Louisiana Voice

Well, it certainly didn’t take long for Todd Blanche to make Sen. Bill Cassidy look like A DAMNED FOOL (again).

His first act after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office was to issue an opinion that executive privilege which is claimed by presidents to keep internal advice secret, extends to private citizens who advise the president. That effectively shields Trump from congressional oversight and facilitates even more corruption from the Trump administration (if that is even possible).

But the real red flag is Blache’s coyness in responding to questions about that $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund coupled with yesterday’s LAS VEGAS SUN report that Trump has not given up on the slush fund to pay out to Jan. 6 thugs, leaves Blanche’s assurances to Senate Republican early holdouts (including Cassidy) sounding pretty hollow.

Trump also has indicated he intends to retain that addendum that shields him and members of his family from all future IRS scrutiny.

Now, just take a moment to pause and ask yourself if you might possibly be able to negotiate such an agreement that protected you from all future IRS audits–no matter what transgression you might commit down the road.

The first question that pops into one’s head is why would anyone feel they needed such assurances? Could it have something to do with 385 checking accounts held by Trump that were closed by Capital One because of concerns about money laundering? Might that instill a fear of a comprehensive IRS audit and prompt one to take steps to avoid future problems?

In America, we love to say no one is above the law. Why, even Nixon was audited by the IRS while he was president and found to owe substantial amounts in taxes and penalties. If he can be held accountable, why not Trump?

But with all that, Cassidy still found reason to switch his position of opposing Blanche’s appointment to one of support. His verbal reasons were even posted on YouTube for all to see.

At least Cassidy didn’t stand alone in his incredulous disillusionment. At the outset, two other Repugnantcan senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina (who, like Cassidy, are halfway out the door), also opposed Blanche but switched to vote to confirm after Blanche sorta, kinda, hinted at promising that the slush fund was dead.

It wouldn’t be surprising to learn that all three also had sent money to that Nigerian prince or at least snapped up a vehicle warranty.

The one overriding question Louisiana voters must, MUST ask themselves before casting their votes for U.S. Senator in November is a simple one:

Can we trust Julia Letlow?

We can remember the recent attack ads in the Republican primary between her and State Treasurer John Fleming in which it was asserted (accurately, it turned out) she failed to disclose more than 200 stock trades on times and that many of the transactions reeked with the pungent odor of insider trading.

And of course, her response was she was not personally making those trades, that the investment firm Merrill Lynch was managing and executing transactions in her portfolio while neglecting to meet the 45-day reporting deadlines.

Of course, Merrill Lynch is NO PARAGON OF VIRTUE when it comes to above-board dealings but it’s highly doubtful that it would neglect such a requirement after the embarrassment of that 2008 debacle.

Now, after having disposed of Fleming in the primary and expected to win over Democratic challenger Jamie Davis, Letlow, we learn one of those transactions was the purchase of stock in Meta and Nvidia, a company which will provide chips which will power the Meta data centers.

Just by coincidence, we’re sure, Meta plans to build a massive data center in Richland Parish, smack-dab in the middle of Letlow’s current House district and also by happenstance, she was a party to one of those cursed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that shield critical information from the prying eyes of the public and press.

It’s going to be a little difficult for her to pass the blame for the NDA off on some third party since HER SIGNATURE is featured rather prominently at the bottom of that document. The digital news source for the document, as is becoming more and more commonplace, is not the traditional media, but THE LOUISIANA ILLUMINATOR, which has become the most reliable source for Louisiana political news.

So, Letlow signed the NDA, which provided her valuable access to confidential information relative to Meta’s plans for that giant data center in Richland Parish, which in turn, provided her with valuable investment information.

Oh, and that NDA? Turns out it was not one of those that has garnered so much negative publicity of late, but a separate document provided exclusively by Meta—and it’s identical to an earlier NDA Louisiana’s “transparent” Gov. JEFF LANDRY SIGNED WITH META..

Letlow, in much the same manner as another prominent politician who presently occupies the Oval Office, began buying stock in the two companies within months of signing her NDA and six months after signing the paper, she gushed, “What a day for Richland Parish!” She said at the event’s launch that she “even skipped a vote in Washington” to be on hand for the formal announcement. “Don’t tell anybody, please,” she joked while making sure not to tell anybody about her investment in the company she was there promoting. Why, it was almost the investing equivalent to hiding in a food cart to escape a reported assassination plot while leaving others vulnerable. The vulnerable in this case would be all those loyal Repugnantcan residents of her district—and now, with her candidacy for higher office, make that the entire state—who live at or below the poverty level.

Her campaign asserted she had no role in any of her trades nor did the NDA play any role in them because she was unaware the trades were taking place.

If you believe that….you must believe it was vandals who destroyed the lining in the Reflecting Pool and that Trump has always been a faithful, doting husband.

This is the type story that could tighten the November race between her and Davis considerably.

Periodically, I have written accounts of abuses at private prisons operated by LaSalle Corrections in Louisiana, Texas and Georgia.

LaSalle is headquartered in my home town of Ruston and has grown from the initial juvenile facility in north Louisiana to operating the most active immigrant deportation center in the nation through the company’s connections with two Repugnantcan governors (Jindal and Landry).

LaSalle is not alone, of course, nor is it the biggest detainee center working for the Department of Homeland Security. Those distinctions belong to CoreCivic and GEO Group. But unlike those, which are publicly-traded entities, LaSalle is a tightly-held family-operated enterprise headed by Billy McConnell, a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and a civil leader in Ruston who was the recent commencement speaker at his alma mater.

But the most comprehensive story yet to be published about LaSalle was published by the online news service Hunterbrook, which is not only a media outlet but an investment firm as well. What makes Hunterbrook unique is that it (a) partners with law firms to litigate on its findings and (b) places bets on the outcome of its investigations. Those are rather unusual sources of income streams, to say the very least.

But what Hunterbrook has done is to take a deep dive into LaSalle and its tangled labyrinth of corporate entities. The resulting story tells more about the company than has ever been revealed before.

Be forewarned: set aside plenty of time to digest what follows. It’s lengthy and it’s more than a little complicated. But if you ever wanted a true picture of a man and a company who make their money by placing people in cages, read on:

LaSalle Corrections: The Accountability Shell Game