Spotlight: The Growing Accountability Movement
Friday Flashpoint: February 27, AD2026
The Price of Unserious Diplomacy
The Trump Family has caused another needless fight. US Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner is not a professional diplomat, is not educated in international affairs, and does not understand anything about formal diplomacy, which is distinct from being a “deal-maker,” as outside of the petrostates of the Middle East—and a few shady exceptions— countries are not simply big corporations. Charles Kushner is a convicted felon who is the father-in-law of 45/47’s eldest daughter.
He was pardoned by Trump in 2020. Charles Kushner was convicted of illegal campaign contributions—to the Democrats—tax evasion and witness tampering; and is also known for literally hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law so that he could send the evidence to his sister. That is who was appointed Ambassador to America’s oldest ally. He was prosecuted by Republican Chris Christie, which is the reason many think the Trump family humiliated Christie during term 45.
With that background you can understand how Charles Kushner’s refusal to honor a formal summons from the French Foreign Ministry this week has angered the authorities in Paris. It is simply an insult to the host country. In response, the French banned the American ambassador from meeting with government ministers because he no-showed the foreign ministry, where he was likely to receive a reprimand over inflammatory U.S. embassy statements regarding French internal politics. Another thing you do not do is comment negatively on the domestic politics of an ally. The French foreign ministry in the politest way possible, said Kushner is out of his league; “To summon an ambassador is completely part and parcel of diplomatic grammar. And so sometimes when you have ambassadors who are not career diplomats, it can lead to some incomprehension”
Diplomacy among major powers is high stakes, and you need qualified people. The French have restored Kushner’s access, but this should never have happened. Kushner also angered the French last year by criticizing their approach to Israeli and Palestinian matters in an open letter.
Epstein and the United Kingdom
The Labour Party suffered a crushing defeat in Thursday’s Gorton and Denton by-election, tumbling to a humiliating third place behind the Green Party and Reform UK. Labour had won the seat easily in the previous election. The result is a clear indictment of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s judgment following the arrest of his former ambassador to the USA, Peter Mandelson, on suspicion of misconduct related to the Epstein files. If voters in safe Labour constituencies are rejecting the party, then no one is safe from the Epstein curse where everything it touches turns to ashes. Labour MPs will have to seriously consider dumping Starmer.
The State of the Union
Tuesday’s State of the Union address was a Biden-level disconnect between presidential rhetoric and the reality of most Americans. However, the address by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger from the reconstructed House of Burgesses chamber in the colonial capital of Williamsburg, failed to maximize the location’s potential, landing as political cosplay rather than a bold counterstatement. This was a missed opportunity compared to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s 2010 response, which used the Virginia House of Delegates chamber in Richmond as a parallel, creating an alternative State of the Union feel. Spanberger deserved better from her team. The Democrats needed better design choices. Spanberger’s critiques of the SOTU were real but did not land as hard as they should have, she lacked McDonnell’s ability to command a space and project an alternative vision. However, that will be forgotten, what will not be is 45/47’s long, record-breaking speech which probably hurt the Republicans more than helped them.
Iran
The United States has quietly assembled its largest naval force in the Middle East since the W. Bush years, surrounding Iran with an armada. This could be a major American miscalculation if Iran does not capitulate. If the US president goes to war with a clear premeditation to do so without Congress, it will not only provoke Americans who are tired of involvement in the Middle East, but will likely result in further eroding pro-Israel feeling in the USA as many voters already blame connections with the State of Israel for the crisis and even the concern with Iran. Another war will not help US-Israel relations and will damage the GOP as they will not be able to argue that Middle Eastern war was a Bush-era aberration.
Epstein and the United States
In America the Epstein Files exposure is a bipartisan scandal but one that the GOP has tried to link to Hillary Rodham Clinton without success. HRC’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee was suspended after a breach of committee rules by Representative Lauren Boebert. The Republican from Colorado, decided to snap a photo and send it to a rightwing influencer. If the goal is getting real information from HRC, why would Boebert break the rules of the closed meeting, giving Clinton a reason to end her testimony? Boebert continues to be performatively juvenile, and she should be kept far from all serious matters, such as the House Oversight Committee.
The Next Big American Accountability Scandal? Congressional Sexual Harassment. Accountability versus Secrecy
Rep. Nancy Mace, Republican from South Carolina, turned the spotlight on her own colleagues this week by introducing a resolution to force the public release of all House Ethics records concerning sexual harassment by Members of Congress. This move follows her calls for Rep. Tony Gonzales to resign after the release of explicit text messages sent to a late staffer, a scandal she described as “just the tip of the iceberg.” See the Gonzales controversy below in my post from Monday
By demanding transparency for the secretive taxpayer-funded settlements used by lawmakers, Mace is challenging the Congress to apply the same standard of scrutiny to its own “Boys Club” as it claims to do to the Epstein scandal.
According to Rep. Mace:
“If you sexually harass someone in Congress you do not get to hide behind closed doors. Tony Gonzales showed us what is happening in Congress. But he is not the only one,”…“The American people deserve answers. Staff deserve answers. Women deserve answers. No more protection for predators in Congress. We are going to shine a light on every single one of them.”
Her resolution directs the Committee on Ethics to preserve all documents and investigative materials related to violations or alleged violations of sexual harassment rules under clause 9 and clause 18 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is known as the Code of Official Conduct. This rule outlines the ethical standards and behavioral expectations for Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, and employees of the House.
Clause 9 deals with discrimination but clause 18 reads
18. (a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, or who is an employee of a committee on which the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner serves. This paragraph does not apply with respect to any relationship between two people who are married to each other.
(b) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not engage in unwelcome sexual advances or conduct towards another Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House.
(c) In this clause, the term ‘‘employee’’ includes an applicant for employment, a paid or unpaid intern (including an applicant for an internship), a detailee, and an individual participating in a fellowship program.
So, the question is, why has Congress paid out nearly $20 million dollars in taxpayer settlements since 1995 and why are the records mostly secret? Mace wants the following:
The Committee would be required to publicly release all reports, conclusions, draft reports, recommendations, and accompanying materials within 60 days of adoption. Personally identifiable information of victims or alleged victims would be redacted to protect their privacy.1
In Britain it appears officials are being held accountable to an extent, but when the world looks at the US, it sees a very slow process toward justice. The American people are not moving on from this until they see results.
Rep. Nancy Mace Introduces Resolution To Expose Sexual Harassment Records Of Members Of Congress | Representative Nancy Mace https://mace.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-nancy-mace-introduces-resolution-expose-sexual-harassment-records-members