FROM VANITY TO INSANITY HOW THE WHITE HOUSE CHEATED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR 250TH BIRTHDAY

[Nevilledog]

https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/imo/media/doc/freedom250_oversight_report2.pdf

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2016, Congress established an independent, nonpartisan U.S.
Semiquincentennial Commission tasked with organizing celebrations in
honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
America250 was created to lead the celebrations on behalf of every American,
insulated from the political whims of any particular administration. It was designed
to leverage public-private partnerships without any quid-pro-quos or outsized
political influence infecting the celebrations. The National Park Foundation—the
official philanthropic partner of the National Park Service for more than five
decades—stood ready to channel private generosity toward the parks and public
spaces where the nation would gather.

But under President Donald Trump, this anniversary has been hijacked and
perverted into a hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment. This interim report
documents how the machinery built for a national commemoration was converted,
deliberately and over a period of months, into an apparatus for raising and spending
money in service of the President’s ego, political ideology, and pet projects.

The White House first attempted to bend America250 to its purposes,
demanding spectacles focused on promoting President Trump rather than the
country while forcing partisan content, campaign-style fundraisers, and favored
contractors onto an organization Congress designed to serve the whole country, not
one party or president. America250 pushed back against the President’s demands
and their resistance carried a price.

When America250 would not yield, the White House created a replacement:
Freedom 250 LLC, a shadow organization capable of infiltrating the celebrations and
injecting America’s 250th with Trump’s extreme, partisan agenda. Lodged within
the National Park Foundation, the new entity could exploit the credibility and donor
relationships of a beloved public charity while operating outside the transparency
and accountability requirements Congress wrote into the semiquincentennial
framework.

What followed is documented in the body of this report. Freedom 250 may
have conducted wire fraud by luring unsuspecting donors who intended to support
the congressionally chartered foundation and giving them Freedom 250 bank
information instead. Presidential access was sold to those willing to pay for it. A
false history of the country was imposed to suit the President’s distorted vision of
the past. Christian nationalist ideology was injected into events, eroding the wall
of church-state separation. Loose logo licensing let Freedom 250 brand deeply
racist merchandise under the government’s banner. An organization that was once
responsible for planning events surrounding the January 6th insurrection has now
been contracted for America’s 250th celebrations. Taxpayer dollars were funneled
to the President’s preferred contractors. Americans’ private, personal information
has been harvested by Trump’s allies for political purposes.

This is an interim report. Significant questions remain unanswered, beginning
with the complete donor lists and the ultimate disposition of the funds that
Freedom 250 has raised and spent. But the record already assembled supports
a conclusion that should alarm the American people. The national celebration
that belonged to the entire country was hijacked to serve one man’s vanity, and
the methods they’ve used and perfected—from capturing nonprofits to exploiting
interested donors, diverting public funds, and dismantling independent entities—
have paved the way for the ultra-wealthy and politically connected to take
advantage of the American people.

Despite Congressional Republican having an abundance of evidence and
knowledge of this corruption, the majority party has refused to conduct oversight
to uncover the truth for the American people and hold the Trump administration
accountable.

This report seeks to record what was done with America’s 250th birthday so we
can dismantle this playbook for corruption before it becomes a permanent practice
of government

*snip*

[kentuck]

1. Cheated?

Yes, the people have been cheated by an ego-driven authoritarian usurping the powers of our elected officials.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. Can you imagine

just how different this celebration would have been under President Harris and VP Walz?

I long for the days of the Bicentennial, the Parade of Tall Ships and all the other wonders that went with that.....

[underpants]

4. I remember the Freedom Train

It was smaller exhibits from the Smithsonian on several train cars. We went and saw it in Chesterfield

[underpants]

3. and giving them Freedom 250 bank information instead.

Yep that’s fraud.

[Initech]

5. Remember that 1/2 of Americans voted for the fucking asshole.

So of course he's going to make it all about himself.

[Solly Mack]

6. ...