A man who is walking their dog
FOUR TIMES he says he has the right; two of those times he says “the absolute right.”
He also insists that it’s just normal to fire IGs hired by The Other Guy, just normal and good sense. That’s not the case.
He also thinks it’s perfectly fine for Pompeo to make his staffers do household chores for him.
“Here’s a man that is supposed to be negotiating war and peace with major, major countries with weaponry like the world has never seen before,” Trump told reporters. “And the Democrats and the fake news media, they are interested in a man who is walking their dog.”
Trump fired the State Department’s inspector general, Steve Linick, on Friday. According to NBC, Linick has been investigating whether Pompeo and his wide made a staffer walk their dog, pick up dry cleaning and make them dinner reservations, as well as the circumstances of Pompeo’s sale of US weapons to Saudi Araba despite a congressional ban.
“I would rather have [Pompeo] on the phone with some world leader than have him wash dishes because maybe his wife isn’t there or his kids aren’t,” Trump said.
Of course, a third option would have been for the Pompeo family to hire dogwalkers and other helpers, rather than relying on State Department employees to do their personal errands.
It’s not a binary choice. “Either you wash my dishes, or I have to go home and wash them myself, leaving the Saudi ambassador waiting in my office.” No. Federal employees are not the only people available to do household chores for Mike Pompeo.
Surely the State Department or the Secretary of State can’t ask the president to fire their own IG without evidence of egregious conduct? Oh no, I forgot. That kind of ethical behavior was before we stepped through the looking glass. And he has no idea who it is of course. Except for all those times he said rude things about Mr Linnick.
Also, Pompeo executes the bus-avoidance maneuver of denying the president’s claim. That’s a black mark against him.
Ophelia: I don’t know if your connection with the state of Washington goes back to the late 60s/early 70s. If so, you might remember the illustrious Dixie Lee Ray, who was Secretary of Energy [or whatever dept had the nucs then], and later Governor of Washington. Wherever she went, she always had the highest paid, highest GS-grade dog walkers available.
A bit earlier, when I was there, Dixie was a professor of zoology at the Dub. Would get into fights taking ‘Pierre’ the poodle to Friday Harbor labs [no dogs allowed]. Dog also came to weekly dept seminars. Loved to pee on the seat pedestals in the lecture theater used for the seminars..
He says this every single time. He obviously either genuinely believes that it absolves him of any responsibility or it’s a brain tic. Or – as always – why not both?
“I’m going to start swinging my fists now. If they happen to come into contact with your face, it’s hardly my fault, right?”
Pompeo was no doubt worried about the optics if he were to be caught hiring an undocumented worker at below minimum wage to do his household duties.