This has me so angry I can barely type! Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michelle Fiore, also known as Lady Trump, was convicted of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was set to be sentenced – until tRump stepped in. Now she won’t be serving any time! Yep, another scandalous pardon! What. The. H*ll.
From MSNBC: “According to the evidence compiled by federal prosecutors, Fiore used her position as a Las Vegas city councilor to raise money for a seemingly good cause: The Republican said she wanted to build a statue memorializing a police officer who’d been killed while on duty. The effort was successful, and Fiore raised tens of thousands of dollars. The statue, however, was never built. Instead, according to the criminal indictment, Fiore used the money to pay fundraising bills, subsidize her rent, pay for plastic surgery, and even help cover the expenses of her daughter’s wedding.” This was $70,000 wasted on *her*. SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
And those donors will *never* get their money back, because it’s gone, gone, gone. “Though she pleaded not guilty, a jury heard the evidence and found her guilty of six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Following her conviction, Fiore was poised to be sentenced, and she was likely to be sent to prison for quite a while.” She was convicted by a JURY. They found her GUILTY. But all that work was for naught because she was pardoned. What kind of crap is this??!!
Traditionally, pardons have been used to right a wrong or protect those who have been falsely accused of wrongdoing. But Agent Orange pardons Republicans who are going to jail, or will be going to jail, because they are supporters and allies. Nothing more, nothing less. These are not righting wrongs, not even close. He seems to have a soft spot for politicians who were convicted of corruption. Gee, ya think? The king of corruption pardons those like him. That’s become obvious the more pardons he issues. (I won’t get into the whole J6 group because that makes me even angrier, and now they owe him, so he can call on them any time.)
The Washington Post published this memorable roundup on the last day of Trump’s first term: “Since Trump took office, two incumbent Republican congressmen have been convicted of crimes, Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), as has a former congressman, Steve Stockman (R-Tex.). Trump pardoned all three of them. Trump also pardoned four former Republican congressmen convicted before his presidency: Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), Mark Siljander (R-Mich.) and Randall “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.). … [A]ccording to GovTrack’s Legislator Misconduct Database, Trump has now pardoned a majority of Republican congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century.” This fool is our president. See what I just said in the previous paragraph. Of course, he also dodged jail when he was elected again. With any luck, we might be able to restart one of them after he leaves office, and I refuse to believe he will not leave. And I *do* believe that we will overturn the Republican majorities in Congress in 2026. Change is going to be difficult, but it will happen!
This is damn near unbelievable. But it’s happened. And we have to believe it’s happened. What’s the use of bringing a corrupted Republican up on charges and finding him (or her) guilty by a jury, when he’s just going to take care of them? We are wasting time and money on something that should have put them in jail for a good, long time. I would guess there is a lot of frustration in the background. But we have good, honest people who keep trying anyhow. That’s something we need to remember.
*****And now, please read a very special request from our awesome boss******
Zoomers, we feel guilty asking for cash, but if you can spare a small amount, it will keep us trekking through cyberspace. Many hands make light work, many small contributions add up to enough. And most of all, we thank you for coming here to read. Ursula
