Secs and Balances
Today’s Pete Hegseth Defense Secretary hearings are the first big, public test of how many of Trump’s cabinet picks will get confirmed, regardless of their qualifications. “Hegseth was grilled about excessive drinking allegations, sexual assault accusations, and his shifting public view on women in combat.” Even with all of his personal flaws and troubling positions, the biggest questions regarding Hegseth are related to his utter lack of experience running a large organization like the Defense Department. While the televised hearings make the news, the key fight is behind the scenes. And that fight has been brutal. Jane Mayer in The New Yorker on The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary. “The Trump team’s efforts to crush dissent range from public-media campaigns targeting vulnerable senators in conservative states (and paid for by unelected billionaires) to more underhanded tactics aimed at intimidating and discrediting potentially hostile witnesses. Hegseth’s lawyer, Tim Parlatore, for instance, has threatened to sue Jane Doe, Hegseth’s anonymous rape accuser, and her lawyer for defamation if her allegations prevent him from being confirmed. So far, it appears that such tactics may be working.” And the more these tactics work in the early days of Trump’s second stint in the White House, the more likely they are to work as we move forward.
+ Meanwhile, as Trump’s inauguration approaches, we’re finally getting our first look at Jack Smiths report (PDF) on the incoming president’s criminal misdeeds. Of course, we all saw most of the crimes with our own eyes in real time. But these days, even witnessed truths aren’t those we universally hold as self-evident. NYT (Gift Article): Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case. “But for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.” That could be American history’s most significant But for…
