'He always brings them up': Trump tries to steer border wall deal to North Dakota firm

[lindysalsagal]

Source: WAPO

By Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey May 23 at 7:06 PM

?uuid=Nn4iyH11Eemx87Iz_lgR7w

President Trump has personally and repeatedly urged the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award a border wall contract to a North Dakota construction firm whose top executive is a GOP donor and frequent guest on Fox News, according to four administration officials.

In phone calls, White House meetings and conversations aboard Air Force One during the past several months, Trump has aggressively pushed Dickinson, N.D.-based Fisher Industries to Department of Homeland Security leaders and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the Army Corps, according to the administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal discussions. The push for a specific company has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials.

Semonite was summoned to the White House again Thursday, after the president’s aides told Pentagon officials — including Gen. Mark Milley, the Army’s chief of staff — that the president wanted to discuss the border barrier. According to an administration official with knowledge of the Oval Office meeting, Trump immediately brought up Fisher, a company that sued the U.S. government last month after the Army Corps did not accept its bid to install barriers along the southern border, a contract potentially worth billions of dollars.
Tommy Fisher and his wife gave more than $10,000 — the maximum allowable contribution — to Cramer in 2018 as he ran for Senate, campaign finance records show. Fisher was Cramer’s guest at Trump’s State of the Union speech in February, and the CEO said he shook the president’s hand afterward.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/he-always-brings-them-up-trump-tries-to-steer-border-wall-deal-to-north-dakota-firm/2019/05/23/92d3858c-7b30-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html?utm_term=.c9af4a034db4

[groundloop]

1. Drain the swamp my ass.....

I'm at a loss for words......someone else take over please.

[lindysalsagal]

2. That article is long and fragmented and rambles. I think that means

there is a large, ugly back story that they're trying to source. Wouldn't it be just too poetic if it turned out his sacred wall was just crony payback???

[groundloop]

4. I believe it's pretty obvious he has an ulterior motive - probably getting kickbacks

[lark]

5. This and incoming asylum seekers are his top profit opportunities.

That's why he cares about them above anything else - they put the most $$ in his pockets. It's also why he is not pursuing infrastructure after 3 years - he hasn't nailed down the bribe/percentage for himself yetl.

[dchill]

8. I've thought from the start that the wall...

was all about the payback and the kickback. The wall would have no other real purpose.

[Achilleaze]

3. Sweetheart deals for KGOpee ass kissers

What a corrupt pack of wankers the republicans are.

[B Stieg]

6. pResident Kickback

at least, I think that's what this sort of criminality used to be called...

[Bayard]

7. $1.5B for 1.7 miles of border wall

That about says it all.