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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DeVos' resume

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DeVos' resume:

DeVos' resume

The family tree


Betsy DeVos' appointment as Sec. of Education had less to do with her competency, adroitness, or knowledge of the field than it did with massive donations to the Trump campaign and her family's ties to a web of international intrigue centered around her brother, Blackwater founder and secret Trump attaché, Erik Prince. 

That's the only conclusion I could draw, especially after reading the WaPo story about Prince's secret Seychelles meeting to establish a Trump-Putin back channel.


Though Prince had no formal role with the Trump campaign or transition team, he presented himself as an unofficial envoy for Trump to high-ranking Emiratis involved in setting up his meeting with the Putin confidant, according to the officials, who did not identify the Russian.
Prince was an avid supporter of Trump. After the Republican convention, he contributed $250,000 to Trump’s campaign, the national party and a pro-Trump super PAC led by GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, records show. He has ties to people in Trump’s circle, including Stephen K. Bannon, now serving as the president’s chief strategist and senior counselor. Prince’s sister Betsy DeVos serves as education secretary in the Trump administration. And Prince was seen in the Trump transition offices in New York in December.
 Prince is best known as the founder of Blackwater, a security firm that became a symbol of U.S. abuses in Iraq after a series of incidents, including one in 2007 in which the company’s guards were accused — and later criminally convicted — of killing civilians in a crowded Iraqi square. Prince sold the firm, which was Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: DeVos' resume: