A high-ranking Obama administration official unlawfully billed taxpayers more than $4,000 for taxi rides from his home to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office headquarters, an internal investigation has found.
Vikrum Aiyer, who served as chief of staff of the agency, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, forced taxpayers to foot a bill for at least 130 unauthorized taxi rides – the majority of which occurred during a four-month period in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday by investigators, the Washington Post reported.
Aiyer previously served as President Obama’s senior policy adviser at the National Economic Council. He allegedly impersonated other current and former high-ranking agency officials, using their names on taxi receipts to avoid being caught in the unauthorized scheme.
But the ruse was soon discovered after officials started raising questions. They confronted the Patent and Trademark Office’s then-communications director – one of the names Aiyer used to bill the rides – who told investigators that he did not use the taxis as he regularly drove to work.
Over two years, the government paid Alexandria Yellow Cab, a company contracted to provide authorized cab services to agency’s officials, well over $4,000 for Aiyer’s rides, the report said. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]For all the hoopla over Michael Wolff’s error-ridden book, there seems to be scant interest by anyone in the mainstream media over the upcoming release of a documentary that offers behind-the-scenes footage of former President Barack Obama’s final year in office.
Named “The Final Year” and directed by Greg Barker, the film gained a little bit of attention from the media last year when it first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Luckily for those in America and abroad interested in learning more about the film, the Daily Mail also provided a tantalizing rundown of the chaos that sometimes pervaded Obama’s White House during his last year in office.
Take the behavior of Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications.
The Daily Mail notes that during one scene in the documentary, “Rhodes explodes in rage at the bombing of a humanitarian convoy in Syria, apparently by the Russians or the Syrians and says it is ‘f***ing sick’ nobody is being held accountable for it.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]More than 100 members of the University of Chicago faculty are asking the Obama Foundation to move the proposed library honoring the 44th president to a new location because the plan as currently constituted is “socially regressive.”
The Obama Presidential Center will not provide the “promised development or economic benefits” to surrounding neighborhoods, the professors write and could cost more than $100 million in state funds.
“We are concerned that these are not the best ways to use public funds to invest in the future of Chicago,” the letter reads.
The library will also take over large sections of two historic public parks, Jackson Park and Midway Plaisance, and force the closure of a major South Side thoroughfare, Cornell Avenue. The professors argue it’s a “traffic-jam in the making.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]In their effort to break the mold, the planners of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago are taking heat for some less-than-lofty features in the sprawling complex.
Namely, a “test kitchen.”
Reports first surfaced last fall that the monument to the first black president’s legacy was taking on an activity-center vibe. There would be a museum – but also a basketball court, possibly a room for yoga classes, and a test kitchen to teach visitors “about the full production cycle of nutritious food.”
It’s a reference to former first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign for healthy eating and lifestyles.
But Chicago Tribune columnist Ron Grossman trashed the “test kitchen” idea as not worthy of the ideals and history for which the presidential center is supposed to stand.
“What brought me up short was a space in the adjoining Forum building labeled ‘test kitchen.’ Presumably that reflects Michelle Obama’s war on junk food. The museum’s champions similarly suggest it could host yoga classes,” he wrote. “President Obama, is that how you want to be remembered? As the healthy-eating and meditation-advocating president?” – READ MORE
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