Gosh, I’m still trying to wrap my head around Rick Perry still being a Cabinet Secretary. Must be his turn to take the heat off Trump.
9
Google: Robert Bensh and Special Forces. Enjoy.
now there's a surprise.
Clearly, this is a business deal. Our supposed president was using his power to try to help out his corporate buddy, Rick Perry. Rick asked Donald for help and Donald responded. Rick Perry should be investigated as well. In fact, let's investigate the whole thing, including Hunter Biden. Let's get a good reading on corruption in the American government.
13
Remember Tom Price (former HHS secretary and GA-6 rep)? Remember him feeding at the trough for personal gain, and possibly being involved in insider trading?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp is considering appointing Mr. Price to fill the Senate seat of Johnny Isakson, who is retiring. This would set Mr. Price up to run for Senate in the 2020 election.
I hope Mr. Kemp does appoint Tom Price. This will give Georgia voters a perfect choice for Senate in 2020: Trump corruption vs. honest public servant.
9
Globalization anyone?
2
So many republican big shots with their hands in the Ukraine cookie jar bears some concern.
14
Huh, so many that's why he rumored to leave his position soon...
6
Is he recommending Koch?
2
Oops. That's is all anyone need say about Rick Perry, an embarrassment to Texas and to the country.
10
Having Rick Perry go over to Ukraine and try to get his pals onto the board of a powerful company while the President has leverage over the entire country is TOTALLY different from the Biden situation.
Ukraine Clown Posse.
13
Just sayin'....is Perry even qualified for the Sec. of Energy job? He has a degree in Animal Husbandry. Obama's Secretary taught at M.I.T. Trump's claim of getting "only the best." Just another obvious example--it's about "THEM" and not the national good. And if you don't like it? That's just tough.
19
Hmmmm . . . Rick Perry . . . is Trump running out of scapegoats? I'll believe it when it's Ben Carson.
13
Sure, with Giuliani and his Russian friends, big donors to the GOP:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/07/administration-is-exporting-its-own-corruption-ukraine/
2
The most corrupt administration in American history.
22
I have a suggestion for all Democrats. Whenever you are asked about Biden and Ukraine simply say. "Rick Perry " and nothing else. When Trump brings up "Pocahontas," or Elizabeth Warrens new controversy about her pregnancy, just say, "Bone Spurs," and nothing else. Insert favorite Trump lie or self-aggrandizement of you choice.
25
I'm really looking forward to a remake of The Defiant Ones, starring Rick & Rudy.
8
Secretary Perry has led oops for nearly three years. That's something.
6
Rick Perry's lust for money and power via a Ukraine gas company didn't entangle or ensnare him into Trump's hunt for dirt. Perry jumped in with "all fours". Rick went looking for foreign oil; a de facto take over of a state-owned gas company with billions in potential payoffs for him and donor cronies.
12
The Energy Secretary and the Ambassador to the E.U.? Setting American foreign policy? Without the State Department staff? In deals involving campaign contributors getting on the board of an energy monopoly?
This is Government By Theft. This is Junta-level stuff. I’ll bet the Ukrainians took one look at that wolffish grin on Perry’s face and said the same thing Stormy Daniels said: “Hoo-boy. Here we go.”
13
Surprise. It’s not corruption as if anyone believed that, but protecting the territory of corruption for their own operations like a good criminal family enterprise the American government has become in a few short years. Never thought I’d see the day when Democrats have become the Elliot Ness G-man figure but it’s here. Unbelievable.
3
Am I the only person not making money helping to loot the Ukrainian economy? I'm feeling quite left out. (Emoji Pout)
10
I seem to be the only American not trying to do business in the Ukraine.
10
I’m beginning to think the Marx brothers Freedonia would have been less corrupt and more responsible than this administration......
12
So the Governor is trying to push his republican cronies into one Ucranian gas company while the President is trying to investigate a democrat that was in another. It looks like the Administration confuses policy with comedy. I wonder if the President of Ucraine, a well-known comedian, thinks it is funny.
9
Is there ANYONE in this administration who isn’t completely corrupt?
11
For a point of reference, Paul Manafort made about $60 million in a couple years. And he only had a small role and really did nothing. He did not have the pull of Rick Perry, never mind Trump
8
"Designated fall-guy" and "Least-awful member of Trump's cabinet" will look good on Perry's resume.
7
Mr. Perry has quite a history of contrivances:
Cancer Cronyism (Huffpost, 25Oct2013)
Six years ago, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) was founded. Voters funded the institute with $3 billion ... Initially, CPRIT was able to attract top scientific minds, including two Nobel laureates ... when a Houston bio-tech investor intervened in the grant review process to speed up an award he particularly favored, the scientists resigned ... saying that the considerations for investing on every application for funding had more to do with political connections ... The chairman of CPRIT, Jimmy Mansour, ... who is a major campaign contributor to Texas Governor Rick Perry ... wanted the money to go to businesses instead of researchers ... One significant campaign donor to Rick Perry didn’t even go into the cancer cure business until after CPRIT was founded, and then he got the millions he needed from the taxpayer fund ... emails related to the decision to award the money to Peloton Therapeutics of California have now disappeared ... One of the investors in Peloton is a Dallas philanthropist who, according to the Dallas Morning News, has given $240,000 to Rick Perry’s campaigns ... Missing emails are never a good sign... CPRIT was established through the good faith of voters that wanted to give hope to cancer patients. Instead, Perry is giving hope to political cronies ... In Texas, political cronyism is an epidemic with no apparent cure.
12
A really excellent piece of deep journalism on a highly complex and important topic. Energy politics (and corruption) is what makes Ukraine so important to Russia, and therefore also to the US. Even if there is not some major "gotcha" here, this is vital background. It's great to see the NYT competing so effectively with the WSJ on global business news!
8
Trump has now implicated Perry in the Ukraine imbroglio. That leaves Jared Kushner as the sole remaining major player whose activities have yet to be questions. One wonders what Jared and President Zelensky discussed while seated next to each other at a dinner in Brussels on June 4.
8
I think this highlights the difficulties of helping modernize countries, and in this case help Ukraine be independent. It doesn't stink of corruption, rather it stinks of profiteering, but at the same time how can you expect people who have experience in modernization to help without some sort of compensation for their efforts. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden did nothing and collected 50k/month and then Joe extorted Ukraine to drop the corruption investigation
1
Ukraine-gate doesn't doesn't need all these weeds.
All that matters is that Trump the crook tried to do the very thing that he falsely accused Biden of doing. And in the process, he solicited foreign help to undermine those pesky US intelligence agencies, while also seeking dirt on his apparent re-election opponent.
Trump's place in the record books is secure.
6
It’s not clear that Perry did anything wrong. Maybe, but nothing obvious from this article. I’m not a fan of his, but we ought not rush to judgment.
For perspective, it’s pretty clear to me that Trump abused and debased the office with his attempt to use the Presidency for personal and political advantage. He’s worse than Nixon. (At least Nixon just used burglars, not the office of the presidency to commit the underlying crime.) But presumably at least some of the people tied up in this were innocent bystanders.
2
"Mr. Perry’s efforts, while broadly consistent with American national security and energy objectives, intersected with those of the figures involved in the pressure campaign."
The first statement is correct. Of all the economic activities of the Ukraine, the one that worries the US the most is the transport of Russian gas - the chief supplier of natural gas to Europe - through Ukrainian pipelines.
The US has put huge pressure on Germany not to use the Russian funded alternative, Nord Stream.
The second statement "intersected with those of the figures" leaves out the central figure : Hunter Biden, a cocaine user, expelled from the US Navy for using it, with no experience in the energy business, employed by the company of a former minister of the Ukrainian government, who as Minister of Environment, had the ultimate say over the gas pipelines in the Ukraine.
2
A country conducting foreign policy - diplomacy in it's own self interest is not corruption.
1
This rather confusing and poorly structured report states: "Mr. Perry’s focus during the trip on Ukraine’s energy industry was ... consistent with United States policy of promoting anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine ..." Is this supposed to exonerate Perry of suspicions that he was using his "advising" to get cronies and party donors in on a deal with the gas company? Is it supposed to be established by the story that his efforts were not themselves corrupt, but instead "consistent with anti-corruption efforts"? It's very unclear what the authors think they have done to secure this conclusion. But it's also very unclear what the authors thought they were establishing period.
2
I was going to say Rick Perry is one of only two long-standing Trump appointees who will escape irreparable damage to their reputation and possible criminal liability. The other is Nikki Haley. I guess I spoke too soon. Perry's resignation was leaked four days ago. The timing is awfully convenient, don't you think? Apparently Perry isn't going to skate. Thank goodness.
3
Why can't the true narrative that the Trump administration wanted their own insiders to profit from their own control of Ukraine energy circulate as loudly as Trump's Biden charges? With Trump, there's always more. So this is what Perry's been up to!
I think that Ivanka, Jared, Don Jr. and Eric, as well as Barr's daughter and son-in-law and Guiliani's son should take over the nepotism investigation for the Trump campaign.
4
It's a small, small world when you are pursuing immense profits from natural resources.
2
This seems like quasi-legal corruption, not as bad, perhaps, as existed in the Ukraine before the government change, but keeping the control of the operations closely held, and offering investment opportunities with guaranteed returns to those selected by Perry.
1
Are we surprised? When haven't US policies been linked to energy resources?
When it comes to Rick Perry? He doesn't need glasses, he wears them because he was told they make him look smarter during his disastrous presidential campaign.
Wonder how smart he's feeling today.
42
@Lou Good Rick Perry is 69 years old. EVERYBODY that needs at least reading glasses (or much longer arms.) Presbyopia only spares those who die young.
If you would like Biden’s name cleared, the best thing is do an unbiased investigation of Hunter Biden’s nomination to the Oligarch’s Energy Company. Who recommend his name?
5
@Data, Data & More Data - Forget about the Bidens. You're paying attention to an unconfirmed match burning down the street, while there's a big fire in front of you.
6
@Data, Data & More Data:
It's already been done, more than once.
1
@Data, Data & More Data I would like to trust the President. He has more power than Biden.
This is why Trump is after Biden's son...he might have stood in the way of such doubledealing that is totally self-serving and corrupt! The corruption Trump says he wanted to do away with, the corruption he in fact has enabled for all his "supposed" Secretaries, this one named Rick Perry. Where is the FBI? Come on America...demand this.
51
@JHM Yes -- if Trump were serious about investigating "corruption" at Burisma, where is the call to look into Cofer Black's role on the same board as Hunter Biden? He was Bush's chief of counter-intelligence: what does *he* know about natural gas?
3
This whole deal stinks to high heavens of corruption.
Trump is busy fanning up a smoke screen about the Bidens but the source of the stink is really the Trump administration.
62
This is a classic example of corruption. Trump and his cronies are selling America for personal gain. God knows how much money going into the Swiss accounts. This is a shameful era of American history. It is an open door policy of Trump administration to entertain the crooks helping the Republican Party or Trump’s re-election. It is a travesty!
49
@Rm
"God knows how much money going into the Swiss accounts."
Or the Cayman Islands. Or Cypress. Or money laundering countries none of us normal people have yet heard of.
3
Is this a normal sort of mission for an Energy secretary? Do they often travel to various countries offering advice about the board? Do they often work with natural gas companies that have nothing to do with US gas supply? Just what exactly has Rick Perry been up to over the past couple years anyway?
67
@Mford It's an administration within the administration, filled with rogue operators with no oversight. And we're worried about Russian interference?
2
They’ve been breaking down the doe ensuring as little research as possible can be done and reported related to climate change!!
5
Were those recommended by Sec. Perry truly knowledgeable managers and engineers or more political associates and crony capitalists?
If I were a Ukrainian, I would be wary of Americans using assistance as leverage for economic imperialism.
23
Is there a there there? What troubles me is that US government officials (i.e. Perry) introduce private, connected people to Naftogoz and to one degree or another lobby for these private interests it seems.
As an ethical matter, government officials should not be in the business of making private business introductions.
29
@Jonathan Sanders, kickback network.
2
So Secretary Perry is substantially off the hook on the Biden side of things Ukraine, since national energy policy is at the center of his dealings. We can overlook a little self-serving on his part in using past donors as candidates for the board. That's SOP. But Rudy is becoming more and more Mr. Ukraine. He should wear a sash and cover his chest with medals.
11
This article adds much detail to the matter. It seems that Giuliani and Rick Perry were both trying to advance U.S. and Ukranian interests of increasing U.S. investment and expertise in the Ukranian energy sector in order to reduce the need for Russian gas in the the Ukraine and the E.U. This somehow threatened an ex-Obama administration official and associate of Joe Biden who was on the supervisory board of Naftogaz and, perhaps, Hunter Biden's company Burisma. In this context, the call for an investigation of the Bidens seems less a politcal favor and more a furtherance of legitimate policy.
5
@Bob K.
Except that you are throwing out unfounded innuendo, which is about all the Trump cabal can do well, it seems.
1
Now we’re getting somewhere. It wasn’t just about politics. It was about money. A lot of money. Who else is surprised?
26
So the same American Republican politicians who spent their careers decrying and have as ingrained in their platform opposition to “creeping socialism” want to be on the board of the Ukrainian state owned natural gas company?
Even our current elected Democratic Socialists know well enough not to advocate for that kind of influence peddling and letting their enterprise prosper.
12
So Secretary Perry is substantially off the hook on the Biden side of things Ukraine, since national energy policy is at the center of his dealings. We can overlook a little self-serving on his part in using past donors as candidates for the board. That's SOP. But Rudy is becoming more and more Mr. Ukraine. He should wear a sash and cover his chest with medals.
3
@Charlie, I don’t see any exoneration of Perry. Mr. Perry, aka “I wear fake glasses because they make me look so cute,” has no authority to broker deals in a foreign country. Nor has he any right to be involved in nominees to a foreign board. It’s hard to imagine Perry would not follow tRUMP policy and tRUMP talk to gently twist a few arms; Biden queries were all part of that.
1
So many interconnections between politicians and money, policy and business, favors owed and investigations of political opponents. This is the swamp that Trump promised to drain. But instead he's set new standards for life in the swamp and created new classes of swamp creatures.
When we let a corrupt businessperson into politics, we get corrupt politics.
23
"Mr. Perry’s focus...was consistent with United States policy of promoting anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and greater energy independence from Russia."
Also known as "exploit them when possible, desert them when no longer possible", just like what they did with Iraq and Libya, and will do with Afghanistan and unhappy Ukraine.
12
Rick Perry was not qualified to be the Energy Secretary but was installed anyway. Look at the trouble he has made.
20
Is Trump getting money/loan guarantees/whatever from Russia to dismantle the United States as opportunities to do so arise?
20
@Rupert, yes.
2
Perry was not working for the best interest of Ukrainian.
Perry and associates wanted to get control of Naftogaz so that it would buy US LNG via a Lithuanian port rather than Russian gas. This despite the fact that Russian gas is much cheaper. The US would like US LNG to be a base load supplier to Europe, but under a clean business environment at best US LNG is a seasonal top off supply and a security backup.
11
Why are we exporting our non-renewable energy resources?
@Acierto Such a disgrace the US Sec of DOE is trying to get cronies rich on fossil fuels rather than asing need to decarbonize energy economy to avert looming climate catastrophe.
1
It was once said of Rick Perry that he made George W. Bush look and sound like one of the intellectual titans of the last 100 years.
Wearing glasses didn't fool any one who listened to Perry's mooing. And the painter Bush has never been confused with the 2nd coming of Leonardo Da Vinci.
But the real question is who in the Bush Administration isn't working for their own personal profitable advantage using their government power and privilege?
13
@Blackmamba thank you for your wit. It is much appreciated in these dismal hours watching our democracy withers on the vine.
2
@Blackmamba
The trumpos seem to be intent on dividing up valuable natural resources, in this country, and now others, among a small band of oligarchs. Never let a cent "trickle down."
3
Has anyone ever seen "Three Days of the Condor?" A CIA within the CIA. Now we have a rogue government within the White House, acting without any oversight. And it's always about oil.
23
@Joanna Stelling
Or natural gas.
2
When Rick Perry testified at his confirmation hearing, he didn't really know what the Energy Department did. (Hint: One of its big roles has to do with nukes, Rick.)
Perry thought that his job involved flying around promoting the oil and gas industry.
After silent running for two years, we find Perry's real role in the Trump crime organization -- impose further corruption and sleaze into Ukraine's oil and gas operations. Given Vlad's interest in both oil/gas and Ukraine, I'd like to know what deals Trump cut with Putin and his Russian crime family.
53
I understand they asked that the board be replaced by "people more sympathetic to Republicans". One of these "sympathetic" guys was a Perry donor. If we cannot see the intent in this then we are indeed blind.
37
There seems to be a huge contradiction in this story: how are Perry's actions "consistent with US policy of promoting anti-corruption efforts" at the same time that he seems to be forcing Ukraine to give high-paying jobs to his American donors and oil-industry cronies (i.e., promoting new corruption in Ukraine)? That is the essence of the Trump/Giuliani approach to corruption in Ukraine--promote corruption so that they can skim off profits for themselves. Almost all the comments here get this, but the article's authors don't seem to.
44
@PGibby : Ukraine was seeking U.S expertise and investment. Perry was there to give them U.S. contacts and recommendations.
@PGibby
In its efforts to not be slanted they've produced something obviously slanted towards the president.
1
In spite of the relentless publication of articles like this, there are still far too many Trump supporters that still cry foul, whining about partisan attacks and that old chestnut, the "witch hunt."
One wonders where the tipping point will be and how much of our country will even be salvageable by then. Will the Trump administration and complicit Republicans have completely destroyed our trust in, and the functionality of, our government as well as our environment and economy before their supporters wake up?
22
@Roxy "In spite of the relentless publication of articles like this,"
Perhaps the "relentless publication" is not convincing to everyone, not even to me even though I am not a Republican.
It is obvious that the NYT has had a knife out for Mr. Trump since Jan 2017 and the more it publishes, the less I am convinced.
To be convincing, the party in question has to be neutral and fair minded, and one can hardly use these adjectives to describe the NYT.
But let us see. I am not convinced that Mr. Trump is honest either.
If you dont believe the NYT that Trump is unfit to be president, please go back to the Billy Bush tapes, where you can hear Trump's own words about his fine character and sexual predation, or look at the lawsuit against Trump "University", Trump's bankruptcies, and the investigation into the Trump Foundation. These are just a few things that were well known before he was elected. The evidence is overwhelming for those who dont refuse to see.
3
Rick Perry has always been obsessed with his image and he's always known when to abandon ship and save himself. Not a great sign for Trump that he's 'retiring'.
15
So many interconnections between politicians and money, policy and business, favors owed and investigations of political opponents. This is the swamp that Trump promised to drain. But instead he's set new standards for life in the swamp and created new classes of swamp creatures.
When we let a corrupt business person into politics, we get corrupt politics.
29
@Mark Miller Amen!
4
This is so Trump. Whatever he is accusing others of doing, he is doing himself. This is how he creates false equivalencies...
39
It wasn't at all embarrassing for Gorsuch to accept a stolen nomination to the nation's highest court. Why not start out with a ironic display of judicial ethics and morals? Stay tuned for his rulings.
Similarly Perry was infamous for his inability, on national television, to remember the name of the Department of Energy, which he hoped to abolish. What cabinet-level position should he be offered?
Same public slap in the face, same public defiance of embarrassment.
Stay tuned for Trump's trial by his peers-- in the all-millionaire Senate.
After the verdict, perhaps a commemorative tax cut!
24
Yep, never expected Rick to stay out of the swamp. I wonder what else he has been doing for the last 2.5 years?
13
We thought Rick Perry was different from all the other corrupt cabinet secretaries because he was quiet.
But there he was, in Ukraine, setting up a business deal for Trump's buddies and Manafort's oligarchs.
The entire administration is corrupt and acting in bad faith.
Come, Impeachment. Thy people have need of thee.
26
According to the GOP this type behavior is corrupt if done by a Democrat but all good if they are the ones reaping benefits. This country needs stronger laws to protect us against corruption. And we need to be able to investigate and indict our leaders when there is corruption. Enough with Justice Department acting like white house personal defense lawyer and pretending there are are people above the law.
23
They've all been compromised. Those standing on the sidelines with their hands completely wrung and pearls clutched between paws are complicit.
10
For Trump and company, "concerned about corruption" apparently means there isn't enough.
33
Looks like the only person NOT getting rich off exploiting politics and energy in the Ukraine was Joe Biden. Everyone connected to Trump is waist-deep in it.
33
@North That's how the strategy works. A classic illustration of Orwell's double speak.
2
Here we have evidence of the only real shadow government or “deep state” and its being operated and conducted by Trump and Associates.
46
This Ukraine stuff is pretty dense and a bit hard for me to track. As I read the article, I kept telling myself, the NY Times should publish a story that clarified the people and events in their own article.
This paragraph for example, seems overwhelmed by pronouns and qualifying clauses: "But Mr. Parnas and a partner who was also involved in Mr. Giuliani’s political efforts in Ukraine, Igor Fruman, also sought to install a presumptive ally as Naftogaz’s chief executive. They told a gas executive named Andrey Favorov that they could use their American political connections to help him become chief executive of Naftogaz, suggesting that, if appointed, he might steer the company to buy liquefied natural gas from them, according to Dale Perry, the managing partner of a company that competes with one run by Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman.
Who is the "them" in that phrase toward the end, "to buy liquefied natural gas from them?" I presume that's Parnas and Fruman. Correct? And not Giuliani?
9
@Christopher Beaver
Yeah, exactly, just who is selling and who is buying LNG? I would think that Putin would have veto power over this deal. Not to mention the enormous expense of the gas conversion plant. Was part of the deal that US foreign aid would foot the bill?
@Christopher Beaver
And which Mr. Perry is which? Rick or Dale?
I tried, really tried, to read this entire article and understand the nuances and the possible reasonable explanations. It would be so much easier if NYT just did what Fox News does - just describe the most damming relationships with full-bore outrage and insinuate criminal behavior supported by nonsense partisan statements like "Yes, they might have broken the law".
But, I am super glad that NYT doesn't sink to the level of Fox. Being an informed voter is a privilege and a responsibility.
9
Corruption appears to be in the eye of the beholder. An example of how the swamp just gets more infested. Good news is this neuters Trump’s argument that he was simply interested in rooting out corruption, but alas, the Trumpsters are blind to the fraud
9
Congratulations Mr. President! While you are waiting on military aid, let me recommend some friends to help you with another matter important to the United States.
8
The story illustrated the difficulty of getting convictions in white-collar criminal cases: too many strange players and unfamiliar names, too many doubts that can be raised about certainty of each element.
Contrast that with the simplicity of “Biden.”
6
This looks rotten. Perry has resigned already. Once again the implicit threat is clear. Military aid and weapons. We would like you to give lucrative natural gas deals to associates of the president THOUGH. Congress, subpoena the rubber ducky please.
10
Trump is the con man stuck in the Old West town he can't leave.
So, he just starts making things up to buy himself time.
But the whole town knows he's sold them all snake oil.
He's caught, and he knows it.
13
A reality television star was elected President of the USA. What did you expect?
20
Let's face facts: Endless Corruption.
7
Crazy, so can we have a spreadsheet, names, political party affiliation, oil companies or other interests in the Ukraine. At this point I get why the republicans want to shut down the enquiries, too many of them have their fingers stuck in oily Ukrainian pies. I am rapidly losing track of all the corruption happening, too much info. Or maybe have a series of comics, would make for stellar reading and help us all remember.
14
"...sought to pressure Mr. Zelensky’s government to investigate Mr. Trump’s rivals..."
Rivals, plural? Who else besides Joe Biden (his son is not a "rival") was Trump trying to have investigated?
8
Someone should also ask Rick Perry about approving the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. What was that about?
18
Whether it's Perry or Biden's son or whoever else is wrapped up in this corrupt country's business shows incredibly bad judgment.
3
Now we know why Perry is resigning.
4
And now Donald Trump is throwing Rick Perry under the bus, claiming the July 25 phone call was all Perry’s idea.
Par for the course. Sad!
10
I recall Mr. Perry when in a dispute with the Obama administration threatened secession from the Union. His buffoonery continues.
10
Why is our US Energy Secretary spending so much time in The Ukraine and Lithuania?
One would think he would be devoting most of his efforts on gaining US energy independence
Smells rotten
11
@gaslighted
I presume you meant energy dependence. Isn’t that what a Republican Energy Secretary would do?
1
Was Secretary Perry already on Dancing with the Stars or is that next for him?
4
I laugh out loud every time I hear Rick Perry's name. However he is no laughing matter. As a corrupt politician he has sent innocent people on death row in Texas to their deaths.
I hope justice someday finds Perry.
25
You knew Perry would eventually come up dirty. He was no good in Texas government.
7
Is Rick Perry under investigation?
3
Who would have guessed,
that any unwitting official,
foolish enough to work for Mr. Trump,
would begin to smell like hellish sulfur.
9
Perry is the next to go under the bus!
10
Everyone’s a shameless grifter in this administration.
19
This story continues to grow legs. Literally. The increasing number of people involved and the White House's obstruction of witnesses called by the House are indicative of a system, not the action of a few players. It's getting harder to believe President Trump was not the conductor tapping the baton. If that's true, all the king's horses and all the king's men...........
16
Reads a wee bit more damning to me than Biden's boy with a board role at a Ukrainian oil and gas co. Perry pulling strings, Trump doing illegal things, all the new normal is this twitter world. Drain the Swamp, team Trump. Nice work!
9
So Giuliani is running a shadow foreign policy, and meanwhile, Giuliani's compatriots are hustling for business deals. Giuliani gets Trump to fire Yovanovitch for her lack of "loyalty" to Trump (we take it for granted reading these articles that there is no question of loyalty to country where Trump is concerned), and this is deemed "very troubling and disturbing" to a business rival of Giuliani's cronies.
So is Giuliani both running a shadow foreign policy based on lunatic lying conspiracy theories AND lining his own pockets too? It's insane, and it's a kleptocracy?
As to Rick Perry, who knows, but my money is on Governor Oops being too dumb to be involved in these layers of corruption, but he might be Trump's perfect patsy.
161
@Ann Rudy doing precisely what he accuses the Bidens of doing.
11
@Ann
I'd like to see who in the GOP Trump camp is buying and selling stocks right before and after Trump makes those erratic and unexplained tariff remarks only to be abandoned or delayed not long after. That would be the only logical explanation I can come up with for Trump's behavior regarding this.
12
No wonder Rick announced his “retirement” the other day: saw the storm coming, ran for cover.
It’ll be a pleasure to see this guy go down.
160
@James
Perry contradicted that news report and stated that he is not retiring. For what it’s worth.
1
Rick Perry, a prime example of how this administration is defined by the Peter Principle.
118
@MG Even more accurate to say, defined by the imperative to make money for self and friends.
4
So Giuliani trying to get his 2 pals a sweetheart Ukrainian gas deal by playing off his authority as a Trump advisor/personal attorney in talks with Ukrainian officials. Doing exactly what he's accusing of the Bidens. What a guy.
157
So it's OK if Rick Perry tries to place Americans into Ukrainian oil companies. But it's a total scandal when Hunter Biden is one of those Americans?
295
@Mr. SeaMonkey
Biden is free of controversies...
Trump/Giuliani are not.
Believe the liars? Nope!
8
@Mr. SeaMonkey
You got it the other way around.
Joe Biden as Vice President to Obama went to Ukraine, his son got on the board of the gas giant. But that's cool, ask any Democrat or media. Not one is saying that is wrong, in fact they keep defending Joe saying he did nothing wrong.
Rick did his bit, and he now resigned over the flap.
Sounds like Joe should have resigned as VP to Obama.
Instead Democrats want him to run the country.
1
@Mr. SeaMonkey
Yes. Exactly. Obama and Trump administrations both sought to place *qualified* American oil executives in the Ukraine energy business. Not their unqualified kids.
1
Rick Perry has proven himself to be another pig at the trough of those who join government in order to begin lining their pockets on the job, and then to cash in fully once out of the office, before the office door has barely been closed. This is the American dream, defined by Trump, his mafioso family squatting in the WH and the cohort of miscreants that support him, blindly and with pockets ever-filling with more and more riches. Good luck to the USA.
131
The most venal, self-serving administration in US history.
276
@mls Yes, but if you go back to 2015-2016 this was all predicted. The voters knew and they still chose the thugs and crooks.
10
The majority of us did not—three million more. 75,000 suckers someone negated our votes.
2
Let's put aside - just for a moment - Mr. Perry's involvement in the trump administration's corrupt affairs in Ukraine.
The scarier thing for me is that we have an idiot running the Department of Energy.
141
@Know/Comment Fortunately the DoE can run perfectly well without Perry. But while we're at it, let's seize all Perry's assets. Every last nickel is ill-gotten.
16
OK I'm totally confused. Could someone please provide me with a one-paragraph executive summary? What's the net takeaway? Sorry, but I can't follow this.
17
@Fast Marty
Just listen to the Rachel Maddow show and she'll explain it to you clearly and precisely.
11
There’s money involved as well as politics. There are more quid pro quos than we first suspected. Giuliani is a thief as well as a henchman. They pretty much sums it up
8
@Fast Marty You won't need one paragraph. How about two words? Endless corruption.
9
Not surprised by this news. Perry is ill-suited for this position, was always in the pocket of the oil and gas industry from Day One, and is a moron to boot. Counting the days for this administration to be over.
102
I fear there are many, many other self-serving deals from Trump and the Republican party. It would explain a lot as to why Republicans have defended Trump in the face of bold corruption.
95
@Foxrepublican You claim that government doesn't work and then you make it not work. Simple.
1
Trump ain't the first, and he certainly won't be the last
Rick is Trump's fall guy and Rick knows it. But Rick's fall isn't going to cover the whole mess Trump made. Maybe Dancing With the Stars will have Rick on again.
63
With Trump's well-documented record of past and ongoing corruption it's impossible for me to believe that anything that he or Giuliani or their cronies is honest. It's easy to suspect that the entire "Biden Corruption" ruckus serves not only to smear his opponent, but to throw the hounds off the scent of their looting.
81
Doesn't mean Biden isn't also corrupt
It's hard not to suspect that the "Biden Corruption" noise is a way to divert attention from the action on the part of Trump and his cronies and donors. They can smell that easy money.
68
Trump and Corruption - a perfect match made when we he was a baby in Queens, NY. No wonder with his extensive experience he thinks accusing others of his own crimes will confuse the public.
75
So Trump's cronies were trying to get their cronies installed on this gas company's board while Trump was also pushing Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden for having an unearned place on the board of a Ukrainian gas company? Sounds about right for this administration...
209
@Hans
'So Trump's cronies were trying to get their cronies installed on this gas company's board '
So Joe Biden was trying to get his son installed on this gas company's board - and he did, and his son became a board member.
The GOP was trying to do what Joe Biden as Vice President successfully did.
1
@AutumnLeaf
What specifically did Biden fils do, besides giving his son the same surname, a pretty common practice in most societies?
1
@AutumnLeaf - I'll bite. How did Biden get his son on the board and what did Biden have to gain from it?
3
This whole Ukraine story is getting more complex by the day and seems to add more players every time there is a story.
Maybe Rick Perry was just lining up a job over there when he leaves the Administration at the end of the year. Nothing to do with the 2020 election or Trump's asking for a favor of Zelensky
It appears to me that there are a lot of job opportunities for Americans with connections in the Ukraine
31
This is not a one-off Perry deal; this has been his MO for years. While governor, he handed off Texas's Teacher Retirement System to investment-manager buddies. He helped rig the retire-rehire public employee system so that he could receive a $90K/year retirement check while still governor. Finally, as Jim Hightower points out, Perry caught Trump's attention through his system of energy-related crony capitalistic ventures in Texas, Rick Perry has had a career of the sort of wheeling and dealing described in this article. But what should we expect when we replace a nuclear physicist with a former cheerleader as Secretary of Energy?
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/rick-perry-teacher-pension-fund/
https://www.texastribune.org/2011/12/16/perry-retires-boost-pension-pay/
https://www.juancole.com/2016/12/capitalism-energy-secretary.html
490K
224
Golf course dealings, checks buy appointments, cash brings policy change and loyalty buys ?
17
From London it seems that the Republicans have given up on the constitution and what it says, while the democrats are still believers in it.
How else to understand?
122
@Hectoria
Yes, this cancer grew from the right.
11
Rick Perry earns from our taxpayer dollars $199,000 per year.
Rick Perry’s education - a bachelor’s degree in animal science. Nothing more.
Good riddance!
261
@MIMA Not the smartest nail in the box! Was appointed as a "yes man" and to destroy his Cabinet post. Right guy, right time!
44
@MIMA
I have no desire to defend Rick Perry, for whom I have little use. However, I can do without the ad hominem attack on his educational credentials. The list of truly accomplished people without a bachelor's degree in anything is a pretty long one (Gates, Jobs, etc.).
1
Wow, Rick Perry? I think he has been the only Cabinet official to avoid headline scandals up until this point. Congrats for making it further than almost anyone else in this cesspool!
182
@1K
I think Perry's involvement in trying to insert his favorites into Naftogaz rise to a level beyond merely the first class plane tickets and "cone of silence" telephone booth of other cabinet members. He's playing at intertwining international diplomacy and business - to the best interest of his future paychecks. And here w thought he was dumb.
55