This proves Donald Trump’s criminal negligence
The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is getting much press as it uncovers the truth behind Trump’s failed insurrection. However, there’s another House committee that just published a year-end staff report exposing another massive Trump scandal. Not surprisingly, the report paints a picture of a greedy, depraved presidency and the findings are damning.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis’ report, entitled “More Effective, More Efficient, More Equitable: Overseeing an Improving & Ongoing Pandemic Response,” details “critical failures in the Trump Administration’s response to the pandemic” that still interfere with the United States’ ability to “fully recover from this crisis” even as we enter 2022. To begin with, the committee found “extensive evidence” of Trump’s persistent interference that resulted in “one of the worst failures of leadership in American history.”
Trump’s political interference ranged from blocking CDC briefings and media appearances, trying to sidestep the CDC in finalizing guidance, and intentionally weakening the CDC’s testing guidance. The Trump administration also directed scientists to cover up evidence of its political interference, while pressuring the FDA to authorize ineffective treatments (such as hydroxychloroquine), supporting a harmful herd immunity strategy, and using personal e-mail to conduct government business.
Perhaps worst of all, Trump put the government’s pandemic response on the “back-seat” to focus on promoting the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Even before that, White House officials were too busy campaigning for Trump’s reelection that they neglected their duty to keep the nation safe from the spreading virus. The committee also found that a lack of an early response strategy and failure to address supply shortages put American lives at even greater risk.
Tragically, the section on Trump’s political interference is only one eye-popping aspect of his administration’s horrifying pandemic response. Another section details how Trump’s poor management of pandemic relief programs not only failed to deliver but exposed the government to fraud and profiteering. For example, the Farmers-to-Families Food Box Program not only wasted taxpayer dollars, but Trump used it to gain political advantages.
You can read the full report, which is based on a review of 430,000 pages of documents, 10 transcribed interviews with key officials, and 14 hearings and public briefings, here. Such an incriminatory report about a normal presidency would stop the presses. However, with Trump, we always know to expect nothing less than full-blown greed and depravity with American lives—and that’s the real tragedy.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month