No-Show Almost-Interior-Inspector-General Sh*tcanned From Previous No-Show Post

Suzanne Israel Tufts, GIT OUT.

Tough week for Suzanne Israel Tufts, the nice Trump campaign lady with no experience doing investigations who was almost appointed to oversee, or at least overlook, the Interior Department's four ongoing investigations into Ryan Zinke's "ethics," for want of a better word. Not only did she not get that nice job as acting inspector general after the media got hold of the story and everyone said it stank to high heaven, but Tufts, who had been employed at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, suddenly up and quit that job too late Friday. Pour out a 40 (gallon barrel of industrial waste, into a poor community's water source) for her, won't you?

So how's that for a wacky timeline? First off, Ben Carson sent an email inside HUD wishing Tufts well at her new job as acting IG at Interior, although nobody at Interior seemed to have heard about it. Still, a loyalist who at least temporarily said it was OK for Ben Carson to keep his $31,000 dinette set would have been PERFECT to supervise the investigations into Zinke, because when it comes to Republicans, she was very much a "see no evil" kind of gal.

But then everyone started whining about how terrible the appointment looked, and pointing out dumb little trivia facts like this:

While presidents have the right to hire and fire inspectors general, the Inspector General Act of 1978 specifies that candidates should be chosen "without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, or investigations."

Talk about burdensome government regulations on government regulators, huh? So as of Thursday night, the official word on the appointment was Interior spokesperson Heather Swift insisting Secretary Carson had "sent out an email that had 100 percent false information in it," and as for Tufts, no, she was NOT offered a job at Interior. Still, the administration had 100 percent confidence in Tufts, which of course meant she was DOOMED, DO YOU HEAR ME, DOOMED .

Suzanne Israel Tufts was scheduled to be interviewed Friday morning for another inspector general position elsewhere in the government, according to a person with knowledge of the interview. But she did not show up for the appointment.

Oh, yes, and about that job she was leaving behind at HUD, where Ben Carson was just terribly sad to see her go? Funny thing!

Tufts, an attorney from Queens who worked on President Trump's campaign, was serving as assistant secretary for administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She had not been at work for at least two months, according to three people with knowledge of her absence, but was still on the payroll.

Gosh, what a very unusual thing for someone in the Trump administration who isn't Scott Pruitt's aide Samantha Dravis, who also got paid for not showing up before she was given the heave-ho. Still, no big deal. It's not like either was a lazy poor on Medicaid. 

If any Democrats are looking for a last minute campaign issue (besides healthcare, because OF COURSE HEALTHCARE!!! ), maybe pledge to pass work requirements for Trump Cabinet aides. 

It's been a lively week and some for Ms. Tufts, and we sure hope she's OK and will somehow find work, like probably in the Trump 2020 campaign. That's where they parachute in all the Misfit Toys, isn't it?

It is now your OPEN THREAD, also too.

[ WaPo ]

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