Funny Money Business

When Congress paid:

The story from CNN focuses on a report released by the Office of Compliance, effectively revealing that, from 1997 to 2017, Congress paid out more than $17 million in settlements. There have been over 268 settlements across the 20-year period, all of which came from taxpayers’ money through a special fund within the U.S. Treasury. This was made possible by the passing of the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995. While it was unclear as to how much of the $17million was for sexual harassment-related settlements due to the complex reporting system within the Office of Compliance, a source familiar with the process told the network that more than two-fifths of harassment claims are settled after mediation. Yesterday (Thursday), Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony following his five-week hush money trial in the Democrat-leaning suburb of Manhatton. After the initial shock at such a landmark decision, social media users flocked to Rep. Massie’s post on X. Many saw the hypocritical side of Congress, particularly given the seismic differences between Trump’s $130,000 case and Congress’ $17 million use of taxpayer money.

One man's hush money is another's settlement...