Letters from an American - Truth Telling

Episode Date: August 31, 2026

August 30, 2026In America's founding myth about George Washington and the cherry tree, the message was that truth telling is important in a leader, Trump’s administration was supposed to notify US District Court Judge Reyes before taking down trees on the grounds of the East Potomac Golf Links, a historic publicly owned course, But more than 60 trees have been removed and the administration has not abided by her ruling, They claim the trees had to be removed for maintenance purposes, Trump is hailing an oil deal with Venezuela, although there is little information about it, It appears to involve the family of Alejandro Betancourt López, who has been accused of corruption and investigated for money laundering, The deal is built on a legal environment that does not exist, The deal is also built on US aggression, the kidnapping of President Maduro, the installation of Maduro’s vice president instead of the opposition candidate, As journalist David Rothkopf pointedly explained, we do not know where the money is going, and whether it will end up being a “mafia-style shakedown scheme” benefitting anti democratic forces in Venezuela and the US, and the president’s friends, and possibly the president’s family, and himself.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

August 30th, 2026. One of our founding myths is that of George Washington and the Cherry Tree. In his The Life of Washington, first published in 1800, minister and writer Mason Locke Weems, more commonly known as Parsons Weems, wrote down for the citizens of this new nation the qualities they should require in a leader. The book was written not to reflect the facts of Washington's life, biographies would not focus on facts for almost a century, but to show virtues the nation's youth should imitate and to establish a set of attributes against which future voters could judge those vying to lead the nation.

Weems' Washington was generous, reverent, studious, athletic, martial, hardworking, and beloved by his comrades. And, beginning with an 1806 edition of the book, He could not tell a lie. According to Weems, when George was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet, of which, like most little boys, he was immoderately fond

and was constantly going about chopping everything that came in his way. One day, in the garden, he unluckily tried the edge of his hatchet on the body of a beautiful young English cherry tree. The next morning, the old gentleman, finding out what had be fallen his tree, came into the house, and with much warmth asked for the mischievous author. Nobody could tell him anything about it. Presently, George and his

hatchet made their appearance. George, said his father, do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? This was a tough question, and George staggered under it for a moment, but quickly recovered himself. And, looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth, brightened with the inexpressible charm of an all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out,

I can't tell a lie, Pa, you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet. Run to my arms, you dearest boy, cried his father in transports. Run to my arms, glad am I, George, that you killed my tree. for you have paid me for it a thousandfold.

Such an act of heroism in my son is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver and their fruits of purest gold. Like many of the other anecdotes, Weems delivered, this story was almost certainly invented, but it established the importance of truth-telling in a leader. On Friday, Rick Meese of the Washington Post, reported that despite orders from U.S. District Judge Anna C. Rays saying that she wanted advance notice before the government took down more than 10 trees from the East Potomac Golf

Links or brought equipment larger than a sedan onto the property, the Trump administration has taken down more than 60 trees in apparent preparation for Trump to redesign the golf course. opponents have sued to stop the redesign of the historic publicly owned course. Trump has said the makeover will begin on September 1st, but Meese notes that the administration has released no final design, construction schedule, or estimated cost. It is apparently not conducted either environmental or historical preservation reviews. It has not said how changes to the course will affect public action. access to the three courses and to the popular recreation path on the property.

Reyes said she would not stop administration officials from doing routine maintenance on the property, and the administration says the tree removal is routine maintenance. A spokesperson for the Interior Department said, Arborists are doing routine maintenance at East Potomac Park with the selective removal of hazard trees, non-native invasive trees, and and declining and dying trees that cannot be brought back to good health through any degree of intervention. One of the trees they have cut down is a cherry tree. It seems like the writers for the 250th season of American democracy are becoming increasingly desperate to get the country's attention.

On Friday, Trump announced, the United States of America has just entered into an agreement with the country of Venezuela, on the biggest oil deal in world history. At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegesith, working closely with highly respected interim president of Venezuela, Delci Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control

of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American taxpayer. This historic transaction more than doubles American oil reserves, greatly increases our oil supply, and will substantially lower gas prices for all Americans long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward tremendous success and great prosperity. This transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between, Venezuela and the United States. Thank you for your attention to this groundbreaking matter. There are reasons to greet this announcement with skepticism. A U.S. official told Megan Messerly,

Ben LaFave, and Scott Waldman of Politico, that this deal was a new venture between the U.S. government and an experienced private operator in Venezuela. Although the official did not identify which operator, that is, it became clear over the weekend that the person in question is Alejandro Betancor Lopez. Rebecca F. Elliott, Anatoly Kermanyev, and Edward Wong of the New York Times explained that Betancourt's family controls Venezuela's second largest private oil producer, North American Blue Energy Partners. Betancourt has been accused of corruption for years. Switzerland has investigated him for money laundering and has been. issued a warrant for his arrest, although it has not charged him. According to the New York Times

reporters, it appears the plan is for the U.S. government to back North America Blue Energy Partners, which will, in turn, develop oil reserves in 17 of Venezuela's oil fields. The U.S. official who talked to the Politico-journalists said the new venture would be the second biggest private oil company in the world, after Saudi Aramco. The U.S. would control 55% of the venture's output. When production starts, the person told the journalists, the resulting stable supply of at-cost oil in our hemisphere will go toward filling the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and fulfilling the supply needs of our great U.S. military. But an executive in the oil industry told the journalists that the deal was built on a legal

environment that does not exist. The Venezuelan constitution does not allow for anyone other than Venezuela's state-owned oil and gas company to own rights to oil and gas in the country, the executive pointed out. The end of story, the person said, is the president wants to say we have billions of barrels of oil in reserve. That would act as a price stabilization nuclear bomb. Oh, the Iranian have blocked Hormuz? The president could say, I have 65 billion barrels in reserve. The Politico-Journalists report that Trump has been frustrated that U.S. companies have been slow to invest in Venezuela and that the administration has pressured Rodriguez to give them better terms. Samantha Schmidt and Helena Carpio of the Washington Post today flat out,

said the deal, cements the United States' long-term dominance over Venice. Venezuela, which has become a neo colony since the U.S. military's capture of Maduro in January, when Trump vowed to run the country and exploit its oil wealth. Last September, the Trump administration began striking small boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that Trump claimed, without evidence, were being operated by narco-terrorists from Venezuela. The U.S. massed military vessels off Venezuela's shores, where they blockaded Venezuelan oil tankers after Trump called Venezuela's government a foreign terrorist organization. On January 3rd, Trump authorized the military to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

and his wife Celia Flores in a nighttime raid and bring them to the U.S. for trial on weapons and drug charges. Although opponents of Maduro, who had seized power after losing a presidential election, cheered the raid in the belief that Trump would help them put opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez in power. In fact, the administration supported Maduro's vice president, Delci Rodriguez. On January 5th, it formally recognized her as Venezuela's head of state. Venezuela's high court disagreed. It called Maduro's absence a kidnapping and determined that under the country's constitution, elections had to be held to replace him.

Now the U.S. government says it has made a deal with Rodriguez, who told reporters, the agreement is based on a very simple premise. Each party contributes what it does best. Venezuela contributes oil, its industry, and the experience of its workers accumulated over more than 100 years. The United States contributes the capital and technology needed to recover and recover and develop those assets. So let me get this straight, National Security reporter David Rothkopf wrote. The U.S. illegally attacks a country, kidnaps its president, threatens its government with massive military force, gets them to hand over to the U.S. control of a huge portion of their national assets, hails the billions it has already brought in and promises billions more, but we don't know where the money's

going, how it is going to benefit the U.S., if it is going to benefit the U.S., who's privately going to benefit, what side deals have been struck with the corrupt leaders of their country or ours, and we're supposed to celebrate this act of aggression and theft that violates international law and that could well turn out to be a massive mafia-style shakedown scheme to benefit the anti-democratic forces in Venezuela and the U.S. friends and supporters, possibly the president and his family? Rothkoff appears to have understood the point of the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson.

It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Dead in Massachusetts. Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.