Quid Pro Quo?

[ClydeR]

Clarice.

WASHINGTON – A mere 72 hours after the Chinese government agreed to put a half-billion dollars into an Indonesian project that will personally enrich Donald Trump, the president ordered a bailout for a Chinese-government-owned cellphone maker.

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” Trump announced on Twitter Sunday morning. “Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”

Trump did not mention in that tweet or its follow-ups that on Thursday, the developer of a theme park resort outside of Jakarta had signed a deal to receive as much as $500 million in Chinese government loans, as well as another $500 million from Chinese banks, according to Agence France-Presse. Trump’s family business, the Trump Organization, has a deal to license the Trump name to the resort, which includes a golf course and hotels.

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ZTE phones have already been described as a security risk by the U.S. military and intelligence community. Two weeks ago, the military banned their use on bases for fear they could be used to track the locations of service members.

The company, which is owned 33 percent by Chinese-government-owned enterprises, had been fined $1.2 billion last year after it was found to be violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea. After it was determined that ZTE officials had lied about their actions, the U.S. government last month banned it from purchasing U.S. components for seven years — a decision that essentially forced the company to shut down.

Trump followed up late Monday afternoon with a new tweet on the issue: “ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi.”

The new statement, however, still did not address the question of the Indonesian resort and the Trump Organization’s coming profit thanks to Chinese investment.

“This is stunning. They perpetually find new things to surprise me,” said Robert Weissman, president of the open government advocacy group Public Citizen. “The idea of the president intervening in a law enforcement matter to satisfy a foreign government is extraordinary. And it’s extraordinary because it doesn’t happen. Opening that door threatens the integrity of all corporate law enforcement.”

[Seran]

Looter and Chief. Shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

[cwolff]

Remember when we used to hear the phrase, "Avoiding even the appearance of..." Now what we hear, if we hear any response, is, "Well it's not explicitly illegal". Patriotic party of law and order my ass. I'd say that the GOP/trump followers should be ashamed but they have no shame.

In other news, McConnell got his wife a gravy job and now his brother-in-law too. Before trump was inaugurated Ryan and co. worked to begin dismantling ethics rules. I don't even think they bother anymore.

They began the attack on ethics before trump was even sworn in. Remember this gem they tried to get through?

House Republicans voted yesterday to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent body created in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals which sent several members of Congress to prison. The move did not become public until late yesterday when Representative Robert W. Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that the House Republican Conference had approved it. The House did not provide advance notice or debate on the measure.
...
“Republicans claim they want to ‘drain the swamp,’ but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress.”
Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, had harsh words for Speaker Paul Ryan and his leadership. “We all know the so-called House Ethics Committee is worthless for anything other than a whitewash––sweeping corruption under the rug. That’s why the independent Office of Congressional Ethics has been so important,” she said. “The OCE works to stop corruption and that’s why Speaker Ryan is cutting its authority. Speaker Ryan is giving a green light to congressional corruption.”

[Parkbandit]

Remember when we used to hear the phrase, "Avoiding even the appearance of..." Now what we hear, if we hear any response, is, "Well it's not explicitly illegal". Patriotic party of law and order my ass. I'd say that the GOP/trump followers should be ashamed but they have no shame.

In other news, McConnell got his wife a gravy job and now his brother-in-law too. Before trump was inaugurated Ryan and co. worked to begin dismantling ethics rules. I don't even think they bother anymore.

You're retarded.

[ClydeR]

In March, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on Chinese imports.

One week ago, Trump announced that he was lifting a ban on sales of parts to a Chinese company that violated an embargo on trading with North Korea and Iran.

And yesterday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced on Fox that President Trump has decided to put the tariffs on hold.

What happened?

About 72 hours before Trump developed a friendlier attitude toward Beijing, the Chinese government agreed to pump $500 million into an Indonesian theme park that will benefit the Trump Organization — and thus the president himself, since he refused to divest from his company when he took office.

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[Gelston]

Probably because he wants China on our side during the North Korea talks? It isn't that difficult to figure out.

[~Rocktar~]

In March, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on Chinese imports.

One week ago, Trump announced that he was lifting a ban on sales of parts to a Chinese company that violated an embargo on trading with North Korea and Iran.

And yesterday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced on Fox that President Trump has decided to put the tariffs on hold.

What happened?

Negotiations is what happened. I called it a while back, there would be sanctions on both sides, some huff and bluff and then people would really negotiate a deal. It's what adults do to come to a mutually agreeable outcome as opposed to His Imperious Leader Obama sucking the worlds dick and bending the US over to take it in the ass while he and his cronies got paid. At least this way, we might end up with some better trade deals where everyone gets paid.