Lest We Furrget: Reagan Scandal (Not Iran-Contra)

By Miss Kubelik

Well, there goes another dignified Presidential tradition, sullied by the tiny hands of Benedict Donald. Trump just gave Ed Meese the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

As we've noted before, Meese is a perennial entry on our list of Worst AGs Ever. The fact that Bill Barr has brought the Justice Department to new, lower lows doesn't make Meese's tenure there okay. For those who weren't around (or reading headlines) 30 years ago, here's a quick refresher — a New York Times report from 1989:

"The Justice Department said today that Edwin Meese III violated government ethics codes so seriously when he was Attorney General that if he were still in office he should be subjected to Presidential discipline...failing to file timely tax returns and holding personal investments in areas affected by his governmental decisions.

"Specifically, the Justice inquiry found that Mr. Meese had violated the executive order on standards of conduct by failing to avoid the appearance of impropriety in three instances:

• By helping his friend, E. Robert Wallach, obtain a $30 million defense contract for the Wedtech Corporation.
• By helping Mr. Wallach obtain favorable loan treatment for Wedtech from the Economic Development Administration.
• By helping Mr. Wallach promote support in the Reagan Administration for an Iraqi proposal to build an oil pipeline through Lebanon to the Mediterranean."

Republican sleaze just doesn't get old, does it? Sure, the Trump family and its merry band of grifters spend every day, all day, dismantling our government and selling it for parts on an unimaginable scale. But that doesn't make what Meese did forgivable. That he was willing to accept a sham medal from a mobster President is proof that ol' Ed hasn't improved much over the years. We cats HISS.