Can I Get An Amen? Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Is Out Of A Job ... Again

Oh I do so love to start off the week with good news and it doesn’t get too much better than this …

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is out of a job; again!

Last Friday, the Court of the Judiciary found that Good Old Roy was guilty of six ethics charges because of the way he instructed Alabama’s probate judges to ignore the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling that made same-sex marriage legal everywhere … even in Alabama. Moore will be suspended, without pay, for the next two years until the end of his term in January of 2019.

Good. Bye.

If you remember, Roy Moore is the same wingnut judge who was found guilty of similar ethics charges — I think that means he has no ethics — back in 2003 when he refused to comply with a federal court order requiring him to remove a Ten Commandments monument that he himself had installed in the state courthouse. The judges at that time removed him from his job entirely, but when he ran for office the people of Alabama — not the sharpest tools in the shed, apparently — voted him back to the bench.

Now, Moore was always an anti-marriage equality asshat, but the star that broke the camel’s back, and sent him home without any more coins, was an order he issued last January — six months after Obergefell became the law of the land — in which he said that “it is ordered and instructed” that Alabama probate judges “have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license” to a same-sex couples.

Yes, he ordered judges to violate the orders of the U.S. Supreme Court. Roy tried to pass off his violation of ethics as a “status update,” and that since the order said he was not providing any guidance on Obergefell, he wasn’t actually “ordering and directing” the probate judges to do anything.

Yeah, a word salad … but the panel rejected his arguments as not being “credible” and pointed out that he tried to make the exact same arguments back in 2003 about that Ten Commandments monument, when he said:

“I didn’t say I would defy the court order. I said I wouldn’t move the monument.”

But, you know, even a child understands that when someone says do something, and you don’t do it, you are defying them; Judge Roy Moore, er, former Judge Roy Moore, doesn’t have the wherewithal of a child. And so he tried to play that card again, saying he wasn’t defying the SCOTUS ruling, he just wasn’t gonna allowed gay folks the right to be married in Alabama.

I know it makes no sense, but then nothing this wingnut did made sense.

What is funny, though, is that the Court used the actions of Moore’s own lawyer against him in the case. See, Liberty Counsel chair Mat Staver  — the loon who represented that other homophobe Kim Davis  —  sent out a mass email to Liberty Counsel followers on the very day the Judge Moore issued his “I ain’t gonna allow no queers to get married” order as proof that Moore was defying the courts. Now, Roy objected to the email being used, pointing out that Staver was his lawyer at that time, but the panel said that didn’t matter; the Staver email was the perfect example of a licensed attorney drawing the same incriminating conclusion that Moore was instructing the state’s probate judges to ignore a Supreme Court ruling:

“A judge does not issue a ‘status update’ that ‘orders and directs’ that a law remain in place. Rather, a judge ‘orders and directs’ individuals to do something: in this instance, to comply with law [Alabama’s now-unconstitutional constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage] that is in ‘full force and effect.’”

And so the panel concluded that Moore’s use of case law in the order was incomplete, misleading, and manipulative and said that the clear purpose of the order was to “order and direct the probate judges — most of whom have never been admitted to practice law in Alabama — to   to stop complying with binding federal law until the Alabama Supreme Court decided what effect that federal law would have.”

And so Judge Roy Moore is out … no job, no pay, and he will have to pay the legal costs of the court proceeding. And the best news of all is that, when his suspension ends in January 2019, Judge Roy Moore will not be able to run again because of the state’s age limits.

Again …

Think Progress

Oh Kentucky ... Am I Gonna Have To Do My "Told You So" Dance?

Matt Bevin took control of Kentucky as the state’s new governor back in December 2015 — about ninety days ago — and now a great many people in the sate want him to resign.

Bevin swept into office on the coattails of the Kim Davis brouhaha which means that her fifteen minutes of fame are just about up … until she divorces again and remarries again or comes out as a Satan worshipper. But Bevin played the Tea Party Card and vowed to “Take Kentucky Back” and “Make Kentucky Great Again” but, instead, created a giant montón de mierda … that Spanish for “pile of sh — ” … well, you get it:

Bevin opposed the Violence Against Women Act [VAWA], gave a campaign speech at a cockfighting rally, and promised to end medical coverage for impoverished Kentuckians. Yup, no healthcare for you! He took voting rights back from ex-felons, changed marriage licenses after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, and ended state worker’s hopes of receiving a raise in wages.

In.His.First.Thirty.Days.

And now Kentuckians have started a petition to have Bevin removed from office and more than 8,000 voters have already signed it. The petition includes a letter to the state senate and state house asking that they begin a “formal investigation” into the 2015 Kentucky State election that elected Bevin in as Governor, and remove him from office if evidence shows him to be participating in fraud, or corruption on any level.

They also ask that the legislature begin a formal investigation into the Governor’s motives for cutting funding for public education, healthcare, and the very departments that oversee and audit the ethics of decisions and actions of the Governor himself.

Yes, Bevin cut funding to the office that audits him to make sure he’s not a total loon.

Almost since election day there have been allegations of fraud around Bevin’s win; in the weeks leading up to the election, most polls showed that Kentucky democrat Jack Conway was leading Tea Party wingnut Bevin by a margin of 3 to 5 points.

On election day, however, the results showed a shift “so dramatic that it was almost impossible to believe.” Matt Bevin suddenly gained nearly 15 points on election day, and ALLEGEDLY won the governor’s race by a nine point margin.

And now, here we are, or here Kentuckians are, regretting what many of them did on election day: give a wingnut like Matt Bevin leadership over their state.

Told you so, Kentucky, told you so.

And … cue music …

 Bipartisan Report

The Dowager Congressman and His Longtime Companion Videographer

Oh Aaron Schock; when the pretty stumble, it’s pretty spectacular.

It appears that the Dowager Congressman™ — so  named because of his Downton Abbey-esque redo of his private offices … for which he charged the taxpayers $35,000 that he subsequently paid back because, well, it was wrong and unethical, and dare I say, illegal — is now deeper into the hot water.

Schock may have, ALLEGEDLY, improperly, accepted money from an outside group to the cover travel expenses for his, um, companion, Jonathon Link, on a trip to India and then failed to disclose the ALLEGEDLY improperly accepted money which is a violation of House rules.

It seems that Schock’s August 2014 “official business” trip to India, during which he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was funded by the Global Poverty Project, an organization working to alleviate extreme poverty internationally. Schock also took along his bestie, Jonathon Link [right], his “personal” photographer and videographer, and Global Poverty Project paid for his expenses, too.

To be fair, the organization offered to pay for one staffer to accompany The Dowager Congressman™ as long as the staffer flew economy, and another aide was originally scheduled to make the trip. But when the Global Poverty Project said they were looking for a photographer, Schock suggested Link, with whom he has worked in the past.

The problem is that House rules allow a member, in this case Aaron Schock, to accept private money for a companion's travel expenses only if that companion is member of the Congressman’s staff, a spouse, or a child; Jonathon Link is none of those things to Aaron Schock, and, in fact, did not appear on Schock's official or campaign payroll until September 2014, a full month after he traveled to India with Schock.

And to make matters worse, Congressman Schock never disclosed that Jonathon Link was his travel buddy on that trip, breaking another set of rules that say members must disclose money they accept from private sources and are also required to disclose in writing when someone accompanies them on a trip paid for by an outside organization.

Aaron Schock did neither of those things. Instead, a disclosure form filed by Schock after returning from India makes no mention of Link traveling with him, and no mention of the $4,000 the Global Poverty Project separately paid for Link to travel from Dallas to New Delhi, and lodge and feed him. It seems Aaron Schock likes to travel large, and likes to have other people pay for it, and likes to have other people pay for his BFF to come along; what he doesn’t like to do is admit that he’s done that.

A spokesperson for The Dowager congressman™ declined to comment on the specifics of the trip and would only say that Aaron Schock has enlisted attorneys to lead a review of his compliance procedures.

Jonathon Link is also not talking, but … wait, there’s more …

After voting to freeze salaries for federal workers through 2015 and after opposing any minimum wage increases, Aaron Schock gave huge pay raises and/or bonuses to most of the staff members in his taxpayer-funded office during the last three months of 2014. Let’s dish:

Anthony DeThomas was a paid intern who started working for Schock August 7, 2014, earning some $1,000 a month; by October he was a “temporary employee” with a salary of $18,000 from October through December—roughly $6,000 a month; in fact, his paycheck was bigger than most of the members of Schock’s staff .

As for Jonathon Link, the full time personal photographer, he began “working” for the Schock on September 1, earning $4,166 for that month; the next month he was given a raise and began earning $5,660 a month. In addition to his congressional salary, Jonathon Link’s photography studio was paid more than $29,000 for “Web Dev Hst, Email and Rltd Serv.”  Not a bad gig for three months work: nearly $22,000 in paychecks, another $30,000 to your business, and a free trip with your buddy to India.

Matthew Chambers, a staff assistant, earned $8,888 a month from July through September but received an additional $13,000 from October through December.

Genevieve Dejean, a constituent services representative, earned $7,516 from July through September, but received $10,500 from October through December.

Michael Gilmore, a military/veteran specialist, earned $9,999 from July to September and then $13,999 from October through December.

Kelli Ripp, a legislative assistant, received $11,250 from July to September and $16,250 from October through December.

Sarah Rogers, executive assistant, received $16,250 from July to September and $26,250 from October through December.

Mark Roman, deputy chief of staff, was paid roughly $10,000 a month for the first nine months of 2014, but was then paid twice that much for the last three months of the year.

Bryan Rudolph, district office manager, was paid $15,000 from July to September and $20,000 from October through December.

Overall, after The Dowager Congressman™ voted to freeze salaries, and after he voted against any wage increases, Schock’s office payroll nearly doubled from $172,000 in the third quarter of 2014 to more than $300,000 in the fourth. Oh yeah, and that’s during the same time frame that the House — of which Schock is a member — shut down the government.

I certainly hope that team of lawyers The Dowager Congressman™ has hired are working overtime to explain this; and I hope that Aaron Schock isn’t asking some private organization to pay his legal bills, or seeking reimbursement for the taxpayers he represents to cover his attorney fees.

Maybe, he could ask anyone on his staff, or even Jonathon Link, to lend his some cash while he continues to fight allegations of being kind of a thief … and a hypocrite.

I said it before, but when pretty people stumble, they do so in spectacular fashion.

sources:

National Journal
Blue Nation Review

Is Rep. Aaron Schock On The Down [ton Abbey] Low?

I have never been to the Rayburn House Office Building is Washington, DC, where many members of Congress have their offices, bit according to Ben Terris of the Washington Post, it’s your typical drab, beige, bureaucratic government building.

When a member of Congress moves into an office in the Rayburn, the rooms are spare and bare; furniture and computers are of the hand-me-down-from-the-last-tenant variety. But new members are allowed to paint, though they have limited choices that the House will provide: beige, eggshell, light blue, light gray or light yellow — that the House will provide. If you wish a different color, then the lawmaker must pay for that.

Which is how we come to Congressman Aaron Schock’s offices; y’all remember Schock, right? He, of the turquoise belt and gingham blouse, er, shirt, in the photo that went viral; the one that made us all wonder if he might be a little light in the Congressional loafers?

Schock’s new office — his outer office — is bold, bright red; there are gold-colored wall sconces with black candles; there’s a Federal-style bull’s-eye mirror with an eagle perched on top and, according to the woman at the front desk, it’s “based off of the red room in ‘Downton Abbey.’”

How very Dowager Countess. Terris was suddenly interested, and then another woman came out and asked if he’d like to see the rest; would he?

She introduced herself as Annie Brahler, the interior decorator whose company, Euro Trash, designed Schock’s new digs. She escorted Terris into Schock’s private office, another dramatic red room with a crystal chandelier, a table propped up by two eagles, a bust of Abraham Lincoln and massive arrangements of pheasant feathers.

Pheasant feathers. Terris was intrigued, but then he received a call on his cell phone: Schock’s communications director, Benjamin Cole who asked who told him that he could photograph the office. Cole said, "Stay where you are. You’ve created a bit of a crisis in the office.”

A staff member came in and asked Terris to delete the photos from my phone, but, well, that didn’t exactly happen and that’s when the story really took off.

See, Schock’s people wanted Terris to delete the pictures, and not do any story about the redecoration of his offices, but rather allow Schock to talk about any number of other things … like the six pack abs he proudly displays on the cover of Men’s Health; or his Instagram, which features him leaping for joy on a South American glacier — see that photo HERE — or smiling with Ariana Grande.

You know, political stiff. Not the gossipy stuff like what his new office is like.

Brahler, happy to let a reporter tour the office and see her work, was taken aback by all the fuss over the pictures. She’d met Schock several years ago, after he’d seen her work featured in magazines and offered her services for free, though Schock, according to Congressional rules, would have to pay for the furnishings.

So she decorated his old offices in the Cannon House Office Building, and when he moved into the Rayburn, he called again; she admits that, while his office looks kind of Downton-esque, it’s not a replica of the television show, it's just what Schock wanted.

Meanwhile, back to Benjamin Cole, recovering from the fit he threw that a reporter was in the office; he explained that Schock hadn’t seen the finished space yet and wondered if it was a bit unfair to write about it before the congressman had seen it. Terris agreed, though he asked if he could be there when Schock got his first peek-a-boo.

That was all well and good, until Aaron Schock decided he wasn’t interested in doing a whole story about how his office is decorated; he’d talk about anything else — well, not the turquoise belt — but would rather not discuss his offices.

And he sent Cole, his communications director, to make a point to Terris: the office is definitely not based on Downton Abbey because, well, maybe Schock doesn’t watch the show and he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it.

But someone does want to talk, and that’s the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington [CREW]  who have asked the Office of Congressional Ethics) to investigate whether Republican Schock violated House rules by accepting free interior decorating work for his not Downton Abbey inspired offices.

CREW reports, via press release:

 “Perhaps it’s not totally surprising that the same congressman who spent campaign money on P90X workout DVDs wanted to create a more picturesque setting in which to be photographed, but the rules clearly require him to pay for those renovations himself. Again and again, Rep. Schock’s seeming obsession with his image impedes his ability to conduct himself in ethical manner.”

House rules prohibit members of Congress from accepting gifts, which are defined in the rules as any “item having monetary value” — like interior decoration services — and the rules explicitly prohibit members from using “outside private donations, funds, or in-kind goods and services” — as in campaign contributions — to pay for their congressional office.

CREW is also asking that Schock be investigated as to whether or not he used campaign funds to pay for his office furniture. They state that in 2012 campaign paid $5,522 to Brahler’s company for what it described as “office equipment” but with the revelation now that Brahler redecorated Schock’s previous suite, they seem to believe that campaign funds were used to pretty up Aaron spaces — a clear violation of House rules.

Maybe Schock should have just asked Brahler to redecorate his closet; that way no one would have seen it except for him.

Just sayin’ … and then Aaron said, when cornered by NBC News to ask about his Downton Office:

“I'm different. I came to Congress at 27 … as Taylor Swift said, 'haters are gonna hate.'"

Downton-Abbey-Office-Working-Turquoise-Belt-Wearing-Shirltess-Congressman-Quoting-A-Taylor-Swift-Song.

So.Not.Gay.

sources:

Towleroad: Aaron Schock's New Office
Towleroad: Aaron Schock Ethics Charge
Washington Post
New Civil Rights Movement

This Is A Republican: Rick Perry

Texas Governor, and Not Gay, Rick Perry does not like it when she doesn’t get her way. And, because she gets all pissy and foot-stompy, she is now being investigated for possibly abusing the office of governor when trying to force Rosemary Lehmberg out of office.

See, this past April Lehmberg, a Democrat, was arrested on suspicion of DUI; she plead guilty and served a forty-five day sentence but said she would not resign even after the Texas GOP — which, as we know, loathes women, especially women in power — and Governor ‘Miss Ricky’ Perry demanded she do so.

So what did Perry do?  He threatened to cut funding for the state’s Public Integrity Unit, which Lehmberg resides over, if she didn’t step down from her position; and he made his threat publicly, and often. When Lehmberg did not step down, Perry made good on his threats and, this past June, vetoed some $3.7 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit.  As a result of the Perry-induced budget cuts, the office was forced to layoff 10 employees and drop 54 of its 400 active cases. All because Miss Ricky did not get what she wanted.

But, the fact is, that Perry can’t do what he did because it’s illegal to use his power as governor to threaten another public servant. Yet that’s what he did, though Miss Ricky will no doubt have a team of GOP spinners putting their own take on his illegal activities. Which will be difficult, considering he very publicly made it known that he wanted Lehmberg out:

“Despite the otherwise good work (of) the Public Integrity Unit’s employees, I cannot in good conscience support continued state funding for an office with statewide jurisdiction at a time when the person charged with ultimate responsibility of that unit has lost the public’s confidence.”

And there it is; he wanted her to go, and when she didn’t he cut funding for her program, and gave not a care about the people who lost their jobs because he didn’t get his way.

But, while we’re on the subject of Miss Ricky’s lack or moral standards while taking the moral high ground, let’s remember that she is the one who created his own slush fund, paid for by taxpayers, so he could travel the country and build support for what is sure to be another failed attempt at becoming President.

But hey, that’s the GOP, and that is also one of their presidential nominees for 2016.

Uh huh.

This Is A Republican, Part 1: Nikki Haley

We’ve all heard about Virginia’s Republican Governor, Bob McDonnell, who is under fire—and rightly so—for receiving cash and gifts from a tobacco executive, right? And we’ve all heard McDonnell apologize for the embarrassment that he and his family brought to the state, right?

Well, he ain’t the only Governor, and Republican, who has allowed wealthy benefactors to lavish him with generous gifts. South Carolina’s own, Transparent Nikki Haley, has, according to her own disclosure forms, accepted tens of thousands of dollars worth of tickets and suites at sporting events over the past two years; and most of those gifts come from people who have business with the state.

Unethical say what?

In Haley’s mandatory 2012 and 2013 Statements of Economic Interests, the governor reported receiving hundreds of gifts, large and small, with the most significant items—from people identified only as “friend/supporter”—being access to their Clemson Football Suites. These little gifts totaled $58,000 over two years.

Now, to be fair, while many states prohibit interested parties from giving gifts to elected officials or cap those gifts at a nominal maximum, South Carolina law does not; still the state does say that no one can “directly or indirectly, give, offer, or promise anything of value to a public official, public member, or public employee” with the intent to influence their official responsibilities.

And yet six of Nikki Haley’s benefactors are members of Clemson’s board of trustees: David Dukes, John “Nicky” McCarter Jr., E. Smyth McKissick III, William Smith Jr., Joseph Swann, and the board’s chairman, former Speaker of the South Carolina House, David Wilkins.

And since Haley took office, and began getting those tickets and suites at Clemson games, the university has benefited greatly. Clemson relies on state funding for about 10% each year, and after several years of declining state revenue, Clemson just received a several-million-dollar increase once Nikki Haley took office.

Uh huh.

And now Clemson is set to receive yet another hefty boost this year. And while the university has not gotten everything it’s wanted from the Haley gubernatorial offices, she has provided Clemson with another key perk: she has repeatedly loaned her state plane to Clemson’s president and its football recruiters and only stopped doing so when state legislators objected.

And howsabout John “Nicky” McCarter Jr., one of Haley’s benefactors? His company, Defender Services, Inc., a Columbia, SC-based staffing company, has received some $300,000 worth of state contracts since The Transparent Nikki Haley took office. And, before that, as a state representative, Haley voted for McCarter’s 2010 reappointment to the Clemson board of trustees.

One hand washes the other, and gives free plane trips and free suites at college football games.

Two of Haley’s other ‘benefactors,’ Dukes and Wilkins, are partners in the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough lobbying firm. Nelson Mullins, as a treat for supporting Haley, received a$60,000-a-year contract extension with the state last March to provide federal lobbying services for Coastal Carolina University.

Haley’s other gifts included a $1,700 basketball ticket from health care magnate Vivek Garipalli, a $2,500 painting from artist Jeffrey Callaham, and $100 in earrings from a benefactor listed as “unknown.”

Jewelry from ‘unknown.’

The saddest part of the Haley story is that she has made ethical government and reform a major push for her administration while she takes gifts and then magically allows the gift-givers to make money off the state of South Carolina. In fact, Haley has pushed a bill to “determine whether South Carolinians get to know who is paying their legislators, and whether legislators get to continue to police themselves” and in a recent speech uttered these words:

“Never has there been a time where the people of South Carolina wanna see [SIC] ethics reform. Never has there been a time where the people of South Carolina deserve to see ethics reform. Never has there been a time where elected officials are gonna be held accountable and we’re gonna see that happen… We need to show the people of the world that we don’t have issues in South Carolina, that we are not afraid of ethics reform, and that we’re gonna pass a strong ethics reform bill this year.”

Still, there is no evidence that they violated South Carolina’s lax ethics law, it’s hard to believe that the suites did not provide these people with both access to the governor and goodwill from her that the average South Carolinian would not enjoy.

But that’s out Nikki, and that’s your Republican party.

via Think Progress

Why Mittsy? Why Are You Charged With Violating Federal Ethics Law?

First Hurricane Sandy and Mittsy's whole We don't need no stinkin' FEMA debacle. And then the Hurricane relief/Campaign Photo-op where Mittsy loaded trucks with stuff he bought so he could give the illusion that he cares.

And now this:

On November 1st, Mittsy was charged by the United Automobile Workers [UAW] with violating the federal ethics in government law by improperly concealing his multi-million dollar windfall from the auto industry bailout.

Remember? The bailout he opposed? When he wanted to make Detroit go bankrupt? Turns out that Mittsy made a killing on the bailout, and shoved somewhere between $15.3 million and $115 million into a "blind" trust under his wife, Queen "You people" Ann's name.

Bob King, President of the United Automobile Workers, says:

"The American people have a right to know about Governor Romney’s potential conflicts of interest, such as the profits his family made from the auto rescue. It’s time for Governor Romney to disclose or divest .... While Romney was opposing the rescue of one of the nation’s most important manufacturing sectors, he was building his fortunes with his Delphi investor group, making his fortunes off the misfortunes of others.”

One-percent say what? Mittsy made money while others lost? How could he....? Why would he....? Oh, because that's Mittsy in a nutshell. He makes millions off the backs of those less-fortunate and then hides it all away while playing the "Who me?" game.

from BuzzFlash:

"According to ethics law expert Dr. Craig Holman of Public Citizen--who serves as an advisor on the charge--Ann Romney does not have a federally-approved blind trust.  An approved "blind" trust may not be used to hide a major investment which could be affected by Romney if he were to be elected President.  Other groups joining the UAW and CREW include Public Citizen, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Public Campaign, People for the American Way and The Social Equity Group.
President Obama's approved trust, for example, contains only highly-diversified mutual funds on which presidential action can have little effect.  By contrast, the auto bail-out provided a windfall of over 4,000% on one single Romney investment.
In 2009, Ann Romney partnered with her husband's key donor, billionaire Paul Singer, who secretly bought a controlling interest in Delphi Auto, the former GM auto parts division.  Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Management, threatened to cut off GM's supply of steering columns unless GM and the government's TARP auto bailout fund provided Delphi with huge payments.  While the US treasury complained this was "extortion," the hedge funds received, ultimately, $12.9 billion in taxpayer subsidies.  
As a result, the shares Singer and Romney bought for just 67 cents are today worth over $30, a 4,000% gain.  Singer's hedge fund made a profit of $1.27 billion and the Romney's tens of millions."

The UAW, and, seriously, most Americans would like Mittsy and Queen Ann to reveal exactly how much they pocketed--and continue to pocket--off Delphi, and then perhaps offer an explanation as to why the Singer syndicate, once in control of Delphi, eliminated every single UAW job--25,000--and then moved almost all auto parts production to Mexico and China where Delphi now employs 25,000 auto parts workers.

I mean, we know he likes to fire people, and we know he likes to outsource jobs, but he fired 25,000 Americans and then gave their jobs to 25,000 Chinese and Mexican workers.

Isn't that presidential?

That's Our Nikki: She's SO Transparent

I remember when Nikki Haley was running for guv'nah of the great state of South Carolina, in the shadow of Mark "Hiking The Appalachian Trail AKA Schtupping My Mistress" Sanford, and she said she would change politics here. She would be open and honest--yeah, a big stretch, I know--and, above all, transparent.

But Nikki has a different view of what it means to be transparent, which means most of us have changed how we view her.

Haley is being investigated by a House Ethics Committee because there is a belief, by many, that she illegally lobbied the state while acting as a state representative from Lexington County. Not a real stretch, Nikki is about what’s best for Nikki and screws everyone else, making her, in my mind any way, Mark Sanford in a dress.

But now, as this ethics charge will not die, Nikki "I believe in transparency in government" Haley is to release some emails that are related to the investigation, and this, according to nearly every legitimate lawyer not on the Haley payroll, is an abuse of the law.

But that's our Nikki.

The Post and Courier newspaper down in Charleston says the paper asked for all the Haley administration's emails relating to this ongoing and going and going House Ethics Committee investigation, but Nikki Haley's attorney says the requested documents are exempt from disclosure because they represent the work product of a legal counsel.

In other words, Nikki has something to hide. I mean, if you were accused of being unethical wouldn't you want to prove the allegations false by doing whatever you could? Not our Nikki. She turns tail and hides.

But media attorney Jay Bender says the attorney-client privilege only applies to the governor herself, not her staff, and calls the Haley administration's actions another example of a public body overreaching to hide records that should be public.

I call it Nikki Haley being very transparent. So much so that you can see right through her.

source