What's wrong with this picture?

[_MeDotOrg]

Mike Pence spent the night at a Trump Hotel 180 miles away from Dublin, commuting 180 miles each day for his visit. To understand the insanity of this, you have to see a map of Ireland:



Trump's property is literally on the other side of the country. Can someone explain the cost/benefit ratio of shuttling the Vice President across the entire country of Ireland every day?

Put it another way: Imagine an Irish politician had meetings in New York City, but he stayed in Annapolis, Maryland because the Prime Minister had a hotel there. People would laugh at the ridiculousness of the idea.

This type of activity is exactly why the founding fathers wrote the emoluments clause.

[_Jersey Girl]

Why didn't he stay in Dublin instead of firing up AF2 every day?

Just as a matter of possible interest (or not) I spent $120 flying one way from London to Glasgow on British Airways. What's the price tag for needlessly putting AF2 in the air?

[Guest]

There's more to the story. From Politico:

In early Spring of this year, an Air National Guard crew made a routine trip from the U.S. to Kuwait to deliver supplies.

What wasn’t routine was where the crew stopped along the way: President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort, about 50 miles outside Glasgow, Scotland.

Since April, the House Oversight Committee has been investigating why the crew on the C-17 military transport plane made the unusual stay — both en route to the Middle East and on the way back — at the luxury waterside resort, according to several people familiar with the incident. But they have yet to receive any answers from the Pentagon.

The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland. According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. The letter also cites a Guardian report that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.

Taken together, the incidents raise the possibility that the military has helped keep Trump’s Turnberry resort afloat — the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.

There are reports of servicemen walking around Turnberry going "WTF"?

And yet the Pentagon refuses to respond the Oversight Committee. When it is clear to the Pentagon that their cooperation with the Oversight Committee will make for a happier outcome in the Appropriations Committee, I think you will see some movement. If this becomes part of a formal impeachment inquiry, I don't think they can continue to stonewall.

This is all just so effing blatant. How bright is Mike Pence for going along with all of this?

Someone compared this to a mob boss expecting his cut, his tribute, on the action. I cannot think of a logical reason not to think of this as textbook violation of the emoluments clause.

[_Jersey Girl]

According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base.

A U.S. military base where? There aren't any in Scotland, if in the UK they would've had to fuel in England.

It's late. I may not be following the point of the article correctly.

[_MeDotOrg]

According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base.

A U.S. military base where? There aren't any in Scotland, if in the UK they would've had to fuel in England.

It's late. I may not be following the point of the article correctly.

My understanding is that normally the C-17s flying the route would refuel at Ramstein in Germany or Rota in Spain. This was not previously S.O.P. for flying this route. The U.S. Military typically refuels at U.S. Military bases with fuel and housing. There is not a logical reason for refueling in Scotland.

[_canpakes]

My understanding is that normally the C-17s flying the route would refuel at Ramstein in Germany or Rota in Spain. This was not previously S.O.P. for flying this route. The U.S. Military typically refuels at U.S. Military bases with fuel and housing. There is not a logical reason for refueling in Scotland.

The ‘reason’ is to enrich the family of a corrupt President. ; )

[_MeDotOrg]

My understanding is that normally the C-17s flying the route would refuel at Ramstein in Germany or Rota in Spain. This was not previously S.O.P. for flying this route. The U.S. Military typically refuels at U.S. Military bases with fuel and housing. There is not a logical reason for refueling in Scotland.

The ‘reason’ is to enrich the family of a corrupt President. ; )

Well...I stand corrected. Let me rephrase: There is no logical reason why the United States Military would see the refueling stop in Scotland as a cost effective option.

The more I think about the two specific incidents of Pence in Ireland and the refueling stop in Scotland, it seems that these are clearly grounds for impeachment under the emoluments clause. I think on these two instances alone, there is enough evidence to bring the President to an impeachment trial. But with respect to grounds for impeachment, these 2 counts could be the tip of the iceberg.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

- Doc

[_canpakes]

- Doc

President Butthurt speaks.

Maybe I’d have considered his words were they penned with a Sharpie. That would have lent instant credibility to the situation.

[_Some Schmo]

If it appears Trump is committing some kind of crime, it's because Trump is committing some kind of crime.

There's nothing innocent about this guy. I've never encountered anyone less deserving of the benefit of the doubt. His crimes are in plain sight, and only morons/assholes can ignore them.