From Medium: Tales of the US Commerce Secretary: RI Con Artist, Pathological Liar, & Deceptor

Gina Raimondo continues to play it loose with reality and the truth. And we are tired of it. Action is needed right now.

Editor’s Note: This column reflects the opinion of the author and not any other individual.

Although I barely crossed the age of 20, I regard myself as a proud lifelong Rhode Islander. I can say that from political experience and from being in the community beyond civic engagement. The state motto of “Hope” resonates in this state and in the people I have gotten to know in my life. It is the fabric of our state’s history challenging the British Empire, leading the way in numerous industrial innovations, and moving the needle on the fights for opportunity, equality, and justice. We also have some incredible political leaders in Rhode Island.

It saddens me when our state is not well-represented on the national stage and does not give a fair shake to regular people, like those who helped me over the years. What infuriates me more is when someone pretends to be our savior when the opposite can be said in most regards. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is a proven example of that.

As a Rhode Islander and a Democrat-with long family roots of Democratic Party activism, progressive idealism, and pride in what this state and country offers(not to mention being an enthusiastic Biden 2024 supporter)-it should be noteworthy that many people in my home state-including myself-are not proud of our Commerce Secretary who started out in Rhode Island politics. The fact that such a prominent national figure with local roots is not well-respected-and in most respects, loathed by the people of this state-should be a warning sign with flashing red sirens to those who want to give a promotion to Raimondo without knowing the full scope of her track record and who she is as a person.

It is rather unusual from what I know that people from the Cabinet member’s home state are not only pressuring the American public to not promote their hometown officials, but urging further congressional oversight and the opening of federal government criminal probes and investigations. But that’s exactly what myself, many Rhode Island local stakeholders and constituents, and a number of national leaders and advocates are calling for.

For why we are calling on this, let me cue the public in on a story from last night. Gina Raimondo’s gubernatorial portrait was being unveiled as required by state law. She explained the scenery she chose in part as a symbol of “an openness” reflective of her administration’s work and being responsive to the people of my home state as the “People’s House.” This type of whitewashing and history rewriting is an insult to the challenges this state faces and the current issues at stake; not to mention the political opportunism and calculation Raimondo made as she pushed relentlessly to gain more power and garner national influence no matter the cost. She did so-and continues to do so today-deceiving the American people and her own bosses & colleagues in Washington DC.

The people of Rhode Island and all across this country are demanding federal action for two primary reasons. First, the United States Congress and the various federal government agencies within the Biden Administration or independent of it have the budgets, staffing, resources, and management to conduct federal investigations, probes, and inquiries into actions in Rhode Island and in the Commerce Department that arise to criminal activity; as well as other improper, ethically problematic behavior beneath the dignity of her public offices. Second, people I know-and who I have been working with and staying in touch with-have asked the Rhode Island state government to take measures of their own; including the Rhode Island General Assembly. Unfortunately, these requests over the years and months have been ignored-no doubt in any small part to the real political risks of challenging the Rhode Island political establishment and one of the most powerful bureaucrats in the United States-perhaps in the world. But federal intervention will bring the various issues to light in state government that they rightfully deserve. And give us further credence for Rhode Island to take action itself.

Even as the case is not perfect or set in stone completely, it is nonetheless well-grounded in evidence, documentation, secondary cataloguing, firsthand accounts, and even historical precedent. Whether illegal, improper, or somewhere else in the gray, it is well-documented with a dozen plus pages of questionable conduct by Gina Raimondo, her government offices, and her close subordinates and special interests around her from her tenure as RI State Treasurer, to her time as Rhode Island Governor, and now as our US Commerce Secretary with even larger ambitions in the Cabinet. There are at least dozens of-if not even more-witnesses and testimony accounts who are chomping at the bit to have their concerns heard and the issues be addressed in an aggressive and forthright manner. There are various stakeholders bringing these issues in the spotlight or looking at taking future action themselves. A number of federal government institutions have been alerted to our concerns and calls for intervention & assistance.

While broad, this type of action is very doable. Federal agencies do basic oversight of state government agencies routinely. A local example in my home state includes a refugee center that was fined by the US Department of Justice this past month. The federal government has a system in place for watching the management of Cabinet departments very carefully. Congress’s role of oversight is vital in that very purpose. Those, along with other precedents that can be cited, more than justify the requirements needed for congressional oversight and federal criminal investigations-especially with the bars set so low in the ongoing pursuit on practically irrelevant matters like Hunter Biden.

The action matters in fully determining whether Gina Raimondo is qualified to be in the federal government, whether she has the trust of the American people at large based on her track record, and whether her national rise is marked by gross administrative misconduct (mismanagement, incompetence, neglect, abuse, fraud, recklessness, etc.), conflicts of interest personally or politically beneficial to herself or her family, egregious lapses in government transparency and instances of obstruction, and the intentional breaking of state and federal laws(along with whether her offices have tried to comply with the laws). This kind of conduct concerning both her tenure in Rhode Island and her leadership over the Commerce Department is not only relevant to the pursuit of justice and accountability sought by my people who have suffered greatly, but also to how a major branch federal government has and will continue to function under this kind of leadership.

On conflicts of interest and ethical improprieties, there are many that have or can still impact Raimondo’s way of governing. This includes revolving doors in the Commerce Department around Big Tech policy and cryptocurrency lobbying, family AI ties; as well as campaign contributions from a whole variety of outside special interests that coincidentally occurred around the same time Raimondo backed causes for them (such as the Burrillville Invenergy Power Plant, LNG Facilities in South Providence, RI Commerce Corporation taxpayer subsidy recipients, charter school network expansion, state budget investments & cuts, state employee pension money shifting, etc.).

But the 2011 pension reform legislation is the most elaborate-which also came into being after Raimondo pleaded for the state to invest in her own private business Point Judith Capital during Governor Donald Carcieri’s 2nd term. Not only did pension system retirees and workers face a cut in their benefits and pay, but it is not unconceivable by any stretch that Raimondo’s own venture capital company partners, Wall Street & Silicon Valley allies, and even her own family, profited off the new steering of state pension investments towards venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds. Furthermore, the Treasurer’s office for years has refused to release the full records of the state employee pension system’s investment accountings, and disclose Point Judith Capital’s decade-plus ties to the pension system. We also don’t know the full story of the Engage Rhode Island PAC that was funded by prominent figures in the financial & securities exchange industry, such as former Enron executive John Arnold, and Purdue Pharma drug pin Jonathan Sackler). It is no wonder that a former SEC attorney and auditor(Ted Siedle), and a well-known public records lawyer(Terry Mutchler) have been involved in the pursuit for these accountings-and battling with the state in the process.

There are notable instances of government dysfunction-some of which has been already cited by the federal government, the subject of past General Assembly oversight, and local press reports(from DCYF & UHIP, to Cooler & Warmer, the Bristol Veterans Home, the Department of Environmental Management, the Department of Corrections, Rhode Island Housing, Commerce Corporation internal auditing, the Department of Labor & Training’s pilot programs, the state-controlled Providence Public Schools, and more recently, Eleanor Slater Hospital). Rhode Island has routinely broke federal laws around ESL education, special needs pre-K services, and disability healthcare. No doubt many of these developments have been years in the making-even though Raimondo’s state government agencies have long & repeatedly stonewalled access for more information(it is too conceivable that Raimondo purposefully blocked then-Lt. Governor Dan McKee’s awareness on major administrative fronts, and remained RI governor until March of 2021 to avoid further last-minute revelations of misconduct around Eleanor Slater Hospital, minority small business contracting, the handling of Providence Schools, and any records lingering around UHIP & DCYF). All of these instances-that have been recorded since by myself & many others-further highlight the desperate need for answers not present right now.

Along with the numerous instances of government transparency lapses(some of which are already mentioned above), it is clear the American people and the federal government cannot take Gina Raimondo at her word with the trust public servants usually rely and depend on. It is clear Gina Raimondo has conducted herself in a way that harmed the well-being of Rhode Islanders, bolstered her own opportunities in a variety of ways, and is deserving of further scrutiny and inquiry to reassure trust in the US Commerce Department once again. To make sure federal and state laws are being followed in my home state. And to make reforms in the needed areas possible-especially around keeping state government administration in compliance with federal legislation, closing DC-based revolving doors, and a new, proper vetting system for Cabinet nominations grounded in the importance of oversight.

The US Commerce Secretary has portrayed a vastly deceptive and inaccurate myth of a “Rhode Island Comeback.” For one, the state did not “come back” because of her. If anything, her record shows a pattern of public profiteering, government chaos & dysfunction, elusive secrecy, family corruption, combative arrogance, and a conflict with reality. Not only is her gubernatorial record on a number of kitchen table issues vastly exaggerated(even with some accomplishments on the board), but the Commerce Secretary herself may have very well broken the public trust and the rule of law in these various ways for her self-preservation by taking advantage of a broken system, and ruining lives & livelihoods. It would be a tragedy for these issues to remain ignored & sidelined any longer. It would also be a massive disservice to the people in need here.

The federal government has the capacity to take action as soon as it can(like after August Recess). We need that action for the well-being of this state, and for rebuilding the trust in our federal government and political system that is sorely lacking today. And contrary to what many people think, we can absolutely get more clarity into what happened in this state and why it played out this way. If people put in some due diligence and effort to finally getting the full story out.