Draining The Swamp: “Ex-RINO” Reince Priebus Pushes Tax Cheat For U.S. Ambassador

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At a time when numerous high-profile cabinet appointments are dominating airwaves, including newly confirmed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, major diplomatic posts in Europe and the Middle East are at risk of being compromised by the same individuals who so disastrously mismanaged America’s foreign policy for the last few decades. These are the same people who gave us 9/11, Benghazi, ISIS, Ukraine, Syria, and practically gifted Iran with a “right” to nuclear weapons (as well as a drone and over $400 million in illegal ransom payments.)

Many Americans may be ready to return to regularly scheduled programming, but when the same pathological “experts” voters rejected in 2016 are taking power by the back door, paying attention is advisable.

Reince Priebus, the slightly disgruntled and unlikely chief of staff in President Donald Trump’s new team of “winners,” may be sneaking corrupt party-loyalists with a history of tax evasion, anti-Trump associations and SEC investigations into top diplomatic posts overseas, most notably — Spain.

Meet Duke Buchan III, the nominee reportedly favored by Priebus to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Both Priebus and Buchan supported Jeb Bush during the primary.

Not only is Buchan a recovering “never-Trumper,” he is also a shady hedge fund manager engaged in a long list of potentially dubious and legally questionable activities.

While not an exhaustive list, here are a few reasons to be concerned about Buchan as candidate for U.S. ambassador:

Buchan was investigated by the SEC in 2005.

Buchan was rejected for work by the Bush administration because he was under investigations by the SEC, but records were sealed.

Buchan owns a large defense contractor — AEROJET ROCKETDYNE HOLDINGS, INC. — with over $400 million in contracts, representing a major conflict of interest.

Buchan owns several companies facing class action lawsuits for variety of reasons, including fraud and labor law violations.

Buchan owns Ares Capital, which acquired another company called Allied that was heavily investigated for fraud and ultimately fined by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Buchan has several offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, one of which was shut down for being illegal in 2005, though other accounts remain active — signalling possible tax evasion.

Buchan was on the board of directors at four companies that his business partners Sam and Charles Wyly used to illegally hide $550 million in trading profits, resulting in SEC action.

Buchan has tax warrants in the State of New York against his company, Hunter Global Investments, and a tax warrant in Albany County, New York against he and his wife.

Buchan is the subject of an ongoing FINRA investigations, meaning that he may have engaged in unethical or illegal behavior while operating in the financial sector.

Buchan funded the anti-Trump ‘Right to Rise’ super-PAC in the amount of $700,000, which promoted Jeb Bush’s “chaos candidate” screed against Trump.

Buchan recently hired Hamilton Place Strategies on K St. in Washington, D.C., to polish the Google search results for his name. Since then, all Google searches bring up zero information on Buchan pre-2008. Tony Fratto, a senior partner at Hamilton, openly advocated for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, in one instance remarking, “I will probably hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton with no joy,” adding that he’d “prefer to have Hillary Clinton in the White House” even going as far to suggest Trump “is not fit” for office. Fratto is a former Bush advisor.

In addition to the items included in the list, it is of note that Buchan’s “Spanish” credentials are about as authentic as Trump’s taco bowls. Buchan outright lied about going to high school in Spain, for example, one of the key “qualifications” touted by supporters of his candidacy.

At the end of the day, assuming that Buchan’s appointment proceeds in spite of all the reasons it should not, why does it matter? Why is our ambassador to Spain such an important post?

For readers of the Geller Report, it should be noted that Spain is a gateway for the massive influx of refugees and immigrants from terrorist-sponsoring states and frequently exports high-risk travelers to other European countries with easier pathways to the U.S.

With U.S. border security at crisis levels, and emergency executive orders temporarily stemming the tide of immigration from countries with known links to terrorism or hostile intent, appointing ambassadors to crucial gateways like Spain is a serious matter.

Why then, is Priebus reportedly pushing to appoint a scandal-ridden leach to such a prestigious position? The answer may have something to do with the $500,000 donation to the RNC made by Buchan shortly after Trump won the primary.

At his welcoming ceremony following confirmation Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told State Department employees,

“You are the emissaries of our nation and the ideals we stand for. When people see you, they see America.”

WATCH:

What will the world see if we appoint men like Buchan to represent America overseas?

Although Buchan represents one possible appointment amidst a sea of other important diplomatic vacancies, stopping corruption and nepotism before it becomes a culture and a way of doing business is essential if “draining the swamp” is to be more than just a slogan.