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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump fires watchdog who was investigating Mitch McConnell's wife
By Associated Press -May 20, 2020 11:10 AM
Democrats in Congress are protesting Donald Trump's decision to remove another inspector general.
Congressional Democrats are protesting Donald Trump's decision to remove the Transportation Department's acting inspector general, the latest in a string of actions by Trump to fire or replace government watchdogs.
The Democratic chairs of three House panels on Tuesday demanded that Mitch Behm be reinstated immediately as acting inspector general.
The lawmakers also demanded that the Trump administration turn over information about current investigations that might have played a role in Behm's removal, including a review of whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given preferential treatment to Kentucky. Her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and a top Trump ally, is seeking reelection this year.
Behm's removal "is the latest in a series of politically motivated firings of inspectors general by President Trump,'' the lawmakers wrote. "This assault on the integrity and independence of inspectors general appears to be an intentional campaign to undermine their ability to expose corruption and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse."
https://americanindependent.com/donald-trump-inspector-general-elaine-chao-transportation-department-mitch-mcconnell-kentucky-mitch-behm/
I really dislike the both of them and what she did to the department of labor attacking labor unions and employees across this country..........I want her and him to be frog marched into jail............
leftieNanner
(15,179 posts)The House needs to get all of these IGs in to testify to what they know. Out loud and in public.
turbinetree
(24,726 posts)its is absolutely like during the Nixon administration, the IG's were created to stop this crap...........
JudyM
(29,294 posts)FirstLight
(13,366 posts)whattayagonnadoaboutit? (said in my worst gangster voice)
this life blows, Imma go get drunk
regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)We need the Electoral College eliminated, of course, but we also need stricter rules on oversight, including the elimination of the executive branch being solely responsible for investigating itself (and also an explicit elimination of the current rule that a sitting president cannot be indicted and tried, and a similar strict limiting of executive privilege such that the executive branch can simply refuse to provide evidence that only it has in investigations against itself).
Up until now, these measures havent been made necessary because theres been an assumed if unwritten standard of conduct in government; however you may try to bend the rules, there are certain things you just dont do (which is why, for example, Nixon turned over the White House tapes when ordered to do so by SCOTUS). But what were seeing now is an administration with absolutely no compunctions about throwing out every standard when it benefits them. And, now that weve seen it work once, we need to be prepared to either change the system or expect to see it happen again and again (and not just on the part of one Party) in the future.