Marble Falls       Part of what voters need to keep in mind, as we look towards the November election between Harris and Trump, is whether or not any of us are ready for the déjà vu of Trump’s proclivity for merging his business interests with his political position.  There are already huge blinking warning signs that this will once again be front and center, if Trump returns to the White House.

Pro Publica released an investigative report recently that caught my eye, not only because it was singing another verse of this old song, but also because there was a Louisiana connection.  Let me explain.

Many of you are familiar with the social media outfit that Trump and his people created called Truth Social, even if you have never visited the site.  When he was barred from Twitter and Facebook for constantly flaunting their rules of service, he created his own alternative.  More recently, when they took the stock public, his stake almost doubled his potential net worth by adding a potential windfall of $3 billion to the total.   When legal claims were pushing him towards the bankruptcy courts, where his counselor, former mayor Rudy Guiliani, now spends most of his time since he’s been disbarred in many states, the public offering was a lifeline.  He’s not able to sell yet, and the company is not making money yet, but it’s in the pipeline.

Pro Publica was reporting on an acquisition that Truth Social was making to allow TV streaming on its platform.  One of the major investors, revealed in the SEC filing, was “an obscure entity called JedTec LLC. Based in a North Louisiana village, the company has virtually no public footprint and no website, and it is unknown to streaming technology experts. Interviews and public records reveal that the man behind JedTec is Louisiana energy magnate James E. Davison.”  Truth Social’s purchase might be well and good, but there are huge potential conflicts once Davison is in the mix, especially if Trump manages to get back in the saddle as president.

Here are just a few, as they outline:

Davison, for example, owns a major stake in Genesis Energy, a large oil pipeline and mining firm. A trade group representing Genesis and other publicly traded pipeline firms previously lobbied the Trump administration and lawmakers for a tax break and on environmental issues. Davison’s family also has a stake in a regional bank and owns a small defense contractor. And Davison could benefit if the 2017 Trump tax cut provisions, which expire after next year, are extended.  Davison also has a record of influence with the Trump White House, successfully leveraging connections there in 2019 to win a $17 million federal grant to build roads, according to one Louisiana official.

Sure, Trump brings a moving van full of baggage on a lot of issues, but let’s tell the truth, who among us wants there to be a paywall and a sleaze barometer established at the front door of the White House again?