St. Patrick’s Day
Fort Bend County Judge KP George is on trial for felony money laundering charges. There is a detailed article in today’s Chron on yesterday’s trial proceedings. See how the Chron article starts here:
A fraud examiner told jurors Monday that Fort Bend County Judge KP George moved campaign money into his personal accounts and used some of it toward the purchase of a home, describing what prosecutors say was a deliberate effort to conceal the transactions while serving as the county’s top elected official.
Betty Chi, a certified fraud examiner with the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, spent much of the day walking jurors through public records, bank statements and campaign finance reports that she said showed campaign money flowing into George’s personal finances in 2019.
And this:
Chi also testified that George had sole control over the campaign bank account.
She said he was the only authorized signer on the account and the only person with authority to move money out of it. The campaign treasurer, Chi testified, did not have access to the bank account and did not prepare the campaign finance reports, meaning only George could have been responsible for the transaction.
Late in her testimony, Chi stepped back from the specific transactions and explained what she called the common ingredients of fraud.
She said financial crimes often involve three elements: pressure, opportunity and rationalization.
In George’s case, Chi testified, the opportunity existed because he controlled the campaign account himself and handled the campaign reporting. The pressure, she said, appeared to come from personal financial obligations, including property taxes and the need for cash around the time of a home purchase.
Rationalization, she explained, is what happens when a person convinces themselves their conduct is justified.
Here is the entire Chron read: Fraud examiner says KP George used campaign fund to buy houses.
As a person who is familiar with campaign checking accounts, I found the article fascinating. The key to this was how the investigator had access to the banking records. You can lie all you want on the campaign contribution and expenditure report, but you can’t hide the money trail within the banking records.
According to the article, so far, it is a bad look for Judge George. I will stay tuned for sure.
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This news broke this morning. See this from AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, citing his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war.
Kent said on social media that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats. His resignation reflects unease within Trump’s base about the war and shows that questions about the justification for the use of force in Iran extend to the right of President Donald Trump’s base and to senior members of the administration.
And this:
Before entering Trump’s administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state. He also served in the military, seeing 11 deployments as a Green Beret, followed by work at the CIA.
Democrats strongly opposed Kent’s confirmation, pointing to his past ties to far-right figures and conspiracy theories. During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures.
And this:
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to distance himself from a conspiracy theory that federal agents instigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, as well as false claims that Trump won the 2020 election over Democrat Joe Biden.
This is a bit scary. Keep an eye on this development.
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You know the cheating, crooked Ken Paxton punkarse on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is working. The 24-year incumbent is now having to pull gimmicky publicity stunts by delivering sadaburgers, err whataburgers to unpaid TSA workers. Pitiful and sad.
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On an entirely different subject, that is Autumn Durald Arkapaw in the featured photo who became the first woman to win the Oscar Sunday night for Best Cinematography for “Sinners.” Nice.
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This morning on “Today”, meteorologist Dylan Dreyer, was the only one who was able to split the G on a pint of Guiness. You go, girl.
Jessie Buckley who won the Best Actress Oscar for “Hamnet” Sunday night is Irish.
A good St. Patrick’s Day flick in my book is “The Fighting 69th” with James Cagney.
I will celebrate this evening with a Saint Arnold in front of the flat screen watching Team USA and Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic championship game.
Have a nice Saint Patrick’s Day.