Elaine Chao's turn

[CatWoman]

Donald Trump’s cabinet is fully awash in scandal this weekend, with HHS Secretary Tom Price having already resigned due to inappropriately taxpayer-funded private charter flights, and four other cabinet members caught up in similar scandals which may cost them their jobs. Now another member of Trump’s cabinet has been busted for financial corruption: Elaine Chao, who just happens to be married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Chao already had a history of scandal before Donald Trump picked her to be his Secretary of Transportation, a move which many have derided as an attempt on Trump’s part at ensuring McConnell’s loyalty. Now it turns out Chao is once again embroiled in scandal. When she took the cabinet position, she decided to hang onto six figures worth of stock in a company called Vulcan Materials (link). She resigned from the company’s board, but that was a meaningless gesture, because she kept her hand in the till. Why does this matter?

As the Secretary of Transportation, part of Elaine Chao’s job is to decide where U.S. taxpayer dollars go for infrastructure projects. She can steer taxpayer money right into the hands of Vulcan Materials, which in turn would serve to further enrich Chao herself. Her refusal to part ways with the stock, and to recuse herself from any decisions that might involve steering government business to the company, suggest corrupt intentions on her part. The bad news for Chao is that this financial corruption scandal is coming even as her fellow cabinet member just resigned in a financial corruption scandal.

It also serves to further underline just how corrupt of a decision Donald Trump made when he appointed Elaine Chao to his cabinet. He’s since inappropriately asked Mitch McConnell to sabotage the investigation into his Russia scandal. It’s clear in hindsight that he hired Chao to try to gain leverage over McConnell.


http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/chao-trump-scandal/5207/

Palmer Report links to this article:

Elaine Chao, champion of Trump's infrastructure plan, chose to keep stock in a building company

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, a leader in the Trump administration's effort to inject $1 trillion into America's crumbling infrastructure, chose to hold on to more than $300,000 of deferred stock awards in a transportation construction company after resigning from its board when she was confirmed to the Cabinet position.

Shares in the company — Vulcan Materials — climbed to a 10-year high in the days following Trump's election and have hovered there since, reflecting investors' optimism that the company's business and the construction sector will benefit from a federally funded infrastructure package.

Because of Chao's Cabinet position and the company's business, the stock awards present a conflict of interest.

Here's why: Chao could by turns propel an infrastructure plan in the company's best interest and gain financially when she sells her shares, assuming the price climbs if an infrastructure package gets through Congress.

https://www.marketplace.org/2017/09/29/business/elaine-chao-champion-trumps-infrastructure-plan-chose-keep-stock-in-building-company

[Mike Nelson]

1. They are...

...all swamp rats. My lasting impression is how she stood by Trump when he defended "very nice people" marching with Nazis.

Deplorable.

[Alice11111]

2. I stand by my men, both of them, said E Chow.

[malaise]

3. The is easily the most corrupt administration in history

Good effin' grief!

[Hortensis]

4. All except "the generals" with him now had very bad reputations ahead of time.

Suspect that must be literally true, Malaise. Interesting that appointees acceptable to the Koch types were also "like" Rump ethically, and that last was undoubtedly part of what allowed him to be sold on them as appointees.