Today, one of our readers reminded us of this post from October 7, 2017 about how Rex Tillerson was then opposing Trump’s support for doing away with US bribery laws.  In view of what we’re going through right now, we thought it would be timely to repost.  Here it is:

Moral Bankruptcy – October 7, 2017

One of the rising stories in the war between Trump and Tillerson has underlined the actual issue at the core of this administration – moral bankruptcy.  We all know that Trump is a complete waste of oxygen, a Grade A Shitbag, and every other pejorative one can conjure.  What is he, though, at his essence?  At his center, Trump is totally devoid of any decency or empathy and worse (if that’s even possible), he is morally bankrupt.  The case in point is the disagreement that has been simmering between Trump and Tillerson since the beginning of this train wreck; Trump’s desire to legalize bribery.

One of Trump’s core issues is a law that he wants reversed: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  The FCPA was passed in 1977 in an attempt for the United States to lead the world in reducing what was then blatant corruption and bribery in international business.  The law is enforced by the SEC and DOJ and has greatly reduced corruption because, under the law, business leaders are personally liable should their companies get caught paying bribes.  For years, Trump has railed against the law, calling it a “horrible law and it should be changed.” Trump says that not being able to pay bribes to foreign officials makes us uncompetitive.

Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for Tillerson, Rex disagrees with Trump.  In a White House meeting in February, Tillerson dared to do just that with Trump after he complained about the act, saying that bribery was key to success.  Tillerson stood his ground and even related a story to him about how he refused to bribe a Yemeni state official when he was CEO of Exxon.  The deal got done anyway.

What this story reveals is not only the importance of actual adults like Tillerson, Kelly, Mattis, and others to keep Trump in check, but the critical need that they do so.  Trump is the very definition of corruption.  He is so self absorbed and completely saturated by his corruption that he actually wants to weaken US policy so HE’LL make more money.  Just thinking about having this cretin at the levers of power sends cold chills down my spine.  This man is not only evil; his corruption is a cancer on our society.

This disaster can’t end soon enough; in the meantime, as much as I disagree with Tillerson on any number of policy issues, I also see his value as the last defense against Trump burning down what’s left of our republic.  He, and those like him owe it to the rest of us to stay in place until we can excise this disease from office by either criminal charges and/or resignation.

One of the rising stories in the war between Trump and Tillerson has underlined the actual issue at the core of this administration – moral bankruptcy.  We all know that Trump is a complete waste of oxygen, a Grade A Shitbag, and every other pejorative one can conjure.  What is he, though, at his essence?  At his center, Trump is totally devoid of any decency or empathy and worse (if that’s even possible), he is morally bankrupt.  The case in point is the disagreement that has been simmering between Trump and Tillerson since the beginning of this train wreck; Trump’s desire to legalize bribery.

One of Trump’s core issues is a law that he wants reversed: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  The FCPA was passed in 1977 in an attempt for the United States to lead the world in reducing what was then blatant corruption and bribery in international business.  The law is enforced by the SEC and DOJ and has greatly reduced corruption because, under the law, business leaders are personally liable should their companies get caught paying bribes.  For years, Trump has railed against the law, calling it a “horrible law and it should be changed.” Trump says that not being able to pay bribes to foreign officials makes us uncompetitive.

Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for Tillerson, Rex disagrees with Trump.  In a White House meeting in February, Tillerson dared to do just that with Trump after he complained about the act, saying that bribery was key to success.  Tillerson stood his ground and even related a story to him about how he refused to bribe a Yemeni state official when he was CEO of Exxon.  The deal got done anyway.

What this story reveals is not only the importance of actual adults like Tillerson, Kelly, Mattis, and others to keep Trump in check, but the critical need that they do so.  Trump is the very definition of corruption.  He is so self absorbed and completely saturated by his corruption that he actually wants to weaken US policy so HE’LL make more money.  Just thinking about having this cretin at the levers of power sends cold chills down my spine.  This man is not only evil; his corruption is a cancer on our society.

This disaster can’t end soon enough; in the meantime, as much as I disagree with Tillerson on any number of policy issues, I also see his value as the last defense against Trump burning down what’s left of our republic.  He, and those like him owe it to the rest of us to stay in place until we can excise this disease from office by either criminal charges and/or resignation.

It appears that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had himself a snot nosed walleyed his fit at the White House in front of a crowd that included Reince Priebus, Jared Kuchner, Tillerson’s Chief of Staff Margaret Peterlin.

Tillerson exploded over issues that had been building for months.  The straw that broke the camel’s back was Johnny DeStefano, a political operative for Trump, telling Tillerson who he could and could not hire at the State Department.

Tillerson also complained that the White House was leaking damaging information about him to the news media, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Above all, he made clear that he did not want DeStefano’s office to “have any role in staffing” and “expressed frustration that anybody would know better” than he about who should work in his department — particularly after the president had promised him autonomy to make his own decisions and hires, according to a senior White House aide familiar with the conversation.

Yeah, well, we all know that the president’s promises are biodegradable.

Tillerson, who I imagine is pretty much used to getting his way, decided that maybe the president’s young and inexperienced crew might respond to hollering and promises to get a switch off the willow tree in the backyard.

They didn’t.

Kushner, who has cornered the market on gall, reportedly told Tillerson’s chief of staff that his “outburst was completely unprofessional.”

Oh, I imagine that Tillerson is going to have something to say about that, don’t you?

Screw Mika and Trump – this is the fight I want to watch.

WH comms staffers just put the TVs on super loud after we could hear yelling coming from room w/ Bannon, Spicer, Sanders

— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) May 15, 2017

Reporters in the WH are saying they don’t know which way to lean to overhear staff trying to grapple with the tsunami of crises of Trump’s own making.  Monday night, the shoutfest between Bannon, Spicer, and Huckabee Sanders was so loud that comms staff turned up televisions trying to drown it out.

However, their boss is going to assure that the Daily Crisis will continue.  Trump is a moron; he thought it was a good idea to take on the intelligence community?  The FBI?  That’s just plain stupid and simply political suicide by bureaucracy.  Comey was a prosecutor.  These people raise evidence gathering and note taking to an art form.  You know that this snippet from one memo is just the tip of a giant iceberg and that iceberg is only going to get larger.  In the meantime, Trump’s inner circle is getting thrown under the bus one at a time on virtually a daily basis.  The ONLY staffer who carried any weight was H.R. McMaster, but that’s over after his performance in front of the West Wing entrance the other day.

And it’s only going to get worse.  With top staffers at each others’ throats, it’s only a matter of time before the entire West Wing melts down.  If Trump survives this latest crisis, he will be so damaged that his legislative agenda will grind to a halt.  He responds so poorly to perceived slights that you KNOW he’ll tweet out some other stupid declaration that will turn his scandals into a perpetual motion machine.

You have to ask yourself why anyone with any integrity would be a part of this fiasco.  Why are wealthy and influential people staying in, much less groveling like Tillerson did on MTP last Sunday?  It’s mind blowing to watch these otherwise smart people hang on while the WH turns into Fukushima on the Potomac.  The longer they do, the more they will get irradiated from this meltdown.

The new State Department spokeswoman is Heather Nauert of Fox and Friends fame.

If I didn’t think he’s probably Dick Cheney with better hair, I’d feel real bad for Rex Tillerson.  It’s obvious that they are not letting him run the State Department and now they named his spokeswoman based on her amazing foreign policy experience ….

During the controversy over Nordstrom dropping Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, Nauert tweeted out her support for the brand in spite of “liberal pressure,” and included a photograph of herself wearing the brand’s items.

Well, I guess I’m being harsh. Ivanka’s clothing line is made in some foreign place, so that counts.

Thanks to Rudie for the heads up.

Little Marco must have woken up this morning with a horse’s head in his bed …

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced Monday morning that he would support President Trump’s pick to lead the State Department, removing the last significant stumbling block to the nomination.

Rubio, who aggressively questioned secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson during his hearing earlier this month, had been the lone Republican holdout on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

… so now we will have a jackass’s butt in is bed.

Truly, little Marco.  Tiny little all talk and no action Marco.

What a wimp.