely did the right thing.

It was a political prosecution anyway. The only reason they went after Hunter was to get at Joe. Not the first time the rethuglicans have demonstrated their "family values" by acting like mob bosses and going after their opponents' relatives.

[Eamonnca1]

Here's a list of Trump pardons from his first term.

August 25, 2017
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Joseph M. Arpaio    District of Arizona N/A Contempt of court   

March 9, 2018
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Kristian Mark Saucier   District of Connecticut 12 months' imprisonment and three years' supervised release, conditioned upon six months' home confinement and the performance of 100 hours' community service (August 19, 2016)    Unauthorized retention of defense information   

April 13, 2018
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
I. Lewis Libby, aka Scooter Libby, aka Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby   District of Columbia    30 months' imprisonment, two years' supervised release, $250,000 fine (June 14, 2007)   Obstruction of justice; false statements; perjury (two counts) 

May 24, 2018
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
John Arthur Johnson, aka Jack Johnson   Northern District of Illinois   One year and one day's imprisonment; $1,000 fine (September 14, 1920)   Violation of the White Slave Traffic Act   

May 31, 2018
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Dinesh D'Souza  Southern District of New York   Five years' probation, conditioned upon eight months' community confinement and the performance of one full day per week of community service; $30,000 fine (September 23, 2014)    Campaign contribution fraud
 

July 10, 2018
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Dwight Lincoln Hammond  District of Oregon  3 months' imprisonment; 3 years' supervised release; amended to 60 months' imprisonment on October 7, 2015 (October 30, 2012)   Use of fire to damage and destroy property of the United States
Steven Dwight Hammond   District of Oregon  12 months' and one day's imprisonment; 3 years' supervised release; amended to 60 months' imprisonment on October 7, 2015 (October 30, 2012)    Use of fire to damage and destroy property of the United States (two counts)   
 

May 6, 2019
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Michael Chase Behenna   U.S. Army   Forfeiture of all pay and allowances; confinement for 20 years' (amended from 25 years' on July 2, 2009); dismissal from service (February 28, 2009)    Unpremeditated murder; assault 
 

May 15, 2019
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Patrick James Nolan Eastern District of California  33 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $10,000 fine (February 18, 1994)  Conducting the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering   
Conrad Moffat Black Northern District of Illinois   42 months' imprisonment (amended on June 24, 2011); two years' supervised release (December 10, 2007)   Mail fraud; attempted obstruction of justice   

July 29, 2019
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Michael Anthony Tedesco Western District of Pennsylvania    12 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (December 7, 1990)  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute in excess of 5 kilograms of cocaine and quantities of marijuana 
Roy Wayne McKeever  Western District of Oklahoma    12 months' imprisonment; one year of supervised release (March 2, 1989) Used telephone in distributing marijuana   
John Richard Bubala Southern District of Indiana    Two years' probation, conditioned upon four months' community confinement and two months' home confinement (April 5, 1991)  Conversion of government property   
Chalmer Lee Williams    Eastern District of Kentucky    Four months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (May 25, 1995)   Conspiracy to steal firearms and other goods as part of an interstate shipment; theft from shipment in interstate commerce; theft of firearms shipped in interstate commerce   
Rodney M. Takumi    District of Hawaii  Two years' probation; $250 fine (February 9, 1987)  Participating in an illegal gambling business   

October 10, 2019
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Zay Jeffries    Southern District of New York   $2,500 fine (November 12, 1948) Conspiracy to violate the Sherman Act   

November 15, 2019
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Mathew Golsteyn U.S. Army   N/A Premeditated murder (charged, not tried or convicted)   
Clint A. Lorance    U.S. Army   Forfeiture of all pay and allowances; 19 years' confinement (as amended from 20 years on December 31, 2014); dismissal from service (August 1, 2013)    Attempted murder; murder (two specifications); wrongfully communicating a threat (two specifications); reckless endangerment; solicitating a false statement; obstructing justice   

February 18, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Angela Ronae Stanton    Northern District of Georgia    Time Served; three years' supervised release conditioned upon six months' home confinement (May 24, 2007)   Conspiracy to transport in interstate commerce a stolen motor vehicle and tampering with a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) 
Ariel Manuel Friedler   Eastern District of Virginia    Two months' imprisonment; one year's supervised release conditioned upon $274,197.60 restitution and $250,000 fine (August 8, 2014) Conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization
David Hossein Safavian  District of Columbia    72 months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release (October 27, 2006)   Obstruction; false statement (three counts)
Michael Robert Milken   Southern District of New York   24 months' imprisonment (as amended); three years' supervised release; 5,400 hours of community service; $200 million fine (August 5, 1992) Conspiracy; securities fraud; mail fraud; tax fraud; filing false reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); assisting a brokerage firm in violating its net capital requirements   
Paul Harvey Pogue   Eastern District of Texas   Three years' probation; $250,000 fine; and $473,604.09 restitution (August 30, 2010)    Making and subscribing a false tax return   
Bernard Bailey Kerik    Southern District of New York   48 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $187,931 restitution (as amended) (May 18, 2010)  Obstructing the administration of the Internal Revenue Laws; aiding in the preparation of a false income tax return; making false statements on a loan application; making false statements (five counts)   
Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. Middle District of Louisiana    Two years' probation; $250,000 fine; $350,000 restitution (October 6, 1998) Misprision of a felony 

August 18, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Susan B. Anthony    Northern District of New York   $100 fine and the cost of prosecution (June 18, 1873)   Illegal voting 

August 25, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Jon Donyae Ponder   District of Nevada  63 months' imprisonment; 36 months' supervised release; $6,165 restitution (December 27, 2005)  Bank robbery; interference with commerce by armed robbery (six counts) 

August 28, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Alice Marie Johnson Western District of Tennessee   Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (March 21, 1997)  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; attempted possession of 12 kilos of cocaine with intent to distribute; attempted possession of 9 kilos of cocaine; attempted possession of 75 kilos of cocaine; attempted possession of 10 kilos of cocaine; conspiracy to commit money laundering; money laundering ($1.5 million); structuring monetary transactions

November 25, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Michael T. Flynn    District of Columbia    N/A Making false statements to Federal investigators   

December 22, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Phillip Kay Lyman   District of Utah    36 months' probation conditioned upon 10 days' incarceration; $1,000 fine; $95,955.61 restitution (December 18, 2015)   Conspiracy to operate off-road vehicles on public land closed to off-road vehicles; operation of off-road vehicle on public lands closed to off-road vehicles   
Otis Gordon District of South Carolina  85 or 86 months' imprisonment (as amended); 48 months' supervised release (January 11, 1993)    Sell, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance   
Weldon Hal Angelos  District of Utah    660 months and one day's imprisonment (amended to time served); 36 months' supervised release (November 16, 2004)   Possession with intent to distribute marijuana (five counts); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (three counts); possession of a stolen firearm (two counts); possession of a firearm with a removed serial number; use of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm (two counts); money laundering (three counts) 
Alex Van Der Zwaan  District of Columbia    30 days' imprisonment; two months' supervised release conditioned upon compliance with the immigration process of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; $20,000 fine (April 3, 2018)   False statements   
George Papadopoulos District of Columbia    14 days' imprisonment; 12 months' supervised release conditioned upon 200 hours' community service within 11 months; $9,5000 fine (September 7, 2018)   False statements   
Christopher Carl Collins    Southern District of New York   26 months' imprisonment; one year's supervised release; $200,000 fine (January 16, 2020)    Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; false statements
Duncan D. Hunter    Southern District of California 11 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (March 17, 2020)   Conspiracy to commit offenses   
Alfonso Antonio Costa   Western District of Pennsylvania    Three years' probation, conditioned upon one year's home confinement and 100 hours' community service; $250,000 fine; $44,579.47 restitution (March 20, 2008)   Health care fraud   
Paul Alvin Slough   District of Columbia    180 months' imprisonment; 36 months' supervised release (as amended on September 5, 2019) (April 13, 2015)  Voluntary manslaughter, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done (13 counts); attempt to commit voluntary manslaughter, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done (17 counts); using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done
Nicholas Abram Slatten  District of Columbia    Life imprisonment; three years' supervised release (August 14, 2019)    Murder in the first degree 
Evan Shawn Liberty  District of Columbia    168 months' imprisonment; 36 months' supervised release (as amended on September 5, 2019) (April 13, 2015)  Voluntary manslaughter, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done (eight counts); attempt to commit voluntary manslaughter, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done (12 counts); using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done 
Dustin Laurent Heard    District of Columbia    151 months' imprisonment; 36 months' supervised release (as amended on September 5, 2019) (April 13, 2015)  Voluntary manslaughter, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done (six counts); attempt to commit voluntary manslaughter, aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done (11 counts); using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done   
Jose Alonso Compean Western District of Texas   144 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $2,000 fine (as amended November 12, 2008) (October 19, 2006)    Assault with a dangerous weapon, and aiding and abetting; assault with serious bodily injury, and aiding and abetting; discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence; deprivation of rights under color of law 
Alfred Lee Crum Eastern District of Oklahoma    18 months' imprisonment, suspended; three years' probation; $250 fine (May 19, 1952)    Illegally operating a still; unlawful possession of a still; operating without bond
Ignacio Ramos   Western District of Texas   132 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $2,000 fine (as amended November 13, 2008) (October 19, 2006)    Assault with a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting; assault with serious bodily injury and aiding and abetting; discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence; deprivation of rights under color of law   

December 23, 2020
NAME    DISTRICT    SENTENCED   OFFENSE PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Roger Joseph Stone Jr.  District of Columbia    40 months' imprisonment; 24 months' supervised release conditioned upon performance of 250 hours' community service; $20,000.00 fine (February 20, 2020)    Obstruction of proceeding; false statements (five counts); witness tampering   
Paul J. Manafort   
1. Eastern District of Virginia

2. District of Columbia

1. 47 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $50,000 fine; $25,497,487.60 restitution (as amended by court order on March 21, 2019) (March 7, 2019)

2. 73 months' imprisonment; 36 months' supervised release (concurrent); $6,164,032 restitution (March 13, 2019)

1. Subscribing to false United States individual income tax returns for 2010-2014 tax years (five counts); failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts for calendar years 2011-2014; bank fraud/Lender B/$3.4 million loan; bank fraud/Lender C/$1 million loan

2. Conspiracy against the United States; conspiracy to obstruct justice (witness tampering)


Margaret E. Hunter  Southern District of California Three years' probation conditioned upon eight months' home confinement (August 24, 2020)    Conspiracy to commit offenses   
Charles Kushner District of New Jersey  24 months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release; $40,000 fine (March 4, 2005)    Fraud and false statements (16 counts); retaliating against witness, victim; statements or entries generally   
William Plemons
1. Northern District of Georgia

2. Northern District of Georgia

3. Northern District of Georgia

1. 12 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $20,000 fine (July 1, 1998)

2. 27 months' imprisonment (concurrent); three years' supervised release (August 26, 1999)

3. 27 months' imprisonment (concurrent); two years' supervised release; $1,100,000 restitution (as amended on February 12, 2004) (May 29, 2002)

1. Structuring transactions to avoid reporting requirements (four counts)

2. Willfully attempting to evade personal income tax (three counts)

3. Wire fraud


Topeka Kimberly Sam Eastern District of Virginia    52 months' imprisonment (as amended by the Bureau of Prisons pursuant to court orders on March 5, 2014, and November 2, 2015); five years' supervised release (January 11, 2013)    Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride   
Peter Y. Atkinson   Northern District of Illinois   345 days' imprisonment (time already served); three years' supervised release; $3,000 fine (as amended April 4, 2011) (December 10, 2007)   Mail fraud (three counts)   
John A. Boultbee    Northern District of Illinois   329 days' imprisonment (time already served); $500 fine, $15,000 restitution (as amended on March 24, 2011) (February 10, 2011) Mail fraud 
Andrew Barron Worden    Southern District of New York   Two years' probation conditioned upon 100 hours' community service per year and continued payment of balance owing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (August 15, 1995)  Wire fraud 
Mary Ballard McCarty    Southern District of Florida    42 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $100,000 fine (June 4, 2009)  Conspiracy to commit honest services fraud 
James J. Kassouf    Nothern District of Ohio    One year's probation conditioned upon four months' home confinement; $10,000 fine; restitution in accordance with the plea agreement (December 6, 1999) Making a false tax return   
John Frederick Tate Southern District of Iowa   Two years' probation conditioned upon six months' home confinement and 160 hours' community service; $10,000 fine (as amended on October 3, 2016) (September 20, 2016)  Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; causing false records; causing false campaign contribution reports; false statements scheme 
Jesse R. Benton Southern District of Iowa   Two years' probation conditioned upon six months' home confinement and 160 hours' community service; $10,000 fine (September 20, 2016)  Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States; causing false records; causing false campaign contribution reports; false statements scheme 
Christopher Michael Wade    Southern District of New York   Sentence under seal (Unknown)   Sealed offenses of conviction   
Joseph Martin Stephens  Western District of Texas   18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $2,500 fine (June 13, 2012)   Probation revocation   
Christopher II X   
1. Eastern District of Arkansas

2. Southern District of Indiana

3. Eastern District of Arkansas

4. Western District of Kentucky

5. Western District of Kentucky

1. Three years' imprisonment; five years' probation (February 4, 1985)

2. 33 days' imprisonment (September 26, 1986)

3. 407 days' imprisonment; five years' probation (January 20, 1987)

4. Three years and 120 days' imprisonment (May 23, 1990)

5. 508 days' imprisonment (February 20, 1992)

1. Conspiracy to distribute cocaine

2. Violation

3. Violation

4. Violation

5. Violation


Cesar Agusto Lozada Southern District of Florida    14 months' imprisonment, three years' supervised released (June 22, 2005)   Conspiracy to distribute marijuana 
Rickey Ivan Kanter  Eastern District of Wisconsin   12 months and one day's imprisonment; two years' supervised release; $50,000 Fine (September 15, 2011)  Mail fraud 
Stephanie Christine Mohr    District of Maryland    120 months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release (December 11, 2001) Deprivation of rights under color of law   
Robert Edward Coughlin II   District of Columbia    Time served; three years' probation conditioned upon 30 days in a halfway house and 200 hours of community service; $2,000 fine (November 24, 2009) Conflict of interest   
Mark Siljander  Western District of Missouri    12 months and one day's imprisonment;; six months' supervised release (January 11, 2012)    Obstruction of justice; violation of Foreign Agents Registration Act   
James Harutun Batmasian Southern District of Florida    Eight months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release (July 11, 2008)   Willful failure to pay over tax
Gary Mark Brugman   Western District of Texas   27 months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release (March 10, 2003) Deprivation of rights under color of law   
Joseph Occhipinti   Southern District of New York   37 months' imprisonment (commuted to time served on January 15, 1993); two years' supervised release (October 18, 1991) Conspiracy to violate civil rights; deprivation of rights under color of law (10 misdemeanor counts); false statements (six counts)
Rebekah Kay Charleston  Eastern District of Texas   13 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (January 10, 2007)    Conspiracy to commit tax evasion   
Russell Paul Plaisance  Western District of Louisiana   Three years' imprisonment (suspended); three years' probation; three years' special parole (concurrent) (November 18, 1987) Conspiracy to unlawfully import cocaine into the U.S.