re: Trump Administration Creativity: Bypassing Congress & VZL Oil Money in Qatar Bank Account

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I’m sure everyone would be fine if Obama or Biden did this. No big deal

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President Trump runs the country as if it were a real estate development company. In my opinion, that's a positive development. It's certainly light years better than the Autopen Adimistration.

I think he has a much more creative and bold team in Trump 2.0 that helps him skirt the Constitutional issues (i.e., shared power) that real estate developers don't have to navigate.

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Watch which oil companies their spouses start investing in and jump on it.

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Good advice!

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Does anybody know how the particular pharmaceutical companies were selected for participation in Operation Warp Speed?

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Have not verified, but this is what AI says:

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Pharmaceutical companies were selected for Operation Warp Speed (OWS) based on specific scientific and logistical criteria, primarily focusing on the potential for rapid development, manufacturing scalability, and the use of a diversified portfolio of vaccine platform technologies. The selection process was a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD), in consultation with expert scientists and agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The initial list of over 100 vaccine candidates was winnowed down to a short list, with a core group receiving significant government support for development and manufacturing.

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I THINK this is how the magnificent orange genuis is bypassing Congress. He is designating the funds to be remain the property of VENEZUELA, but Venezuela doesn't to decide how its funds are spent. The Executive Branch will decide how best to spend Venezuela's money. Congress has no say on how Venezuela's money is spent...or so the argument will go.

This really is an ingenious plan. Much better than Bush's with Iraq.

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Sec. 5. Treatment of Foreign Government Deposit Funds. (a) In holding
the Foreign Government Deposit Funds, the Secretary of the Treasury shall:
(i) designate such funds in a manner that clearly reflects their status
as sovereign property of the Government of Venezuela held in custody
by the United States, and not as the property of the United States;

Federal Register: Safeguarding Venezuelan Oil

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I would think since America never received or had direct access to would clear that hurdle. Acting more as conservator on an estate

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I think you're right Nosevens. I think the Administration will claim it's just spending Venezuela's money on behalf of the Venezuelan people.

The problem will be that we did receive the money, deposited it in Treasury-held accounts
...and that the money will be spent by the Secretary of the Treasury for the alleged benefit of the Venezuelan AND American people.

Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised to see something like a Memorandum of Understanding from the Acting President of Venezuela saying the people of Venezuela wanted the people of the United States to benefit from the money being allocated to American corporations that employ American workers.

So it becomes Trump's private fund to do as he wishes?

It’s what a conservator does is determine not own

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We’re not any closer on the question of constitutionality.

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This being the language of the Appropriations Clause, I think that the Administration will argue that the money was never in the Treasury.

"No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law…”

Thanks to your helpful link, we know that---despite all appearances---the funds remain the SOVEREIGN property of Venezuela. Pretty brazen, but it might work.

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So it becomes Trump's private fund to do as he wishes?

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That's the way I read it. The Executive gets to decide for the people of Venezuela how "their" money is spent...without any input from Congres or the people of Venezuela.