Olympia City Council Sends Trump Investigation Letter

Above: Sharon Herting of Olympia offers some social media app suggestions for participation in the political process outside Olympia city hall on July 11.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The Olympia City Council has sent a letter to Washington State’s congressional delegation asking members to pursue an “aggressive, independent investigation” into President Donald J. Trump’s business ties, Russian connections, and actions to impede federal investigations, as well as other alleged violations of United States law.

At the council’s July 11 meeting, council members decided not to endorse a resolution calling for President Trump’s impeachment, but promised to send a strongly worded letter asking the state’s congressional delegation to call for an investigation into impeachment.

Without using the word “impeachment,” the letter spells out impeachable concerns.

The letter, dated July 18, was signed by Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby on behalf of the council. It was written by Olympia city councilmember Nathaniel Jones and Olympia city manager Steve Hall.

Bonnie Jones, coordinator of Puget Sound Communities 4 Impeachment, praised the letter and hopes it will unify the council in going forward with a plan to introduce a rewritten resolution at a later date.

“Things seem to be moving fast in some ways, but we still have work to do,” she said.

Addressed to U.S. House of Representative Denny Heck, the letter asks him to promptly contact the United States House Judiciary Committee to insist that it pursue an investigation.

The letter reads in part:

“Your constituents in Olympia have expressed their grave concerns that the President has violated his constitutional oath to faithfully preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Also, they are concerned that in violation of his constitutional duty, he has prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice.

“The President’s actions have led many to conclude that he has violated the Constitution of the United States Foreign Emoluments Clause, the Domestic Emoluments Clause and contract lease provisions of the General Services Administration.

“Further, his actions indicate that he has tried to curtail investigations of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, the Russian state interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and the conduct of his campaign personnel, including possible collusion with a foreign government. His firing of FBI Director James Comey has been acknowledged as an attempt to curtail legitimate investigations. These various actions have lead many, including our mutual constituency in Olympia, to assert that obstruction of justice has transpired.

“The City Council firmly believes in the Constitution and laws of the United States and insists that no person is above the law. The Office of the President of the United States requires the holder to faithfully execute the laws and Constitution of our Nation.

“Yet, Olympians have found that Donald J. Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President, in a way that is subversive to constitutional government, and with great prejudice to the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury to the people of this great city.

“When the honor and duty of the President is in question, an investigation is imperative.”

For more information about the Olympia city council’s deliberations regarding the letter and a resolution, go to Little Hollywood, https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2017/07/olympia-council-considers-trump.html

Olympia Considers Trump Impeachment Investigation

Above: Supporters of Puget Sound Communities 4 Impeachment call for the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump outside Olympia City Hall on Tuesday evening. 

Council to Send Letter to State Congressional Delegation Asking for Investigation into Trump’s Activities

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A resolution calling upon the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings and investigate President Donald J. Trump’s alleged wrongdoings was up for consideration at Tuesday evening's Olympia city council meeting. 

Fourteen cities nationwide, from Los Angeles, California to Newton, Massachusetts, have passed resolutions calling for an the initiation of impeachment proceedings.

But in a 4 - 3 vote, council members voted to send just a letter to Washington State's congressional representatives asking them to call for an investigation into impeachment. 

Mayor Cheryl Selby and Councilmembers Hankins, Bateman, and Roe voted for just sending the letter, with Councilmembers Nathaniel Jones, Clark Gilman, and Jim Cooper voting for the resolution and letter.

Council entertained the possibility of spending more time drafting a resolution after gathering more public input.

With the item pulled from the consent calendar, Councilmember Julie Hankins proposed a motion to not pass the resolution and instead send a letter to Washington State congressional representatives asking them to call for the investigation.

Councilmember Jeannine Roe, who said she is troubled by the actions of the president in “style and actions,” asked staff for clarification on the difference between the resolution and the letter.

Olympia city manager Steve Hall admitted that the resolution was hastily written with firm statements of criminal wrongdoing by President Trump that have not yet been verified, saying the resolution “goes deeper” than a letter.

Several councilmembers said they wanted it put on the record that they have heard constituent’s concerns about President Trump’s activities.

Saying he found no joy in discussing the issue, when it comes to matters of law and misconduct by an elected leader, “it’s our responsibility to voice our concerns into possible illegal activities and obstructing justice,” said Councilmember Nathaniel Jones.

“It’s clear to reasonable people that laws are being broken,” said Councilmember Clark Gilman.

During public comment, several community members spoke in favor of combining the power of a resolution and a letter to congressional representatives.

Phil Schulte was the lone speaker who said that the whole matter was a federal issue, not a city issue, and suggested that the question of a resolution in support of calling for an investigation be placed on the ballot so citizens can decide if it’s appropriate or not.

Bonnie Jones, of Olympia, started a group called Puget Sound Communities 4 Impeachment and was the first to speak before council. 

The group's mission is to ask the Olympia City Council to adopt a resolution calling on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment investigation of President Trump, based on his alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution.

Jones told Little Hollywood before the council meeting that she has been politically active before, but has never been the leader of an organization. She felt compelled to act because she feels the country is in peril. She hoped Olympia would be the first city in the Pacific Northwest to recommend impeachment proceedings. 

Her husband, Marc Jones, also spoke in support of the resolution and a letter to congressional representatives.

“…So why an impeachment resolution six months into a presidential term? The resolution addresses two matters: emoluments and obstruction of justice….Emoluments….Is it skin cream? Is it candy?” he began, eliciting chuckles from the audience in the packed council chambers.

“The issue of emoluments was serious business to the writers of our Constitution. They feared Presidents using the office to enrich themselves. They feared foreign interests influencing the President through bribery….They put clauses into both Article I and Article II of the Constitution that basically said ‘no’ to emoluments. Since then, many statutes and ethics rules have been put in place to reinforce this….

“Our problem is we now have a President who acts as if he is not bound by any of this. He refuses to reveal the extent of his financial interests here and abroad. He refuses to divest those interests…He claims it sufficient to turn things over to a trust run by his sons. But the sole legal beneficiary of that trust is himself. That is not a blind trust.  That is not divestment.

“He can take actions that benefit him financially. Foreign entities have paths to either enrich or financially threaten him. That is what the Founders feared. This is what the Emoluments Clauses were meant to prevent. I believe this situation is not just illegal. I believe it is dangerous. This situation must be investigated,” said Jones.

The Olympia city council often comments and acts upon national and international issues.

In early June, the city stated that it was “highly disappointed” in the decision of the Trump Administration to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. 

“The City was proud to participate in the Paris Climate Summit and remains strongly committed to the global effort against climate change. In 2015, the City joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. In doing so, Olympia joined with more than 7,000 other cities all around the world committing to bold action on climate change. The decision by the Trump Administration only strengthens our resolve that leadership must continue to come from local communities,” said a press release.

By resolution in December, 2016, the City of Olympia declared itself a sanctuary city that will serve and protect its residents regardless of their immigration status, and refuse any requests that are an extension of any federal immigration policy enforcement actions.

Above: Sharon Herting and Robert Lovitt, members of the South Sound Buddhist Peace Fellowship, made their opinions known outside Olympia city hall Tuesday evening. Herting's sign says, “We want positive leadership.” Lovitt's sign says, “Sending him prayers and loving kindness - resisting his policies.”

Lovitt, who was wearing a “Nixon Now” button, said Nixon was a sweetheart compared to President Trump.“It’s not about hating Trump. I really feel sorry for him, actually, because he is so unaware of how he harms others. I support democracy and don’t want to see its erosion,” said Lovitt.

Port of Olympia and ThurstonTalk: When “Journalism” Isn’t What It Seems

Little Hollywood Investigation Reveals Paid Contract

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

When the Port of Olympia put out an article on May 5 by Kate Scriven for ThurstonTalk called, “Port of Olympia: Snapshot of Current Projects, Recent Changes, Plans for Future,” via the Port’s list serv, I read it. The public and the media are invited to subscribe to this list serv in order to keep up on Port activities.

The article was an interview with Port of Olympia executive director Ed Galligan and read like a one-sided industry puff piece, so I discredited it, but then, I became curious.

The next day, I wrote an email to Port staff and commissioners:

“I think it is very strange that the Port of Olympia would select this story written by a blog called ThurstonTalk to send out to those who have signed up to receive Port related information. My blog, Little Hollywood, has written many timely, well researched Port related stories worthy of sending out via this list. I am wondering how you determined that this story was more worthy for broader public dissemination than any of mine. What is your policy for selecting articles?”

Kathleen White, communications director for the Port, was prompted to respond to my inquiry on May 15 when Port Commissioner Bill McGregor sent me an email on May 14 wondering if I had received a response and what the answer was to my inquiry.

White’s answer revealed that the ThurstonTalk article was not just one-sided journalism, but was, in fact, a paid piece of marketing disguised as journalism, the product of a Port-ThurstonTalk contract signed on March 5.

“….In an effort to reach a broad local audience, the Port at its discretion chose to contract with ThurstonTalk for the writing and publishing of a select number of articles about the Port which can then be forwarded to the Port's email list,” White wrote Little Hollywood in an email May 15.

I immediately expressed confusion and responded that I was not aware of ThurstonTalk’s business model:

“…I heard that they pay their writers. That's all I know…. It sounds like they are a public relations firm that the Port contracted with to promote the Port, but it's made to look like independent journalism.  So, how much is the Port paying ThurstonTalk for this contract and what are the terms of that contract? I would also like to know what articles the Port is paying to be produced. Was the one sent out by Ed Galligan the first one? As you can imagine, I am very alarmed and disappointed that the Port wasn't more transparent about this when it sent out the article. Future articles from ThurstonTalk should contain a clear disclaimer, something like, “The following message from the Port of Olympia is a paid advertisement,” I wrote.

White responded that ThurstonTalk was hired by the Port of Olympia to produce four such “articles.” The article sent out May 5 as a “Message from Executive Director Ed Galligan” was the first article.

“Thank you for drawing the Port's attention to the need for a disclaimer on the article written and published by ThurstonTalk. Should the Port send out any future such articles, the Port will indicate that the article was paid for by the Port of Olympia,” wrote White.

White said that in 2015, the Port will pay $1200 per year for publication of all its news releases and $600 for the writing and publication of four articles about the Port, for a total of $1800. White said that the topics for the other three have not yet been determined. 

The Port's contract was signed on March 5 by White and Martin McElliott of ThurstonTalk.

According to its website, ThurstonTalk calls itself an “information source” serving the Thurston County community and was launched on January 1, 2011.

It says, “A vibrant community needs an information source that has the ability to interact with community members through multiple tools, while adding a meaningful advertising platform for local businesses.”

Asked to comment on its business model and how a discerning reader could know which articles are paid for, McElliott responded, “All of our writers are contractors.  Not all of our content is paid for by our sponsors.  Generally the articles that have a business logo attached are sponsored.  We write positive feel good stories and showcase why we all live work and play where we do,” said McElliott in an email today.

Generally?

The Port-ThurstonTalk contract says that their package includes all news releases by the Port, but when asked today after the Port’s work session, White said she wrote the May 20 press release about Olympia Beekeepers Association members installing hives in an Olympia Airport field that will be full of flowering blackberries this summer, and was not related to the ThurstonTalk contract.

According to the contract, ThurstonTalk features a variety of marketing and content packages ranging in monthly prices for articles from $150 to $3,100. For example, customer driven articles cost $500 per article, or $900 for six short posts. An event focused article is $450 per article.

Eight Port of Olympia Candidates To Be Interviewed For Commissioner Position

At today’s work session, Commissioners Barner and McGregor agreed to interview all eight candidates for the open commissioner position on June 1 and June 2 between 1 – 5 p.m. at Tumwater Town Center, 7241 Cleanwater Drive SW, Tumwater.  Each interview will last about 40 minutes.

One candidate, Bill Wells, asked the Port to withdraw his name from consideration.

Port commissioners George Barner and Bill McGregor are expected to reach a decision by June 10, but have until June 30 to do so.

Full Disclosure: Janine Unsoeld does not write any article for her blog, Little Hollywood, in exchange for payment. A small sidebar on her blog asks for donations if folks appreciate independent journalism and like what they are reading. Janine works fulltime as a caregiver for seniors and while she appreciates the donations she receives, it is safe to say that she writes what she is able to as a community service.

Janine is also under contract to write a book, “Legendary Locals of Olympia and South Puget Sound,” through Arcadia Publishing/History Press. The publishing company found her through her blog and felt she was qualified. No money will be exchanged as a result of this contract until actual books are sold. Due to the ridiculously low royalties one receives from writing, unless you are someone like a certain Ms. Rowling, it can safely be said that both this blog and the book project are labors of love.