Two things cahught my eye.
First, President Trump issued a series of pardons and clemency grants last night (143 of them). Steve Bannon was listed. Julian Assange was not. I am a bit ticked at this as although what Assange was illegal and he took full credit for it, he took the time to redact names and identifying information before releasing the information. Something that the little puke and leftist idol Bradley Manning did not resulting in the torture and death of numerous of our allies in the middle-east.
Second, President Trump issued an Executive Order that countermanded and revoked his earlier E.O. 13770.
Executive Order 13770 reads in part:
Executive Order: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees
By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and sections 3301 and 7301 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Ethics Pledge. Every appointee in every executive agency appointed on or after January 20, 2017, shall sign, and upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge upon becoming an appointee:
“As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment in the United States Government in an appointee position invested with the public trust, I commit myself to the following obligations, which I understand are binding on me and are enforceable under law:
“1. I will not, within 5 years after the termination of my employment as an appointee in any executive agency in which I am appointed to serve, engage in lobbying activities with respect to that agency.
There were some other requirements that were good but this one is what he was looking to get rid of. He made some very good appointments and if these people are subsequently let go by the incoming administration, they are now free to become lobbyists and to work within for change. If the system takes a bad turn, those within the system are more likely to restore its course.
President Trump has thirty more minutes in office - time to surf and see if we will still have a republic in an hour.
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