Dem
47
GOP
53
It would seem that there are some nations in the world that have the idea that public officials should be held accountable for their misdeeds. Who knew?
We'll start with a story about the first person to be brought down by the newest Epstein files release. Peter Mandelson is a member of the U.K.'s Labour Party. He is very well-heeled, and has been an insider in Labour governments dating back to the Tony Blair era. During that time, he has served in numerous government offices, working his way up from lesser posts like Secretary of State for Northern Ireland up to his most recent appointment, as the U.K.'s ambassador to the U.S. Think of him as a British, left-wing version of Dick Cheney.
In addition to his ubiquitous presence, Mandelson is also known for his propensity for becoming enmeshed in scandals. Way back in the 1990s, he accepted a sweetheart deal on a home loan from a friend/colleague who just happened to be under investigation by Mandelson's department. When this became public, he was compelled to resign. That did not stop him from eventually landing other postings, however. And 3 years later, Mandelson had to resign from a different job, when he got caught pulling strings to secure passports for business associates.
Since that second resignation, Mandelson hasn't exactly kept his nose clean, but he's kept it clean enough that he got elevated to the House of Lords and he served in five other government posts (with the ambassadorship to the U.S. being the fifth and most recent of those). But this week, scandal caught up with him yet again. It turns out that he and Jeffrey Epstein socialized and exchanged letters frequently, to the point that Mandelson made a contribution to Epstein's infamous 50th birthday book. Not only is it clear that the Briton knew what the American was up to, but he also lamented Epstein's first conviction as terribly unjust. Given how toxic this whole situation is, and that Mandelson downplayed his relationship with the dead "financier," that meant he had to go. And so, he was sacked as ambassador yesterday. Donald Trump will presumably have to find someone else to reminisce with.
And now, let's move many thousands of miles to the southwest of Britain. Jair Bolsonaro is/was Brazil's answer to Donald Trump, a right-wing populist who was one of the President's closest international "friends" (to the extent that either of them have friends) during Trump v1.0. In 2022, Bolsonaro was defeated in his reelection bid by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and he decided to take a cue from his friend. So, he endeavored to overturn the election result by engineering a military coup.
The coup did not work, of course, and Bolsonaro was arrested and put on trial. He has now been convicted and sentenced to 27 years under house arrest. If that sentence holds up on appeal, it will be a de facto life sentence for the 70-year-old former leader. Trump previously threatened to slap a 50% tariff on Brazil if that nation did not drop the prosecution of Bolsonaro; it turns out they were unimpressed by that hamfisted imposition on their sovereignty. We will see if Trump moves forward, now that Bolsonaro has actually been convicted. In case you are wondering, it is not a native food, but they do in fact have tacos in Brazil. Now they will probably add to those a serving of TACO.
Anyhow, we thought that readers would like to know that there are some nations in the world where if you pal around with serial sexual predators (and then lie about it), or you try to overturn an election through extralegal means, you will actually pay a price. Too bad not all nations are that way.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)