MILLIONAIRE HOTELIERS SHOULD NOT CHANGE CAREERS IN MIDLIFE
I think I heard it first from Kellyanne Conway, ectomorphic champion of The Chosen One and discoverer of the heretofore unknown existence of “alternate facts.” One of those facts was that charges of bribery against her boss in the Ukraine Affair were based on only hearsay, not direct evidence, and therefore not relevant. Apparently that pithy bit of insight was shared by virtually all GOP members of the House Intelligence Committee, who repeated it as though it were enshrined in the Republican Book of Common Cant.
It must have buoyed spirits in Donald J. Trump’s base, though. Not so with me and other radical freethinkers who thought the lack of “direct evidence” might have another explanation. That would be because Trump gagged all his subpoena-defying co-conspirators and ordered them not to appear before the House Intelligence Committee hearings. He also refused to hand over documents subpoenaed by the Committee. An effective short-term ploy…until the Constitution catches up with him.
Tomorrow, if all goes as planned, the public will hear hearsay become heardsay, and Trump’s wall of obstruction will likely be further breached. That’s when the president’s ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, will testify publicly for the first time about his July 26 morning cell phone call from Kyiv to the president in Washington. As has been widely reported, Sondland loudly assured Trump on that call that he had met with the Ukrainian President, and that President Zelensky “loved his ass” and was eager to investigate the Bidens for him. Unfortunately for the pair, their voices we overheard by the Ambassador’s three dining companions, members of our diplomatic staff in Ukraine. One of them, David Holmes, blabbed. Oops!
Mr. Sondland, already flirting with perjury charges, has not proved to be one of those “best people” the President promised us. He used an unsecure cell phone at Russia’s door, a blunder of the highest order. He lacks respect from his peers. He’s perhaps best described as the Inspector Clouseau of the diplomatic world.
Yet Sondland, a successful hotelier, seemed well-qualified when Trump appointed him. He had no experience for the new job. He was a rich business man who prided himself on “being transactional.” And he contributed a million dollars to the Trump campaign.
Look to find Gordon under the bus, soon.
In closing, I’d like to say a word in defense of hearsay. Did you know that the consensus view of Biblical scholars is that none of the four Gospelers—Mark, Mathew, Luke and John—ever met Jesus personally, or heard him speak? (Neither did the Apostle Paul of Tarsus, though he claimed to have seen Jesus after his death on the cross.) Doesn’t that make The New Testament hearsay?
Try telling that to the world’s 2.2 billion Christians. You might want to start with Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan and Kellyanne.