Corruption

Which Corruption?

Last week, a Manhattan jury found the Trump Organization guilty on 17 criminal counts stemming from a tax-dodging executive-compensation scheme. The company would pay executives with apartments, cars, tuition, etc, and not pay taxes on the lavish gifts. Former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, the scheme’s chief beneficiary, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the business. This is a criminal conviction but you can’t throw a company into prison. Instead, the Trump Organization will probably have to pay over $1.5 million in fines which will be a small pittance if the company is actually worth billions. We don’t know the true value of the company since it’s something Trump hides, like his own finances.

Naturally, this doesn’t touch Donald Trump personally and probably only hurts his feelings. He has called it a “witch hunt.”

The Trump Organization, which Trump inherited from his racist father, and headquartered on 5th Avenue, is the head that controls Trump’s businesses that includes real estate, golf courses, hotels, marketing, licensing his name, the TV show The Apprentice, and a lot of the stuff that doesn’t exist anymore, like the casinos, wine, steaks, airline, board games, fashion (you too can look like a chump, I mean Trump), magazines, etc. But talking about Trump corruption is like talking about a woman he sexually assaulted. You have to ask, “Which one?”

Sure, the Trump Organization is corrupt, and a jury said so. But what about all the other incidents of Trump corruption? They’re too numerous to mention, but let’s take a little stab at it, which you can do with a Trump Steak Knife for only $79.99, which can also come in handy for stabbing former friends in the back.

There’s that time in 1990 when one of Trump’s failing Atlantic City casinos couldn’t make a bond payment, so Fred Trump, taking time away from being a scumlord and refusing to rent apartments to black people, bought over $3 million in chips from that casino without placing a bet. That could be an unreported loan or gift.

There’s the Trump Foundation which was Trump’s charity that he never contributed money to. Instead, he used it to purchase gifts for himself and to coordinate donations with presidential campaign events. A New York court later put it out of operation and banned Trump, Dumbass Jr, Eric, and Ivanka from ever operating a charity in the state again.

Trump University was a fake university that was sued by several of Trump’s students. A New York court put that one out of business too. Donald Trump paid $25 million to settle lawsuits against the “university.”

When Greg Abbott was Texas’ Attorney General, he investigated Trump University’s operation in the Lone Star state but eventually dropped the case. When he ran for governor four years later, Trump gave his campaign $35,000. In 2013, Florida’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, announced she was considering joining a lawsuit against Trump U, but dropped it after receiving a $25,000 campaign contribution from Trump four days after her announcement (women do make less than me). It was later revealed that she personally solicited the donation before she spoke publicly about investigating the sham university. Later, she joined the Trump presidential (sic) administration.

There’s Trump’s campaign for president which would take donations and then hold campaign events at Trump’s golf resorts. Thus putting political donations into Trump’s pockets, which you can also buy versions of yourself because there is or was a brand of Trump suits for people who wish to look like corrupt racist assholes. Bleached skunk toupee not included.

Trump also made unreported donations to his campaign by paying hush money to centerfold models and porn stars that he had raw dogged in Las Vegas hotel rooms after being spanked by them with magazines featuring Ivanka on the cover.

Speaking of Ivanka, there’s the corruption of her receiving trademarks from China while she was working as an “advisor” to her father in the White House. She even received some trademarks the same day Daddy Dumbucks was sitting down for cake with Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago…which is more corruption.

Ivanka’s skinny husband, Jared received foreign bailouts of his properties WHILE he was serving in the Trump (sic) White House. He also received $2 billion from his good buddy Mohammad bin Salman, who he negotiated military contracts and “peace” treaties with, after leaving the White House. Javanka reportedly made over $640 million while working in the Trump (sic) White House as “advisors.” And the goons want to investigate Hunter’s laptop.

Donald Trump spent 307 days of his presidency (sic) golfing at his resorts. These outings cost taxpayers at least $144,000,000. He spent more than 307 days at his resorts which meant the taxpayers had to pay room and board for the government officials who were burdened by having to go with him. He even charged the Secret Service to rent golf carts to follow him on the course. Trump literally made money off his Secret Service detail, and he’s still making off them today.

I still want to know if Trump charged taxpayers for his room and board at his properties.

Trump hosted the leaders of China and Japan (two separate outings) at Mar-a-Lago, which means those nations had to pay Trump for room and board.

Trump continued to rake in payments from foreign governments while he was president (sic) as they would stay at his hotels to curry his favor. Some nations would rent rooms at Trump’s hotels and not even use them. You can’t blame them because who wants to sleep with bed bugs?

Speaking of bed bugs, there was the time Donald Trump tried to host an international summit at Doral, which was teeming with bed bugs. Trump put together a “special” committee to find the best location for the G7 Summit and wouldn’t you know it, they picked one of his properties. The Covid pandemic canceled the summit and a huge payday for Trump. Bedbugs looking forward to chewing on some Euro cuisine were greatly disappointed.

There was the incident when the website for the White House posted links to Ivanka’s merchandise. Just click “add to cart.” Then, Kellyanne Conway went on a news show and used her position as a paid counselor to the president to pitch Ivanka’s products, which is illegal.

During the 2020 Republican Convention, Donald Trump issued pardons, which was using the presidency for personal gain. He also hosted a portion of the convention at the White House, which is another violation. He also used the Washington Monument for a fireworks presentation. Why he was never fined for this, I don’t know.

Trump’s inauguration committee raked in over $107 million for his inauguration which did not attract the largest crowd ever, and then brought in tractors, cloggers, and Three Doors Down (who was happy it wasn’t another county fair gig) for entertainment. Despite lawsuits and congressional hearings, we still don’t know where all that money went.

Trump pardoned criminals who were friends and officials who worked on his campaign. This could be looked at as buying someone’s silence. Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, and Paul Manafort are all cheaper than Stormy Daniels. Did any of them have to spank Donald with an Ivanka magazine?

During the 2016 campaign, Trump was trying to win approval from Vladimir Putin to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and even tried to bribe him with a penthouse.

Donald Trump tried to extort Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by withholding congressionally-approved military equipment (for defense in case Russia ever attacked them) in exchange for a pubic statement that he was investigating Joe Biden’s son. This was the reasoning for Trump’s first impeachment.

And then there’s the attempt to steal the election through lies, courts, and an insurrection, which was the reason for his second impeachment. He never conceded he lost and started raising money for his “reinstatement.” Of course, all the official “stop the steal” events are hosted at Trump resorts.

Trump is so corrupt that he was impeached…twice.

Donald Trump is under several investigations, and one of them is in Georgia where he called to threaten and intimidate a state official to “find him the votes.”

His announcement as a candidate in the 2024 election was hosted at Mar-a-Lago, which is another campaign expense that goes into his pocket.

And then we have Trump stealing classified documents. Trump still hasn’t answered the question that no Republican has asked: Why did you take government documents?

Everything about Donald Trump is corrupt. There’s no way I can mention all the examples in a Saturday blog (I wanna move on with my life and do something else today). One guarantee I can make is his next presidential campaign will create new opportunities and examples of Trump’s corruption.

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.

Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.

Watch me draw:

Advertisement

Mar-a-Lago Confetti Shower

CjonesRGB02112022

When the House committee investigating the January 6 white nationalist terrorist attack on the Capitol won its legal case to gain access to documents from the Trump administration, it was discovered that a lot of those documents had been taped back together.

Presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky told The Washington Post, “The only way that a president can really be held accountable long term is to preserve a record about who said what, who did what, what policies were encouraged or adopted, and that is such an important part of the long-term scope of accountability, beyond just elections and campaigns.” So naturally, with Trump being Trump, he doesn’t want to be held accountable for anything. What other reasons would someone have for destroying documents unless that person is concealing something?

When you are in government service and you start destroying documents, those documents immediately become evidence because you’re breaking the law. This nation doesn’t have dictators and a president can’t break any law he chooses…just a bunch of them, apparently.

Now, we have discovered something that I predicted way back in January 2021. Donald Trump stole shit from the White House. OK, it wasn’t a bold prediction.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) retrieved 15 boxes of White House documents and other items that were being hidden at Mar-a-Lago. What are those other items? By law, these records should have been transferred to NARA from the White House at the end of the Trump administration in January 2021.

These documents include the “love letters” between Trump and Kim Jong Un as well as the letter President Barack Obama left for Trump in the Oval, encouraging him not to destroy the nation during his four years of trying to destroy the nation. But, despite these documents having Trump’s name on them, they don’t belong to Trump. They belong to the public and should be stored in the National Archives.

NARA had to have multiple discussions with Trump goons to receive these records which they should have had in the first place, and without having to talk to Trump goons. It’s like your negotiations to get your power drill back from your neighbor.

The goons are Mar-a-Lago also told NARA that they’re continuing to look for more documents. So, these 15 boxes aren’t the total collection of stolen archives. Again, what are the other missing items? How much of this stuff is evidence related to Trump’s attempt to overturn an election he lost? How much is related to the coup attempt by white nationalists? And how much of it’s just picture frames and light bulbs stolen from the White House?

The Mar-a-Lago goons deny “any nefarious intent” and said the 15 boxes contained “mementos, gifts, letters from world leaders and other correspondence.” You know, shit that doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. And I’m sure there was nothing “nefarious” about accidentally taking 15 boxes of shit that doesn’t belong to you. By the way, history tells us that any time Trump and his goons have told us something was innocent, it turned out to be the opposite. The only way Donald Trump should be out of prison and at Mar-a-Lago is with a court-ordered ankle bracelet.

The Trump White House had lawyers. They had legal people. They had staffers who were supposed to know the ins and outs of what is and isn’t legal. Someone should have detected this at least by the time box number eight was being placed on the truck headed for Trump’s compound of gangsters down in Florida.

As I said, I predicted Trump would steal stuff from the White House. I have a new prediction and that is: We’re going to find more. We’re not just going to find more stuff that was created during the Trump administration, but shit that was in the White House before he got there.

Donald Trump is a crook and a grifter. He grifted this nation for four years and he’s continuing to grift this nation. Donald Trump is still the man who had a sham university and a bogus charity. He’s the same guy who cheated contractors. He’s the same guy who cheated his own family from his father’s estate. All the money his political PACS raise is spent at “campaign” events on Trump property. This is the same guy who called Georgia’s Secretary of State and told him to find him more votes. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Donald Trump stole from the White House. I’m sure Mar-a-Lago is stocked with White House toilet paper and tiny bottles of White House shampoo.

Can we just go ahead and put Donald Trump and all his goons in prison now? I hear prisons have shampoo.

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are 19 copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.

Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.

Watch me draw:

Very Nice

Cjones05232021

Rudy Giuliani is being investigated for lobbying violations. Matt Gaetz is being investigated for sex trafficking and for sex with a minor. Donald Trump is being investigated for everything else.

After having his apartment and office raided by the FBI, Giuliani asked why they didn’t pick up the laptop in his possession he claims belongs to Hunter Biden. It’s hard to believe Rudy was once considered a great attorney when he admits to having stolen property in his possession.

Will Rudy flip on Trump? It depends. He may be too stupid or he may be too arrogant to flip on Trump. Rudy could have so much misplaced faith in his legal knowledge and skills, that he believes the Justice Department can’t outwit him. But if the Justice Department is after you, and you can’t differentiate between a hotel and a landscaping business outside a dildo store, you might want to cut a deal. If you’re too stupid to understand shoe polish doesn’t make good hair dye, make a deal.

One person who has flipped is Matt Gaetz’s partner in sex crimes, Joel Greenberg, who knocked his charges down from 33 to six, with one being sex with a minor. How do you reduce your charges from 33 to six? You plead guilty to six and cut a deal by giving the prosecutors someone bigger. Of course, to give someone bigger, you have to have more than your word…especially if you’re the kind of guy who hangs out with Matt Gaetz. Your evidence better be good. Seeing that Greenberg has cut a deal, his evidence is probably pretty good. And if you’ve ever heard the crap that comes out of Gaetz’s mouth, you’ll find it hard to believe he’s good at covering his tracks.

That’s the fun thing about Republicans. They’re stupid and will turn on each other faster than you can say, “Giggity.”

Will the next flipper be Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer? He’s being investigated by the New York state attorney general, who’s cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney. They’ve been given financial records by Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law. They’re looking to see if he paid taxes on gifts given to him by Donald Trump, including cars and private school tuition for at least one of his grandchildren, as well as gifts for his son, Barry Weisselberg, who also works for the Trump Organization.

The investigation into Trump himself started as a civil one, but has now been extended to also be a criminal matter…probably because Trump is a criminal. Weisselberg probably won’t turn on Trump based upon his boss’ history of returning loyalty to those loyal to him (that was sarcasm).

Once upon a time, Michael Cohen said he’d never flip on Trump.

Both offices are looking at crimes with insurance fraud (claiming a property is worth more than it is), tax fraud (claiming that same property is worth less than it really is), and paying hush money to porn stars (claiming they never saw your dinky-dinky-doo which isn’t what you say it is). Now, the Manhattan attorney has Trump’s taxes and other financial documents.

The statute of limitations are about to run out on a lot of these actions Trump is expected of doing, so if there are going to be any charges coming from the state of New York, they’ll come very soon. If tax fraud is discovered, and I think it will be, the Justice Department just might jump in. The Justice Department is probably already looking into Trump fuckery, but they’re behind everyone else because for the past four years, they were headed by a guy who saw himself as Trump’s protector.

Donald Trump has already been busted by New York on civil charges regarding his fake university and his fake charity. As for fraud in describing his property, it’s already been proven Trump lies. He’s lied to lenders about how many condo units he’s sold in a property. He’s even lied about how many floors some of his towers have, ignoring that most people can count. And let me remind you, his finances could lead back to Russia which would open up so much more to investigate.

Donald Trump is corrupt. His entire family is corrupt. Everyone who has ever worked for him is corrupt. The Trump Organization is a crime family. Trump claims this is a witch hunt and a political investigation looking for a crime. They have the crimes. This is the guy who publicly tried to shift a world summit to one of his shitty golf resorts when he was president (sic). I don’t think they’ll have much trouble finding evidence of his corruption.

Here’s another juicy detail to this: Florida officials are talking about what to do if there’s an indictment of Trump from New York. The Palm Beach County state attorney, Dave Aronberg, has admitted they’re having conversations about how the state, and its Trump sycophantic governor, Ron DeSantis, can drag their feet with extradition. Is Ron DeSantis preparing to hide Trump in his cellar in case Colonel Landa swings by?

Aronberg said, “So that’s a conversation we’re having: What is the governor’s power? And the governor’s power to stop an extradition is really nonexistent. He can try to delay it, he can send it to a committee and do research about it, but his role is really ministerial, and ultimately the state of New York can go to court and get an order to extradite the former president.” Can you see DeSantis fighting this and using it politically with Trump’s fucknut Florida base? Can you see Ron DeSantis rebranding himself as Trump’s protector? Only in Florida, right?

If they’re talking about this in Florida, it means they expect it because they know Donald Trump is corrupt. No American president has ever been charged criminally. But then again, no president had ever been impeached twice before Donald Trump waddled into the Oval Office. Donald Trump will be criminally charged for something at some point. He’s just too damn corrupt for it not to happen.

DeSantis can delay the extradition…possibly long enough for Donald Trump to flee the country. It’s too bad his largest private jet is in mothballs on an airport tarmac and the smaller plane he has leaves less room for friends, like Rudy Giuliani and Matt Gaetz…if Trump was loyal enough to take them with him. To make room, Trump might have to choose between Rudy, Gaetz, and a KFC bucket. Sorry, boys.

Where could Trump go to flee U.S. prosecution? There are several nations without extradition treaties with the U.S. A lot of them are in kingdoms that are friendly to Trump, such as the United Arab Emirates Republic, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. I wouldn’t expect him to end up in Niger, Mongolia, Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, or Djibouti (he probably thinks they’re all shitholes). I also wouldn’t expect him to land in Ukraine or China, with all the crap he’s said about them. Of course, he could always go to Russia and become an oligarch. He and Putin can play golf together. He’s already Putin’s ball boy.

I hope Trump is too arrogant to flee the country. Seeing him defeated by President Biden was the first step. Seeing him in prison is the second.

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: I have Three copies of my book in stock, which I’m selling for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.

Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.

Watch me draw:

Trump Tapes

cjones01052021

After hearing tapes of Donald Trump’s call with Georgia’s secretary of state, I’m even more convinced he’s going to issue a self-pardon.

On Saturday, Donald Trump called Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state, and harangued the guy for over an hour. It was a phone call the secretary shouldn’t have taken. Raffensperger was kind and courteous, telling Donald Trump at one point, “You have the wrong data,” instead of losing his cool and saying, “Stop calling me after freebasing 8chan, you corrupt orange conspiracy-minded lunatic!!!!”. Or something to that effect.

Donald Trump’s defense in that he didn’t break the law yesterday would be that he honestly believes in everything he said. He believes votes for Biden were counted three times. He believes dead people were voting. He believes out-of-state residents voted. He believes Dominion voting machines hijacked the election for Biden. He believes Dominion took out machines after the election so they couldn’t be inspected, or inner parts of them were replaced. He believes officials are stealing the election from him. He believes Fulton County is corrupt. He believes ballots were “shredded” in Fulton County. He believes the count is off by “hundreds of thousands” of votes. He believes a water main broke in a room where people were counting votes, then they rushed out leaving ballots unattended and while they were gone, leprechauns fucked with them or some shit like that….anyway. His best defense is that he’s fucking nuts.

And being desperate and nuts isn’t a great defense when you’re president (sic). I mean, do we really want a lunatic as our president (sic)? Apparently, a little less than half our nation does. Half our nation is comprised of lunatics.

But in regards to Donald Trump’s defense, can he be excused if he really doesn’t believe he was threatening Georgia’s secretary of state and his lawyer, Ryan Germany (who Trump said has a very nice last name) with prison if they didn’t overturn the state election for him?

While it was rambling and at times, barely coherent, it was a threat when Trump said, “But the ballots are corrupt. And you’re going to find that they are — which is totally illegal, it is more illegal for you than it is for them because, you know what they did and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal — that’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. And that’s a big risk. But they are shredding ballots, in my opinion, based on what I’ve heard. And they are removing machinery and they’re moving it as fast as they can, both of which are criminal finds. And you can’t let it happen and you are letting it happen. You know, I mean, I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen.”

The highlights from that one paragraph alone: That’s criminal. That’s a big risk to you. It’s more illegal for you than it is for them. I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen.

The most sketchy part of the conversation, out of a lot of sketchy shit, is when Donald Trump told Raffensperger to get him a specific number of votes. Donald Trump told Raffensperger to give him 11,780 more votes than he currently has. Why that number? Because Joe Biden beat him by 11,779. These votes don’t exist, so where are they supposed to come from?

In the call, Trump said, “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.” He then said, “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”

Donald Trump is telling a state official to break the law, to disenfranchise voters, to overturn an election, and to violate democracy. This is what a mob boss does. This is literally what a fascist does.

Everything Donald Trump believes is a lie. And since he needs more than Georgia to flip for him to win the election, who is in other states is he calling to flip?

On Wednesday, Congress will count the electoral college and validate the election for President-Elect Joe Biden. Currently, we know of 140 House members and 12 senators who are going to object. They’re objecting to democracy. They never should have signed on to this coup but after hearing the tape of Trump’s call with Georgia, they should step back. Elected representatives, you know, who got their positions by being elected, shouldn’t object to an election.

It’s bad enough there are insane people out there believing all these conspiracy theories. I’ve had these Qnuts tweet at me in all caps that Biden will never be inaugurated. Do they believe they’ll find corruption and prove Donald Trump won, or do they believe in something worse? Do they believe something terrible is going to happen? Are they part of the plan in making something terrible happen?

Donald Trump is inviting and encouraging his MAGAt base to come to Washington on January 6. What will he do after Wednesday? What argument will they take? What new plan will develop to keep Donald Trump on a throne of power? Trump goons have already plotted to kidnap the female governor of Michigan after Trump tweeted “Liberate Michigan.” During one of the debates, he told Proud Boys to “stand by.” What is he telling them to do now? What are they discussing on 8chan, Parler, and wherever the hell it is that dark shadows congregate?

During the call, Raffensperger tried to shoot down Trump’s conspiracy theories and said, “The problem you have with social media, they — people can say anything.” Donald Trump replied, “Oh, this isn’t social media. This is Trump media.”

Trump media is where they decide their own facts. What are they saying over there?

This is not the first record of Donald Trump engaging in corruption in a phone call. Transcripts were released of his call with the president of Ukraine where he demanded him to investigate Joe Biden and his son or Donald Trump wouldn’t release military aid that had already been approved by Congress. Donald Trump was impeached for that and the Senate of corrupt Republicans acquitted him. Now, he’s breaking the law by telling, and begging, a government official to break the law.

Donald Trump probably won’t need any defense because Georgia is controlled by Republicans so they won’t prosecute him and federally, he’s going to pardon himself. Since the election, Donald Trump has proven time and time again that voting him out of office was the right thing to do.

Joe Biden won the election. This is a fact. There was no mass voter fraud. In the United States, the loser doesn’t win the election (unless he/she wins the most votes but loses the electoral college, but we’ll get back to that another day). If Republicans somehow succeed in stealing the election not just from Joe Biden, but from the American people, then what sort of presidency will Donald Trump operate? After the Senate acquitted him, he just upped his game of corruption. He knew he wouldn’t be punished for anything. If you steal an election for him, then you’re not going to have a president. You’ll have a dictator.

Why would any Republican want to throw out democracy for a fascist state? That’s what I don’t get.

Donald Trump and Republicans are fighting for fascism. Lock them up.

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: I have an order of 20 copies of my book (11 are left to purchase) on the way, which I’m selling for $45.00 each, signed. The books won’t arrive until after the new year, but orders are being taken and they’ll be shipped as soon as I receive them. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.

Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.

Watch me draw:

Defund The NRA

cjones08092020

The National Rifle Association has been a very secretive organization for decades. They won’t publicize their funding or even how many members they have, but there is one thing we know about them. They’re evil incarnate.

For years, the lobbying group has controlled the Republican Party (also evil) and has succeeded in blocking even the lightest of gun regulations. As more and more Americans die from gun violence each year, including children from mass shootings at their schools, the NRA pushes for more guns in our society.

The NRA has advocated for semi-automatic weapons over the lives of children for years. The NRA has blood on its hands. The NRA labels every proposed gun regulation as an attack on the 2nd Amendment. The NRA has positioned itself as the 2nd Amendment. And for years, like every gun nut on the internet, the NRA ignores the part of the 2nd Amendment that mentions “regulated.”

The 2nd Amendment is the most sacred part of the Constitution to Republicans as they describe themselves as Constitutionalists and argue the Amendment shouldn’t be touched. But if they could, they’d take out the word “regulated.” Of course, the 2nd Amendment is the only amendment they’ve read.

Now, the state of New York is going to war with the National Rifle Association. New York isn’t just looking to put a hurting on the NRA. New York is out to obliterate the NRA.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a 168-page lawsuit with the state Supreme Court seeking to dissolve the NRA and claimed four of its top officials “funneled millions into their own pockets” and described the NRA as “a breeding ground for greed, abuse, and brazen illegality.”

The suit was followed by another by the Attorney General of Washington, D.C., who filed suit against the N.R.A. and its charitable foundation, alleging the NRA misused millions of dollars of the foundation’s funds. So the NRA has a charity…just like Donald Trump did.

It’s funny how Republicans chastised the Clinton Foundation for years as corrupt, without ever having proof. Today, the NRA is being sued for corruption and the Trump Foundation doesn’t exist anymore.

The NRA is countersuing New York, claiming its 1st Amendment rights are being attacked and the lawsuit is entirely political. Proving the 2nd Amendment is the only one they’ve read, there is nothing in the 1st that grants you the right to steal money.

The NRA was chartered as a non-profit in New York state 148 years ago though their headquarters are in Virginia outside the capital. The four top dogs in the NRA being sued are Wayne LaPierre, the longtime chief executive, John Frazer, the organization’s general counsel; Josh Powell, a former top lieutenant of LaPierre; and Wilson Phillips (not the 80’s group that sang “Hold on for one more day,” but that might be appropriate here), a former chief financial officer.

LaPierre is accused of raiding N.R.A. funds to bankroll an extravagant lifestyle, even after being paid millions in salary and benefits.

The suit says over six and a half years, a personal travel consultant for LaPierre was paid $13.5 million, largely on no-bid contracts. Private flights were chartered for LaPierre’s wife and his niece. He took frequent trips to the Bahamas on the N.R.A.’s dime, often decamping to a 108-foot yacht called “Illusions” (how appropriate) that was owned by an N.R.A. contractor and included a chef and four staterooms. He lavished gifts from Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman on his inner circle, and once put his niece up at a Four Seasons hotel for eight nights at a cost of more than $12,000.

The suit says the executives enriched themselves, their friends, families, and allies, and took improper actions that cost the organization $64 million over three years. The lawsuit seeks to ban the executives from EVER again serving on nonprofit boards in the state of New York. Hmm. Just like Donald Trump and his three oldest kids after using their fake charity in similar corrupt manners.

This is a civil suit and the state’s AG has referred it to the IRS. There may be a criminal referral in the future. They should probably keep their eyes on LaPierre who likes to visit the Bahamas a lot. We have an extradition treaty with that country, right? Psst. We do.

The NRA is evil. It’s so evil, Russia is a big advocate for it. Why would Russia, a nation with strict gun control laws, send spies to infiltrate the NRA? Because Russia knows the organization helps destabilize the United States. There are still investigations into whether the NRA was used by Russia to funnel money into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Leading up to the 2016 election, the NRA was a Russian asset.

Donald Trump said about the investigation, “That’s a very terrible thing that just happened The N.R.A. should move to Texas and lead a very good and beautiful life.” The word “Beautiful” is one of Donald Trump’s big words which is included in nearly every Donald Trump statement but at least he didn’t pronounce Texas as “Thexas.” By the way, the NRA can’t move its organization while it’s under investigation.

In the past, the state Attorney General referred to the NRA as a “terrorist organization.” They do support easy access to gun by terrorists. In fact, they’ve lobbied to defend a terrorist’s rights to get guns.

LaPierre is also said to have secured for himself, without board approval, a post-employment contract worth more than $17 million. This guy has used the NRA to enrich himself, just like Donald Trump used his bogus charity to enrich himself. What will we learn next? That LaPierre used NRA funds to buy portraits of himself and Tim Tebow-signed football helmets?

The Attorney General’s office took down the Trump Foundation. It took down Trump University. Now, it’s gunning (pun intended) for the National Rifle Association.

Could we actually see the dissolving of two evil organizations in one year? This would be a much safer nation, to itself and the world, with the destruction of the NRA and the Trump administration.

Tip Jar: This pandemic is hitting everyone, including your favorite goofy cartoonist. I have lost clients and I’m afraid I might lose more. The PayPal button has always been included here for those who can and want to voluntarily support what I do. I understand this time is hard on everyone. If you can’t, don’t contribute. Take care of yourself and your family first.

But, all and any help is greatly appreciated and it helps keep me going. Think of me like a street performer busking out tunes on a corner (I won’t play “Wonderwall.” I promise). If you like the tune, or in this case, toon, throw a buck into the tip jar. It’ll help me play another song, draw another toon, write another blog, make another video, and post another snarky post on social media. It’ll help keep me alive. You can also order a signed print for $40. And if you don’t like the PayPal option, you can snail mail it to my P.O. Box. 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

New Book: Tales From the Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

Pardo For Blago

cjones02262020

The Trump cult likes to believe Donald Trump is a great negotiator. So how do they deal with the fact that he’s been publicly out-negotiated by people like Nancy Pelosi and Kim Jong Un? They pretend it never happened. They were proud of Trump being a billionaire who promised to release his taxes. When he broke that promise, they forget he ever made it. They scream about Democratic Socialists candidates promising free stuff when Donald Trump literally promised them a free wall. Today, you don’t hear any of them saying anything about Mexico paying for it while Trump guts the military for his favorite racist vanity project. Donald Trump promised he wouldn’t have time to play golf. So what do they do with that broken promise and Trump spending more taxpayer money on golf than any president before him? They talk about the amount of golf Obama played.

So, with Republicans, members of the Trump cult, fucknuts, assorted shitweasels, and MAGAts upset over their savior granting clemency to former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, how will they come to terms with this? Blago was their go-to as proof Democrats were corrupt. He was a stain on Obama’s presidency in that he attempted to sell the Senate seat the new president vacated after winning the 2008 election.

I saw a few posts today by Trump cultists trying to deal with it. Some are claiming it’s the height of hypocrisy for Democrats to rejoice at this while calling Trump corrupt. Excuse me, but can someone point out the Democrats who are happy over this? No, fucknuts. Democrats impeached the Illinois governor (in the Illinois House, 114-1. In the Senate, 59-0). The height of hypocrisy is campaigning on draining the swamp and running against “pay for play” then pardoning Rod Blagojevich. The height of hypocrisy is being upset over this only because Blago is a Democrat.

After leaving federal prison, Blagojevich stated he’s a “Trumpocrat,” whatever the hell that is.

One interesting detail to this is that Trump isn’t really acknowledging that Blago did anything wrong. He’s blaming the James “Comey gang and all these sleazebags” for Blago being caught despite the fact James Comey wasn’t FBI Director, anywhere near this case or even the Justice Department (he was in the private sector) at the time of the Blago investigation. Leave it to Trump to blame the “deep state” while pardoning Rod Blagojevich. Trump said, “That was a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion and in the opinion of many others.” If you have to lie to justify your actions, then you probably did the wrong thing. Blago didn’t just attempt to sell a Senate seat. He was also convicted of a shakedown attempt involving a racetrack and for withholding taxpayer money from a children’s hospital until its CEO donated to his political campaign. Hmmm…who else is all about withholding taxpayer money for his own benefit and would steal from a children’s charity?

Trump didn’t just stop with Blago. He went on a pardon spree. His pardons are focusing on the types of crimes, lying, and corruption his associates have been convicted of in the Russia investigation.

Trump used his presidential pardoning powers on convicted junk bond king Michael Milken and former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik who was convicted of tax fraud. He pardoned Edward DeBartolo Jr., the billionaire former owner of the San Francisco 49ers who was convicted in an extortion case involving the former governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards. He pardoned David Safavian, a senior official in the George W. Bush administration who was convicted of obstructing a federal investigation as part of the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

There are over 13,000 people currently waiting for a response to their clemency requests, but white-collar white guys who are friends of Trump get to cut to the head of the line. Blago, for example, was on Trump’s fake reality TV show (which probably made federal prison seem like less of a fall from grace after putting yourself into a situation to be judged and graded by Donald Trump). So far, Trump has only granted clemency to one African-American (no, not O.J.), the late boxer Jack Johnson (which was lobbied for by Kim Kardashian). Then, Trump used that pardon in a campaign commercial during the Super Bowl. I guess pardoning a dead black guy is OK because he can’t move into any Republican neighborhoods.

Trump also didn’t go through the normal protocol of reviewing cases suggested by the Justice Department. Instead, he relied on what his friends were saying. Milken’s pardon was recommended by a friend who threw Trump a $10 million fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night (by the way. A lot of that $10 million raised for Trump’s campaign will go to Trump. What? You think he’s loaning out Mar-a-Lago for free? Drain the swamp, indeed). Some of these pardons were recommended by Geraldo Rivera, Andrew Napolitano, Maria Bartiromo, Chris Christie, Newsmax Media’s Christopher Ruddy, and Rudy Guiliani, who’ll probably also lobby for his own pardon very soon. Even the Navy SEAL, Eddie Gallagher, who Trump granted clemency to recently argued for Kerik’s pardon, who was a Gallagher defender on Fox News/Trump TV.

The head of the pardon office in the Department of Justice during the first two years of the Trump administration told The Washington Post that he quit last year because the White House had sidelined his office in favor of taking its cues from celebrities, political allies, and Fox News.

There’s a lot of talk in the press about Trump issuing pardons for Roger Manafort, Michael Flynn, and Roger Stone. But I think those will wait until after the election, which will now be supported by fundraisers held by the beneficiaries of these corrupt billionaire pardons.

Donald Trump is not draining the swamp. He’s the swamp’s Santa Claus. And it’s not so much that Trump is pardoning, and talked of pardoning, so many criminals connected to him, but that the president is connected to so many criminals.

So, how will Trump cultists, fucknuts, assorted shitweasels, and MAGAts overcome this pardoning of corrupt Democrat Rob Blagojevich? First, they’ll stop talking about it. And since most of them are former Never Trumpers, by tomorrow afternoon, they’ll be defending it.

Support the cartoonist.

You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

New Book: Tales From 

Watch me draw.

Money For Corruption

cjones12282019

The argument doesn’t work anymore.

But like most of Trump’s arguments and excuses, the lie that he withheld military aid from Ukraine because he had to make sure the new administration wasn’t corrupt is totally bogus. Trump himself made it clear it wasn’t working when he changed the excuse to withholding the money because Europe wasn’t contributing enough.

Even after Trump withheld the aid, his White House was scrambling to find an excuse to explain it and researching to see if the move was even legal (that’s in case the coverup doesn’t work). After all, Congress had already appropriated the funds to Ukraine and the Trump administration had informed them TWICE before the phone call with that nation’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that the funds, nearly $400 million, had been released. Even Mitch McConnell was scratching his ass wondering what the hold up was.

After the funds were finally released, the excuse was Trump was finally satisfied that Zelensky could be trusted. Some Republicans claimed it was because Democratic Senator Richard Durbin had threatened to block $5 billion in funding to the Pentagon if it wasn’t released. Closer to the truth, Trump and his goons learned about the whistleblower complaint and knew the proverbial shit was about to hit the fan. It’s also why Trump made sure to say to his ambassador to the European Union on a recorded call, “no quid pro quo.” He also said, “ixnay on the orruptionay.”

The explanation that we can’t give military aid to corrupt nations doesn’t fly when you look at the facts concerning Israel.

Israel is the largest beneficiary of aid from the United States, receiving nearly $3 billion a year annually since 1976. While Donald Trump is dicking with $391 million to Ukraine meant to aid fighting off an invasion by his pal Vladimir Putin, Israel, headed by Trump’s other pal, Benjamin Netanyahu, has received over $121 BILLION since World War II. That’s a “billion” with a “b.” You don’t hear any Republicans asking how that money is being spent.

You can bet your ass no Republican, and most Democrats, for that matter, would withhold funding to Israel, even with a sitting indictment against Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. But like all things with Israel, they are an exception and questions aren’t to be asked. If you do ask, especially against a conservative prime minister loved by Republicans, you’ll be accused of being antiSemitic. Never mind the fact that Netanyahu has been indicted by his own government.

The guess this means the state of Israel is antiSemitic.

The thing with Trump, and to a larger extent, his personal goon Rudy Giuliani, is that they were checking to see if Ukraine’s Zelensky was corrupt. For Trump, the more corruption the better. Just ask Bibi.

Support the cartoonist.

You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

Devin Has A Cow Over Corruption

cjones11282019

Devin Nunes, the top-ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee (which held impeachment hearings over the past two weeks), says reports he met with a former Ukrainian prosecutor a criminal campaign against him by a “totally corrupt” news media.

Nunes was chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the first two years of the Trump administration where he did all he could to stifle and obstruct the committee’s investigation into Russian meddling. During the present impeachment inquiry, he’s used his time to argue that all Trump wanted to do by withholding money from Ukraine was to get to the bottom of Joe Biden’s corruption. But I’m starting to think a guy who believes reporting the news is corrupt probably isn’t a guy qualified to decide who is and isn’t corrupt.

Lev Parnas, who was recently indicted and worked on the Ukraine pressure campaign with Rudy Giuliani, said through his lawyer that he learned of a meeting in Vienna (in case you’re a Republican, that’s in Austria…NOT Australia) in 2018 between Nunes and Viktor Shokin, the former Ukrainian prosecutor general who has emerged as a key figure in Republican attacks on Mr. Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Parnas says he learned of the meeting from Shokin.

Shokin was a corrupt prosecutor and he claims (falsely) that he was fired because he was investigating a company where Joe Biden’s son was a director, and has participated in Giuliani’s public smear campaign against former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. Trump, Giuliani, and other Republicans have attempted to make the corrupt prosecutor the victim in the story. Keep in mind, these are the same people defending Russian spies who attacked America.

Parnas also claims he met with one of Nunes’ aides at Trump’s Washington Hotel, which is not the best hotel in Washington but the favorite location to engage in shady dealings with goons and henchmen.

The best answer Nunes could give when asked if it was true was, “Everybody’s going to know all the facts, but I think you can understand, I can’t compete by trying to debate this out with the public media when 90 percent of the media are totally corrupt.” He’s promising to sue CNN and The Daily Beast for reporting Parnas’ claim. If Devin’s cow claims he was too hard on her udders and the press reported it, even then, he wouldn’t have a lawsuit.

In case you’re a Republican, let me point out the irony in this situation if it’s all true: Donald Trump has been accused of asking a foreign nation to help his re-election campaign. He’s been accused of using extortion to gain that help. Devin is on the committee investigating it after he’s asked foreigners to help with Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.

The problem in Washington is the swamp. We’re asking corrupt people to investigate other corrupt people. Naturally, the corrupt people believe the other corrupt people are innocent.

If this is true, it’s not surprising. During the 2018 midterm campaign, Devin was secretly recorded telling supporters the GOP needed to preserve their majority because they were the only ones who could protect Trump (knowing he’s corrupt). While he was chairman of the committee, he rushed information to the White House (they already had) that the committee was investigating, which was basically giving them a heads up. He recused himself from the Russia investigation after being accused of leaking material to the media and the White House. He pushed out the memo condemning the FBI (without specifying any laws broken) for conducting surveillance on suspected spies. He’s been a champion of debunked conspiracy theories clearing Russia of meddling and helping Trump.

Really? Devin Nunes did something corrupt? Shocking.

At this time, Nunes needs to remove himself from the committee. If this is true, he failed to report his actions. If this is true, he’s just as guilty as Trump. Being that he served on the 2016 Trump campaign, he shouldn’t be on the committee in the first place.

Nunes’ constituents and all Americans would be better served if his congressional seat and spot on the Intelligence Committee were occupied by Devin’s cow.

Support the cartoonist.

You can help me continue to create cartoons, blogs, and videos by making a contribution. All support, large and small, is greatly appreciated. You can also support me by purchasing a signed print (8 1/2×11) for $40, or a signed poster (18×24) for $100 by clicking the PayPal button (just include a note if you’re purchasing a print). If you want to support but don’t want to use PayPal, you can send a contribution through the mail (address is on the contact page. Again, include a note for a print). I don’t plan on going anywhere and your support will help guarantee that. Whether you support, can’t. or just choose not to, please know that I am truly thankful that you visit my site and read my work.

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

New Book: Tales From The Trumpster Fire

Watch me draw.

Embrace The Corruption

cjones11092018

For Donald Trump, the best way to end a probe into corruption is to engage in more corruption.

I published a cartoon September 25, predicting that Sessions would be fired right after the midterms. I re-shared it on social media to boast about my amazing abilities to predict the political future, and a lot of my readers complimented me on it too. But to be honest, it didn’t take the Amazing Kreskin or Miss Cleo to see this one coming. I was only half-right as Rod Rosenstein wasn’t fired, at least not yet. I was also off in believing Andrew Gillum had Florida, so I won’t be off to Vegas for a career in making wagers.

Trump didn’t have to fire Rosenstein as he put in a lackey to temporarily run the Justice Department. Typically, the Deputy Attorney General would be the interim director, but Trump made Sessions’ chief-of-staff, Matt Whitaker, the new head which directly puts him in charge of the Special Counsel’s investigation into the Russian investigation and Trump’s obstruction of justice.

As we have all come to know too well, Trump likes lackeys. He’s been upset with Sessions ever since he recused himself from the Russia investigation, despite it being the right thing to do. Trump said more than once that Sessions should have told him beforehand that he’d recuse himself so Trump could have hired someone else. That’s Trump admitting that any Attorney General should have seen he would come under investigation. That’s another thing you didn’t have to be Miss Cleo to see coming.

Trump wants someone in charge at Justice who will kiss his ring, pay homage, join the cult, and want the embrace. Trump gave a press conference yesterday blaming Republicans who lost their races on their refusal to embrace him. He even called them out by name, refusing to realize that each of the losses was his fault.

Whitaker wants the embrace. He’s written more than once and spoken on cable news about obstructing Robert Mueller’s investigation. He’s speculated about cutting Mueller’s funding and even accused him of “crossing a red line,” despite him not knowing where any lines are. The White House considered Whitaker their “eyes and ears” of the Justice Department, an agency they consider hostile toward Trump. Whitaker has referred to the investigation as a “lynch mob.”

Whitaker was also the campaign manager for Sam Clovis’ campaign for Iowa State Treasurer, who went on to work on the Trump campaign which made him a witness in the Russia investigation. Now, Whitaker is overseeing the Russia investigation where he can also inform Trump what Mueller is doing. Whitaker has conflicts of interest and needs to recuse himself. This is how you build an oligarchy.

Thankfully, the House will be led by Democrats who can issue subpoenas into Trump’s obstruction, collusion, corruption, and everything else shady he’s been doing. The House will now do the job the Republicans should have been doing. Trump lost Devin Nunes leading the Intelligence Committee, who would run to the White House to share committee information with Trump and leak memos to the press. But, Trump has a new Nunes to temporarily lead the Justice Department.

I wouldn’t trust Whitaker to manage a Taco Bell less enough the Justice Department.  The integrity of Mueller’s investigation must remain intact, but we know Trump and his sycophants don’t do integrity.

Be Complicit
What kind of person would want to be part of something that disparages, slanders, and disrespects Dear Leader and his sycophantic followers? Hopefully, you. 
Making a contribution supports my work and keeps the cartoons, columns, and videos coming. My income is from newspapers that subscribe to my work and small contributors. George Soros hasn’t sent me a million dollar check in weeks. Making a contribution of any amount, or buying a print for $40.00, makes you part of this specific resistance, and a member of Team Claytoonz (we’re still working on the name). You are complicit, an accomplice, and in cahoots (and whatever gangster terms we can think of) with this political satire pointing out that the stupid emperor has no clothes. Contributions can be made through PayPal, checks, and wads of cash exchanged in back alleys.
Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!! 

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.

Drain The Deep State

cjones08282018

I’m sure corrupt Republicans were corrupt long before Donald Trump became the cult leader of their party. But, he totally emboldened them to push the limits of greed and self-serving.

Donald Trump is violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by making money from his office. Anyone who feels the need to get on Trump’s good side, which he makes very clear is required, stays at his hotel in Washington. From Republicans to foreign dignitaries, they put their money into Trump’s pockets. Recently, the embassies of Kuwait and the Philippines held parties in the ballroom in the D.C. Trump Hotel.

It’s not just in Washington either as revenue for the Trump Hotel in New York rose by 13% after two years of decline, just by one five-day visit from a Saudi Prince. Neither the Prince nor any members of the Saudi royal family actually stayed at the hotel, as they have standards and probably heard what Trump does on the mattresses with hookers, but he sent his entourage to stay there.

Trump also makes huge windfalls every time he plays golf at one of his resorts as the United States government needs to pay for members of the administration and various government employs to book rooms. There’s also his restaurants at the resorts and hotels, golf cart rentals (which the Secret Service has to pay to watch Trump cheat at golf), and other incidentals.

Trump also stole from his charity to buy gifts for himself and settle lawsuits for his businesses. The charity was also managed by the Trump Campaign during the presidential race, and coordinated for political events. Other acts of corruption and cons are Trump’s fake university and paying off porn stars and Playmates to keep quiet about sleeping with him. He’s also giving do-nothing campaign jobs with huge salaries to former White House staffers, so they’ll keep their mouths shut too.

Trump is rewarded for all of this with an approval rating from Republicans nearing 90%. So, when other Republican politicians witness this, why wouldn’t they think they could get away with it? When Trump’s corruption is investigated and people are going to prison, he cries “witch hunt” and perpetuates the ridiculous deep state theory.

Republican congressman Duncan Hunter is blaming the deep state for his troubles. He has been indicted on a series of counts ranging from conspiracy to campaign finance violations. He is being accused of spending campaign money on personal expenses.

In a seven-year period, Hunter and his wife overdrew their checking account over 1,100 times with overdraft fees of $37,761. The Hunters took more than $250,000 from his campaign.

They would make personal purchases and later claim they were campaign related, like buying golf clothes and later claiming they were golf balls for a Wounded Warriors project. They spent thousands on vacations to Italy and Hawaii, on video games, books, puzzles, trips to Costco, Target and Walmart, computers, and lavish meals. Duncan Hunter once claimed miles on a trip where he didn’t take his car. He also made his wife his campaign manager, so she could collect the salary.

His wife once paid an overdue balance to her dentist and then later told the campaign’s treasurer it was for a charity called “Smiles for Life.”

Then, there’s the bunny. Hunter spent $600.00 to fly the family’s pet rabbit. No word yet if Hoppy ever got his own room at a Trump resort.

When he would be questioned by his staff about the expenses, he would accuse them of not being loyal. Does that sound familiar? Also, familiar sounding, when the indictments came down, he blamed a “deep state” conspiracy among “partisan Democrat prosecutors,” despite the fact they’re coming from other Republicans. The prosecutor was appointed by Jeff Sessions. He also blamed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and claims this attack on him is a way to get to the president.

Hunter was the second Republican in Congress to endorse Trump for president. The first Republican to endorse him was Chris Collins from New York who was just…wait for it…indicted for insider trading. Yes, the first two Republicans in Congress to endorse Donald Trump have been indicted. Once you go orange, you don’t go back.

They love to shout “drain the swamp” at Trump rallies. Trump has said he initially didn’t like the phrase as he thought it was cheesy but grew to like it when it became a chant. Obviously, it’s about the chant and not the definition. Even if Trump does know what “drain the swamp” means, he has no real intention of ending corruption in Washington as his administration may already be the most corrupt in American history.

If Trump really wanted to end corruption in D.C. and “drain the swamp,” he would resign. Maybe that would be an act other Republicans could follow.

Your support in the form of donations is appreciated. I am fully independent as I’m not employed by a newspaper or with a major syndicate (leaving one to be independent). It does take a lot of work to provide you with cartoons, columns, and videos almost every day (more than any other political cartoonist), and I don’t charge my clients much at all. If you can, please consider making a financial contribution to keep the fun flowing, or purchase a signed print for $40. Whether you can help support, can’t, or just choose not to, please continue to enjoy and keep reading my work. Thank you!!!

You can purchase a signed print of this cartoon.

Watch me draw.