Being an old fart I remember well The Who’s classic We Won’t Get Fooled Again and the iconic line “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” With his Lincoln Reflecting Pool project still mired in… well, algae Trump has chosen a new contractor (no bid of course) to fix the the problem his first pal/contractor (also no bid) hasn’t been able to solve. With apologies to The Who, it’s a case of Meet the new criminal contractor, same as the old criminal contractor.
Ok, there’s a slight difference. As this article from The Daily Beast explains Trump’s first pal who got a no bid contract (that ballooned in cost) had been nailed for bribing a Congress Critter and violation of campaign finance laws. The new guy? You’ll love this because of how Trump has been screaming about ‘voter fraud’ for years and what did the new contractor get nailed for? That’s right folks – VOTER FRAUD! Even The Onion can’t make this shiite up. The new $2.7 million (to start) contract to fix the algae problem is going to a Massachessets based company who’s CEO is being prosecuted for election fraud:
Renewable energy company American Ag Energy will repair and maintain the pool’s sewage and purification systems, according to the official contract description.
The one-year contract could be extended for another five years and grow to up to $8.8 million, CNN reported.
The company’s CEO, Richard Rosen, was convicted last year of voter fraud for casting ballots in the 2016 election in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
It’s like being a criminal is a prerequisite for both being a Trump pal and getting a nice, fat no-bid contract to NOT get some work done. Anyway, as the linked article notes Rosen was actually convicted last year. He appealed (hey, he’s a Trump pal!) and the state Supreme Court ruled the judge at his trial made some ‘inappropriate evidentiary rulings. They remanded the case back to conviction was overturned and remanded back to Grafton County Superior court. There’s no details on what the State Supreme Court thought was improper but if they’ve got proof he cast ballots in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire it’s hard to see how that’s not fraud. Committed by a Republican which is usually the case in the handful of instances nationally when someone is actually charged with voter fraud.
Oh well. For now as noted Rosen’s initial contract is for a year and at a cost of $2.7 million. It can as noted be extended for up to five years for a total cost of $8.8 million. In theory. You know as well as I do that since like the original contract it was a no-bid deal there is language in there to allow for cost overruns. Trump wants another pal to get a nice payday but he also will want his own cut of the action and so all sorts of ‘unforeseen’ ‘issues’/problems will magically show up and golly gee it would be unfair for some incompetent Trump pal contractor to have absorb unforeseen costs! Plus as I said Trump is going to want at least as much as his contractor is getting so double, or even triple the numbers cited above.
The only thing that will stop this nonsense is a new, Democratic administration so keep an eye on this. Costs to control algae in the Reflection Pool are going to shoot up like a rocket in the next couple of years because deep down inside Trump knows it’s unlikely Justa Dumbass Vance or Little Marco Rubio or some other Trump sycophant asshat who might emerge (Don Jr.?) will be there to keep the grift going for the full five years. One final thought – the money has to come from somewhere and that means still more money appropriated by Congress for actual National Park needs will instead be re-routed by the Park Service to Trump and another of his pals.
Friends, I know everybody begs you for money. I promise you that, of all the outlets bugging you for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a bunch of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. But the rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the ability to continue our quest to tell the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Voter fraud, schmoter fraud! It’s ok if you’re a republican.