No doubt, and the article acknowledges that historically one third of appointments have gone to big contributors.
This is different. When this guy was up for Senate conformation the RNC asked him for $500k - probably not unusual.
The problem is he replied that he couldn't do it then but if the confirmation went through he would pony up - and he copied Senate staffers working on the confirmation!
Even the Republican staffers thought this was over the line, reported it to the WH, and he was forced to withdraw his nomination.
Possible pay-to-play scheme for Trump ambassador post uncovered
What does it IMPLY?
Nowhere in a glance does it point to the nominmation being withdrawn, or Trump doing the right thing, but rather, another anti-Trump big media slam headline.
File under:
Headlines that help Schiff's Impeachment Inquiry.