Sen. Hawley Exposes Biden Energy Official As Swamp Grifter
“People who want to get loans from the government are paying to see you and you think that that’s fine?”
Steve Watson
During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing Thursday, GOP Senator Josh Hawley rendered a Biden Energy Department official speechless as he exposed how he and his ilk attend so called ‘pay to play’ speaking events.
Hawley questioned Jigar Shah, the Director of Loan Programs, regarding paid events DOE officials attend and often speak at, and the conflict of interest this creates.
Shah talked himself into a corner and then went silent:
“You’re the Director of the loan programs for the federal government Department of Energy. People who want to get loans from the government are paying to see you and you think that that’s fine?” an exasperated Hawley noted, before adding “that’s not a rhetorical question.”
In July, Team Biden touted this official as the “$400 billion man” – but today he testified that he’s so unimportant it is fine for him to go to pay-to-play dinners with industry insiders pic.twitter.com/MUKG7yPs9f
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 19, 2023
In a further tweet, Hawley referred to reporting on how the Loans Program Office has $400 billion at its disposal from legislation, including the so called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ to subsidize ‘green’ energy development.
Biden’s DOE Inspector General Teri Donaldson warned during the hearing that the program is “ripe for abuse”:
Inspector general warns Biden admin’s $400 billion green energy loan program is ripe for abuse https://t.co/WCLC63tFIQ
— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) October 19, 2023
Let me get this straight. The director of a major government loan program is going to private events where industry insiders pay to get access to him to talk about loans … and that’s fine?
If this isn’t an ethics violation, it should be. pic.twitter.com/6iChX68bJ2
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 19, 2023
The whole federal government is one big grift
— Phillip McGuire (@PhillipCMcGuire) October 19, 2023
Hawley wasn’t done there, he also called on Donaldson to investigate illegal stock trading by Department officials, in light of reports that hundreds of DOE officials hold stocks related to the agency’s work.
Hundreds of Energy Department Officials Hold Stocks Related to Agency’s Work Despite Warnings https://t.co/df1xLoKxmk
— TradFi News (@TradFiNews) February 22, 2023
“I am firmly of the view that we need to change the law here,” Hawley noted, adding that “Senior executive branch officials should not be able to own individual stock, nor should members of Congress. We shouldn’t be stock trading.”
Watch the full exchange here:
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(TLB) published this article/video report from Summit News
Header featured image (edited) credit: Sen.Hawley/Twitter X screen shot
Emphasis added by (TLB)
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Why do we allow politics to be tainted by donations from special interests? We know that they are essentially bribes from corrupt individuals and corporations to get things done their way. Screw the interests of the majority. This is why donations to government officials and candidates running for office must be outlawed, and anyone accepting “donations” (AKA bribes) should be prosecuted. Why do politicians need millions to run their campaigns? Is it to inundate the media with videos that contain false narratives about their noble intentions, and accusations of their opponent’s deceptive agenda? We don’t need any of this chicanery. We need truth and transparency from our government officials. Why can’t we simply view the political records of every candidate running for office in order to determine their true agenda? There are numerous Government Television channels that could be put to use for this purpose. Allow every eligible candidate to put a video on one of these channels describing their perspectives on the issues, and also post their voting record, bills that they proposed, and all prior political policies they supported alongside the video. This would enable voters to become more knowledgeable about a candidate’s stance on issues and expose some of the lies and propaganda that we see under the current ads.
The other thing that needs to change is the current way they generate bills (omnibus style) that negates any possibility of passing it quickly, if ever. You may want to vote “YES” on half the items in the bill and “NO” on the rest of it. Plus, the Nancy Pelosi scam of loading the bills with pork for her favorite donors always clogs up the process. Why don’t they vote on each item in the bill separately? Mainly because that would put a serious obstruction in the way they pass slimy, biased legislation. When they vote on a multifaceted package, we have no idea which items they truly support. Voting on each issue separately gives more clarity to which issues they support, and the bills can readily be passed or shot down with no misgivings. It could also expose and hamper some of the swamp rats from pushing through their own personal agendas. Corrupt politicians and government officials might not like it, but we need total transparency to be truly informed.