Dakota Beacon

Ever wonder about people of modest means who were elected to the US House and Senate or who were appointed to high government positons and complete their service decades later as very wealthy people? Many do. Going into office they may have a savings account, some investments, and real estate. In Congress they receive an annual salary ranging from $125k to $175k. When they leave they are millionaires. How does that happen?

The Swamp (establishment) that President Trump vowed to drain has created for itself a lucrative system. No wonder Democrats, Republicans, and Deep State appointees are furious at Trump and his crusade. He is upsetting their very powerful and lucrative applecart.

How do they do it? One way, but not the only way, is to establish a foundation as Congressman Elijah Cummings did with his wife. (Cummings passed away from cancer on October 17, 2019. May he rest in peace.) Once established, just about anything can be done to raise money for the foundation. Relatives may be put in charge of the foundation. They are paid a salary, travel expenses, and entertainment expenses from the foundation. The work is all foundation related as long as the employees and partners are fundraising and asking people for money.

An article illustrative of how elected officials and appointees enter the government industry with moderate means and accrue considerable wealth while serving is laid out in an article in the Washington Examiner. The article is titled “Top Democrat’s Wife May Have Gained ‘Illegal Private Benefit’ from His Committee Activities” written by Alana Goodman dated May 20, 2019. Goodman’s observation is replicated over and over again in Washington, DC. It is the Swamp’s dirty little secret. Tom Anderson of the National Legal and Policy Center’s Government Integrity Project provided research to the Washington Examiner.

The article opens with an eye-catching statement. “A charity run by the wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings received millions from special interest groups and corporations that had business before her husband’s committee and could have been used illegally, according to an IRS complaint filed by an ethics watchdog group.”

Cummings wife, Maya Rockeymoore, was chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party. They were married in 2008. Subsequent to their marriage Rockeymoore ran two entities – a nonprofit group called the Center for Global Policy Solutions and a for-profit consulting firm called Global Policy Solutions, LLC. The two operations appear to have overlapped according to an IRS complaint filed by Tom Anderson’s Policy Center. “When a powerful chairman of a committee of the House of Representatives has a wife that is bringing in money from entities with interests before his Committee and she is not providing the transparency mandated by the IRS, there’s a serious problem,” stated Anderson. Cummings was chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“Cummings struggled with serious financial problems after joining Congress over 20 years ago. His house was placed in foreclosure, at one point; he owed $30,000 in unpaid taxes to the IRS; and he was taken to court multiple times for thousands in unpaid debts. Cummings said his financial difficulties were due to his hefty child support payments.” He was heavily in debt due to child support payments to his first wife and to two other women. His financial status improved considerably over the past decade.

Goodman went on to say, “Both Cummings and Rockeymoore refused to discuss the allegations with the Washington Examiner. Cummings did not answer questions about the overlap between companies with interests before his committee and donors to his wife’s foundation. Rockeymoore did not respond to requests for comment.

“When the Washington Examiner visited the listed business address for Rockeymoore’s consulting firm and nonprofit, a doorman said she had moved out of the office building over a year ago, did not leave a forwarding address, and the building has continued to get her companies’ mail. As committee chairman, Cummings, is embroiled in a legal battle to obtain President Trump’s tax returns.”

There are other examples. Does the Clinton Family Foundation sound familiar? Hillary was seeking donations to her family foundation while she was Secretary of State. Or Harry Reid. He was profiting from real estate deals due to his influence as a senior Senator. Senator Joe Biden served as chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Joe Biden’s son profited from his dad’s influence as Vice President and made millions. Do you think ol’ Joe might go to work for his son as a consultant upon retirement and profit from his son’s financial empire?

Where are President Trump’s defenders – especially among Republicans? That question can be answered with another question. Who will stand opposed to the establishment when Democrats and Republicans benefit from special arrangements financially? Is there any wonder that more Republicans don’t defend Trump? They don’t want to upset the lucrative applecart and the system that built it.

 This is how it is done. Pay to play is the way of the world and Washington, DC is its capitol.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).