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Thursday, May 12th, 2022

House committee refers former Trump Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for criminal prosecution

Author:     Ben Adler
Source:     Yahoo News
Publication Date:     May 11, 2022 | 12:29 PM
 Link: House committee refers former Trump Interior Secretary David Bernhardt for criminal prosecution
Stephan:   Should anyone be surprised that Donald Trump, a blatant criminal, appointed to high office in his administration fellow criminals? Is it possible to be a Republican official without being criminal and corrupt? On the basis of the evidence, it would appear that the answer is, no. Corruption and criminality appear to be requisites for high office in the Republican Party.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and President Donald Trump in the White House on July 8, 2019. Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The House Natural Resources Committee announced its first-ever criminal referral to the Department of Justice on Wednesday, asking it to investigate whether Mike Ingram, an Arizona real estate developer and a campaign donor to Donald Trump, bribed public officials during Trump’s tenure as president, including then-Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt.

Since 2019, the House committee has investigated a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in October 2017 to reverse its previous opposition to a proposed housing development in Benson, Ariz., called Villages at Vigneto. That decision was reversed again in July 2021, after Joe Biden took office as president.

According to a committee report in August 2017, Steve Spangle, who was then an FWS field supervisor, received a phone call during which an attorney from the Interior Department’s Office of the Solicitor asked Spangle to reverse his decision that the Army Corps of Engineers must consult with […]

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