{"id":222664,"date":"2020-12-10T07:29:10","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T07:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=222664"},"modified":"2020-12-13T08:25:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T08:25:37","slug":"president-bidens-corruption-already-pervades-his-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=222664","title":{"rendered":"President Biden\u2019s Corruption Already Pervades His Administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Zuesse \u2013 Strategic Culture Dec 8, 2020<\/strong><\/h1>\n

That didn\u2019t take long. He\u2019s not even in office, and he has already surrounded himself, as the incoming President, with individuals who derive their wealth from (and will be serving) America\u2019s top defense contractors and Wall Street. The likelihood that these Government officials will be biting the hands that feed them is approximately zero. Great investigative journalists have already exposed how corrupt they are. For that to be the case so early (even before taking office) is remarkable, and only a summary of those reports will be provided here, with links to them, all of which reports are themselves linking to the incriminating evidence, so that everything can easily be tracked back to the documentation by the reader here, even before there are any \u2018Special Prosecutors\u2019 (as if those were serving anyone other than the opposite Party\u2019s political campaigns, and, ultimately, the opposite Party\u2019s billionaires).<\/p>\n

First up, is the independent investigative team of David Sirota and Andrew Perez. On December 4th, they bannered \u201cThe Beltway Left Is Normalizing Corruption And Corporatism\u201d<\/a>, and reported that \u201cA month after the election, Biden\u2019s nominations make clear that the president-elect is most focused on trying to fulfill his <\/em>promise<\/em><\/a> to donors that nothing fundamentally changes. And yet, that tacit admission may have stunned those who keep hearing from liberal and progressive groups in Washington that, in fact, the left has been notching monumental victories in Biden\u2019s cabinet appointments<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberal (that\u2019s to say Democratic Party) U.S. media hide the corruptness of Democratic politicians, and conservative (that\u2019s to say Republican Party) U.S. media hide the corruptness of Republican politicians; and, so, the public today are getting corrupt leaders whichever side they vote for. No mainstream \u2018news\u2019 media report what independent investigative journalists such as Sirota and Perez report. Authentically good journalists use as sources \u2014 and link to in their articles \u2014 neither Democratic nor Republican allegations, but instead are on the margins, outside of the major media, and so rely on whistleblowers and other trustworthy outsiders, not on people who are somebody\u2019s paid PR flacks, individuals who are being paid to deceive. As Sirota and Perez state: \u201cWhat little organized left political infrastructure exists in Washington is largely valorizing or publicly defending swamp creatures who at minimum deserve a loyal opposition. The <\/em>good work<\/em><\/a> being done by a small handful of under-resourced groups to mount a real opposition is getting trampled by a culture of obsequiousness. This culture of acquiescence gives swamp creatures a free pass<\/em>.\u201d It\u2019s all some sort of mega-corporate propaganda \u2014 100% billionaire-supported on the conservative side, 100% billionaire-supported also on the liberal side, and 0% billionaire-supported for anything that is authentically progressive (not dependent, at all, upon the aristocracy).<\/p>\n

That independent reporting team focused on Biden\u2019s having chosen an economic team which will start his Administration already offering to congressional Republicans an initial Democratic Party negotiating position that accepts Republicans\u2019 basic proposals to cut middle class Social Security and health care benefits in order for the Government to be able to continue expanding the military budgets and purchases from the billionaire-controlled firms, such as Northrop Grumman \u2014 firms whose entire sales (or close to it) are to the U.S. Government and to the governments (U.S. \u2018allies\u2019) that constitute these firms\u2019 secondary markets. (In other words: those budget-cuts aren\u2019t going to be an issue between the two Parties and used by Biden\u2019s team as a bargaining chip to moderate the Republicans\u2019 position that favors more for \u2018defense\u2019 and less for the poor, but are actually accepted by both<\/em> Parties, even before the new Administration will take office.) Obviously, anything that both sides to a negotiation accept at the very start of a negotiation will be included in the final product from that negotiation; and this means that during a Biden Presidency there will be reductions in middle-class Social security and health care benefits in order to continue, at the present level \u2014 if not to increase yet further \u2014 Government spending on the products and services of such firms as Lockheed Martin and the Rand Corporation (firms that control their market by controlling their Government, which is their main or entire market).<\/p>\n

Sirota and Perez focus especially upon one example: Neera Tanden, whom Biden chose on November 30th to be the White House Budget Director, and who therefore will set the priorities which determine how much federal money the President will be trying to get the Congress to allocate to what recipients:<\/p>\n

Despite Tanden\u2019s <\/em>push for Social Security cuts<\/em><\/a>, Beltway liberal groups whose mission is to defend Social Security <\/em>lauded<\/em><\/a> her<\/em><\/a> think tank<\/em><\/a>. Despite Tanden having her organization <\/em>rake in cash<\/em><\/a> from Wall Street, Amazon, billionaires and (<\/em>previously<\/em><\/a>) foreign governments, a Ralph Nader-founded, all-purpose consumer advocacy group <\/em>praised<\/em><\/a> CAP as \u201cone of our key partners in the fight to tax corporations and the rich, rein in monopoly power, tackle government corruption, and much more.\u201d Despite Tanden <\/em>busting<\/em><\/a> a union at CAP, <\/em>two<\/em><\/a> national <\/em>union leaders<\/em><\/a> in Washington lauded her.<\/em><\/p>\n

Next up: One of the rare honest non-profits in the field of journalism is the Project on Government Oversight, POGO, which refuses to accept donations from \u201canyone who stands to benefit financially from our work,\u201d and which states in its unique \u201cDonation Acceptance Policy\u201d<\/a> that, \u201cPOGO reviews all contributions exceeding $100 in order to maintain this standard.\u201d In other words: they refuse to be corrupt. Virtually all public-policy or think-tank nonprofits are profoundly corrupt, but POGO is the most determined exception<\/em> to that general rule.<\/p>\n

On 20 November 2020, POGO headlined \u201cShould Mich\u00e8le Flournoy Be Secretary of Defense?\u201d<\/a> and their terrific investigative team of Winslow Wheeler and Pierre Sprey delivered a scorching portrayal of Flournoy as irredeemably corrupt \u2014 it ought to be read by everybody. It\u2019s essential reading throughout, and its links to the evidence are to the very best sources. So, I won\u2019t summarize it, because all Americans need to know what it reports, and to be able to verify, on their own (by clicking onto any link in it that interests them), any allegation that the given reader has any question about. However, I shall point out here the sheer hypocrisy of the following which that article quotes Flournoy as asserting: \u201cIt will be imperative for the next secretary to appoint a team of senior officials who meet the following criteria: deep expertise and competence in their areas of responsibility; proven leadership in empowering teams, listening to diverse views, making tough decisions, and delivering results.\u201d (Of course, that assertion presumes<\/em> the given \u2018expert\u2019 to be not only authentically expert but also honest and trustworthy, authentically representing the public\u2019s interest and no special interests whatsoever \u2014 not at all corrupt \u2014 which is certainly a false allegation in her own case.) She had urged the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and had participated in planning and overseeing both the war against Syria, and the coup that destroyed Ukraine (and none of those countries had ever invaded, or even threatened to invade, the United States); and, so, for her to brag<\/em> about her \u201cdelivering results\u201d is not merely hypocritical, it is downright evil, because she is obviously proud, there, of her vicious, outright voracious, record.<\/p>\n

Her business-partner, Tony Blinken, has already received Biden\u2019s approval to become his Secretary of State, and the first really good investigative journalist that American Prospect<\/em> magazine has had, Jonathan Guyer, headlined on November 23rd, \u201cWhat You Need to Know About Tony Blinken\u201d<\/a>, and what Guyer reports is just what any well informed reader would expect<\/em> to see for a business partner of Flournoy\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Guyer\u2019s report closes by making passing reference to a CBS \u2018news\u2019 puff-piece for Blinken. In that CBS puff-piece<\/a>, Blinken says, \u201ca President Biden would be in the business of confronting Mr. Putin for his aggressions, not embracing him. Not trashing NATO, but strengthening its deterrence, investing in new capabilities to deal with challenges in cyberspace, in outer space, under the sea, A.I., electronic warfare, and give robust security assistance to countries like Ukraine, Georgia, the Western Balkans<\/em>.\u201d What would Americans think if Russia were to have retained its Warsaw Pact, and \u201ca President Putin would be in the business of confronting Mr. Biden for his aggressions (in Syria, or elsewhere), not embracing them. Not trashing the Warsaw Pact, but strengthening its deterrence, investing in new capabilities to deal with challenges in cyberspace, in outer space, under the sea, A.I., electronic warfare, and give robust security assistance to countries like Canada, Mexico, and other nations that are near the U.S.<\/em>\u201d? Guyer pointedly noted that \u201cThe [CBS News] podcast was sponsored by a major weapons maker. \u2018At Lockheed Martin, your mission is ours,\u2019 read an announcer.\u201d Tony Blinken\u2019s mission is theirs. These people get the money both coming and going \u2014 on both<\/em> sides of the \u201crevolving door.\u201d Today\u2019s American Government is for sale to the highest bidders, on any policy, domestic or foreign. \u2018Government service\u2019 is just a sabbatical to boost their value to the firms that will be paying them the vast majority of their lifetime \u2018earnings\u2019. This is the reality that mainstream U.S.-and-allied \u2018news\u2019 media refuse<\/em> to publish (or, especially<\/em>, to make clear). Only an electorate which is ignorant of this reality can accept such a government.<\/p>\n

Back on 26 January 2020, I had headlined \u201cJoe Biden Is as Corrupt as They Come\u201d<\/a> and documented the reality of this, but America\u2019s mainstream media were hiding that fact so as to decrease the likelihood that the only Democratic Party Presidential candidate whom no billionaire supported<\/a>, Bernie Sanders, might win the nomination. Perhaps now that it\u2019s too late, even those \u2018news\u2019 organizations (such as CNN, Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, New York Times<\/em>, Washington Post<\/em>, PBS, and NPR) will start reporting the fact of Biden\u2019s corruptness. Where billionaires control all of the mainstream media, there is no democracy \u2014 it\u2019s not even possible<\/em>, in such a country<\/p>\n

As far back as 25 October 2019, I had headlined \u201cBiden Backer \u2014 Former Lockheed Leader \u2014 Convinces Joe Biden to Sell-Out\u201d<\/a>, and reported that<\/p>\n

Bernard Schwartz, <\/em>a former Vice Chairman and top investor in Lockheed Martin<\/em><\/a> (which is by far the largest seller to the U.S. Government, and also the largest seller to most of America\u2019s allied Governments), is one of Joe Biden\u2019s top donors. CNN headlined, on October 24th, <\/em>\u201cBiden allies intensify push for super PAC after lackluster fundraising quarter\u201d<\/em><\/a>, and reported that, \u201cBernard Schwartz, a private investor and donor to the former vice president\u2019s campaign, said he spoke with Biden within the last two weeks and encouraged him to do just that.\u201d It\u2019s not for nothing that throughout Biden\u2019s long Senate career, he has voted in favor of every U.S. invasion that has been placed before the U.S. Senate.<\/em><\/p>\n

Near the end of the Democratic Party\u2019s primaries, on 16 March 2020, CNBC headlined \u201cMegadonors pull plug on plan for anti-Sanders super PAC as Biden racks up wins\u201d<\/a>, and reported that Bernard Schwartz had become persuaded by other billionaires that, by this time, \u201cBiden could handle Sanders on his own.\u201d They had done their job; they would therefore control the U.S. Government regardless<\/em> of which Party\u2019s nominee would head it.<\/p>\n

Biden \u2014 like Trump, and like Obama and Bush and Clinton before him \u2014 doesn\u2019t represent the American people. He represents his mega-donors. And he is staffing his Administration accordingly. He repays favors: he delivers the services that they buy from him. This is today\u2019s America. And that is the way it functions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biden \u2014 like Trump, and like Obama and Bush and Clinton before him \u2014 doesn\u2019t represent the American people. He represents his mega-donors. Eric Zuesse explains<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Inside_the_White_House_and_Washingtons_Beltway"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=222664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222665,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222664\/revisions\/222665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=222664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=222664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=222664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}