Thursday, March 31, 2016

Hillary Clinton Backers Charge Quid Pro Quo In Ben Carson's Trump Endorsement

by JASmius



Two adages apply to this story: (1) The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend; and (2) two stopped clocks can be correct in one week:

A group backed by a longtime Hillary Clinton supporter alleged to the [Inj]ustice[, Revenge & Coverup Commissaria]t this week that "Republican" presidential front-runner Donald Trump illegally promised former rival Ben Carson a position in his administration in exchange for an endorsement.

My guess is Health & Human Services Oberfuehrer, with the attorney-general slot going to Chris Christie and John Kasich getting Treasury, Commerce, or OMB Director.  Which would - allegedly - settle the question of Trump being prejudiced against black, fat, and short people.

"It has recently come to light that Mr. Donald Trump may have willfully offered Dr. Ben Carson an appointment to his administration should he become president in return for supporting his candidacy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 599," the American Democracy Legal Fund said in a letter to the federal agency.

The two-page letter, dated Tuesday, was reported by Politico on Thursday. It was written by Brad Woodhouse, the fund's president, and addressed to Raymond Hulser, who heads the [Inj]ustice[, Revenge & Coverup Commissaria]t's Public Integrity Section.

The American Democracy Legal Fund is bankrolled by David Brock, the founder of Media Matters and longtime Clinton supporter.

"ADLF respectfully requests that you investigate this matter and take all appropriate action as soon as possible," the letter says.

Yes, Clintonoids, David Brock....



....Mrs. Doubtfire or an eighteenth century powdered wig?  I report, you decide.

But is ADLF's accusation not entirely and excruciatingly plausible?  Even likely, given who and what Donald Trump is and has been his entire life?  And the depths of debasement, humiliation, and self-abuse to which Ben Carson has lowered himself?  Nobody, especially of Gentle Ben's (former) caliber, could possibly willingly lend themselves to being such a court jester fool unless there was something in it for them.

And given Trump's track record of rampaging ego, hair-trigger impulsiveness, and allergic aversion to thought and detail, it's almost impossible to believe that he wouldn't make Carson and the others such quid pro quo offers.  Indeed, I doubt that he or any of his handlers are even aware of 18 U.S.C. § 599.  It would have been simply "making more great deals," right?

Don't let your tribalist instincts overwhelm your capacity for objective thought, my fellow remaining conservatives.  You know I'm right about this, and if ADLF has happened to get lucky, well, bully for them, because it won't change the facts.

Which, yes, have yet to be unearthed.  That's the purpose of an investigation.  And there does seem to be enough smoke to provide probable cause:

The letter cites a March 14th interview Carson had on Newsmax TV's The Steve Malzberg Show, Politico reports.

The retired pediatric neurosurgeon talked with Malzberg three days after he endorsed Trump. Carson had quit the race for the GOP nomination on March 4th.



According to Woodhouse's letter, Carson was vague when Malzberg asked about what he and Trump might have discussed before the endorsement.

Carson only said that Trump told him that he would "surround himself with very good people."

"I'm not going to reveal any details about it right now, because all of this is still very liquid," Carson told Malzberg.

Translation: "Oh, crap, I shouldn't have said anything about that, I'd better shut up."  And then, of course, Carson tells Malzberg he's shutting up, and why.  Because the Doc is not a "professional politician," or even capable of the most rudimentary discretion, and he's not practiced at lying effectively, or at all.

In now-trademark fashion, only AFTER that debacle did the Trump scamtrust coach its new court jester on the fine art of denial days after the horse had escaped the barn, and so we got this:

Two days after that interview, however, the letter alleges that Carson denied that his endorsement was in exchange for any administration post.

He did that in an interview with Bianna Golodryga of Yahoo News, Politico reports.

"That would be ridiculous," Carson said in the interview. "I would never ask for such a thing. [emphasis added]

Hmm; Ben picks up prevaricatory word-parsing fast, doesn't he?  And I'm sure he didn't ask Trump for a Cabinet post - because he didn't have to, as Trump would have offered it to him without solicitation.  I'm sure the process worked the same way with Christie and has already with Kasich.

In other words, it isn't that they were corrupt already, it's that Trump corrupted them.  Just as he has a large plurality of the Republican electorate, which is the only way they could still support him after his already having fleeced them.  An intellectual corruption, laced with corrosive, destructive pride that may be more intractably powerful than any quid pro quo.

But then, to corrupt Luke 12:48, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more."

Will DOJ take this up?  Who knows?  But it constitutes one more brick in the #NeverTrump wall of exasperation at what Trumplicans are doing to our party, our philosophy, and everything they've ever claimed to stand for.

No comments: