Leroy N. Soetoro
2017-10-19 03:58:04 UTC
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/17/politics/trump-tweet-marino-drug-
czar/index.html
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that Rep. Tom
Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican, has withdrawn his name from
consideration to become the nation's next drug czar.
"Rep. Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from
consideration as drug czar," Trump tweeted. "Tom is a fine man and a great
Congressman!"
The congressman's withdrawal comes after a joint CBS "60 Minutes" and
Washington Post report revealed that Marino took nearly $100,000 from the
pharmaceutical lobby while sponsoring a bill that made it easier for drug
companies to distribute opioids across American communities and thwart the
Drug Enforcement Agency.
Trump spoke with radio host Brian Kilmeade following Marino's decision.
"He told me, look, if there is even a perception that he has a conflict of
interest with insurance companies, essentially, but if there is even a
perception of a conflict of interest, he doesn't want anything to do with
it," Trump said.
It was not immediately clear what Trump meant when he referred to
insurance companies.
"There was a couple of articles having to do with him and drug companies
and I will tell you, he felt compelled, he feels very strong about the
opioid problem," the President added. "Tom Marino said, 'Look, I'll take a
pass, I have no choice, I really will take a pass, I want to do it.'"
At a Rose Garden news conference on Monday, Trump said he would look into
the report and spoke warmly of Marino.
"He was a very early supporter of mine, the great state of Pennsylvania,"
Trump said. "He is a great guy. I did see the report. We are going to look
into the report. We are going to take it very seriously."
Trump added that he will speak to Marino and "if I think it is 1% negative
to doing what we want to do, I will make a change."
A DEA whistleblower told "60 Minutes" the US government slowed down
enforcement against large pharmaceutical companies just as the opioid
epidemic was taking hold. He said the companies turned a blind eye as the
pills flooded US communities while lawmakers passed a law to help the
industry at the same time. The bill was signed into law by then-President
Barack Obama in April 2016.
The law, which was supposed to further define "imminent danger," raised
the bar for evidence on the suspension orders on drug shipments.
Former DEA lawyer Jonathan Novak said the result of the bill was fewer
busts, and more DEA staff "auditioning" for the pharmaceutical industry as
opioid deaths and overdoses continued to climb.
RELATED: Opioid Crisis Fast Facts
The slowdown in DEA busts comes alongside a recent spike in opioid
overdoses and deaths. The number of overdose deaths related to heroin
increased 533% between 2002 and 2016, and a Washington Post report found
that fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased nearly 600% in some of
America's largest cities over the last three years.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who had called for Marino to be
removed from consideration in the report's wake, thanked the President on
Twitter following Marino's withdrawal.
He added, "I look forward to working with @realDonaldTrump to find a drug
czar that will serve #WV and our entire country."
Before Trump's announcement Tuesday, Manchin, who represents one of the
hardest-hit states in the epidemic, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day"
that Marino's bill "allowed hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people
get killed."
"Over my dead body will he be the drug czar," he said.
Manchin said that though the bill was passed with unanimous consent and
members of Congress could have voiced their dissent, neither he nor any
other member spoke up.
"They probably thought they greased this bill," he said, later adding,
"There (was) no dissenting because no one has raised any concern because
they think everybody is fine, DOJ is fine, DEA says it hasn't impeded them
whatsoever. ... We didn't know about all the people who left and took big-
paying jobs for the other side. No one knew about all of this. It wasn't
revealed."
However, as the Post reported, then-Attorney General Eric Holder publicly
opposed the bill.
He also suggested his own staff didn't flag concerns during the bill's
consideration.
"I am as outraged as you," he said. "How does this happen? My entire
staff, you think I haven't berated them?"
Manchin also told Cuomo that he doesn't believe Trump knew about Marino's
links to the pharmaceutical lobby prior to the report.
"It wasn't even brought to our attention," he added.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican who sponsored the Senate version of
the bill backed by Marino in the House, said he "feels badly" about the
would-be drug czar's withdrawal.
"Some of the criticism is just false. In fact, all of it is," he told
reporters on Capitol Hill. "The fact of the matter is if we have a
substance that can help people, physically and emotionally and so forth,
with true illness, then we ought to explore that. And I have no problems
with that."
Following the CBS/Washington Post investigation, Missouri Sen. Claire
McCaskill announced she would pursue legislation to repeal the 2016 law
Marino supported. Following his withdrawal, the Democrat said in a
statement that she believed it was "the right decision."
CNN's Dan Merica contributed to this report.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
czar/index.html
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that Rep. Tom
Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican, has withdrawn his name from
consideration to become the nation's next drug czar.
"Rep. Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from
consideration as drug czar," Trump tweeted. "Tom is a fine man and a great
Congressman!"
The congressman's withdrawal comes after a joint CBS "60 Minutes" and
Washington Post report revealed that Marino took nearly $100,000 from the
pharmaceutical lobby while sponsoring a bill that made it easier for drug
companies to distribute opioids across American communities and thwart the
Drug Enforcement Agency.
Trump spoke with radio host Brian Kilmeade following Marino's decision.
"He told me, look, if there is even a perception that he has a conflict of
interest with insurance companies, essentially, but if there is even a
perception of a conflict of interest, he doesn't want anything to do with
it," Trump said.
It was not immediately clear what Trump meant when he referred to
insurance companies.
"There was a couple of articles having to do with him and drug companies
and I will tell you, he felt compelled, he feels very strong about the
opioid problem," the President added. "Tom Marino said, 'Look, I'll take a
pass, I have no choice, I really will take a pass, I want to do it.'"
At a Rose Garden news conference on Monday, Trump said he would look into
the report and spoke warmly of Marino.
"He was a very early supporter of mine, the great state of Pennsylvania,"
Trump said. "He is a great guy. I did see the report. We are going to look
into the report. We are going to take it very seriously."
Trump added that he will speak to Marino and "if I think it is 1% negative
to doing what we want to do, I will make a change."
A DEA whistleblower told "60 Minutes" the US government slowed down
enforcement against large pharmaceutical companies just as the opioid
epidemic was taking hold. He said the companies turned a blind eye as the
pills flooded US communities while lawmakers passed a law to help the
industry at the same time. The bill was signed into law by then-President
Barack Obama in April 2016.
The law, which was supposed to further define "imminent danger," raised
the bar for evidence on the suspension orders on drug shipments.
Former DEA lawyer Jonathan Novak said the result of the bill was fewer
busts, and more DEA staff "auditioning" for the pharmaceutical industry as
opioid deaths and overdoses continued to climb.
RELATED: Opioid Crisis Fast Facts
The slowdown in DEA busts comes alongside a recent spike in opioid
overdoses and deaths. The number of overdose deaths related to heroin
increased 533% between 2002 and 2016, and a Washington Post report found
that fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased nearly 600% in some of
America's largest cities over the last three years.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who had called for Marino to be
removed from consideration in the report's wake, thanked the President on
Twitter following Marino's withdrawal.
He added, "I look forward to working with @realDonaldTrump to find a drug
czar that will serve #WV and our entire country."
Before Trump's announcement Tuesday, Manchin, who represents one of the
hardest-hit states in the epidemic, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day"
that Marino's bill "allowed hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people
get killed."
"Over my dead body will he be the drug czar," he said.
Manchin said that though the bill was passed with unanimous consent and
members of Congress could have voiced their dissent, neither he nor any
other member spoke up.
"They probably thought they greased this bill," he said, later adding,
"There (was) no dissenting because no one has raised any concern because
they think everybody is fine, DOJ is fine, DEA says it hasn't impeded them
whatsoever. ... We didn't know about all the people who left and took big-
paying jobs for the other side. No one knew about all of this. It wasn't
revealed."
However, as the Post reported, then-Attorney General Eric Holder publicly
opposed the bill.
He also suggested his own staff didn't flag concerns during the bill's
consideration.
"I am as outraged as you," he said. "How does this happen? My entire
staff, you think I haven't berated them?"
Manchin also told Cuomo that he doesn't believe Trump knew about Marino's
links to the pharmaceutical lobby prior to the report.
"It wasn't even brought to our attention," he added.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican who sponsored the Senate version of
the bill backed by Marino in the House, said he "feels badly" about the
would-be drug czar's withdrawal.
"Some of the criticism is just false. In fact, all of it is," he told
reporters on Capitol Hill. "The fact of the matter is if we have a
substance that can help people, physically and emotionally and so forth,
with true illness, then we ought to explore that. And I have no problems
with that."
Following the CBS/Washington Post investigation, Missouri Sen. Claire
McCaskill announced she would pursue legislation to repeal the 2016 law
Marino supported. Following his withdrawal, the Democrat said in a
statement that she believed it was "the right decision."
CNN's Dan Merica contributed to this report.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.