A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
SecDef Nominee Denies Claim From 2017
More details emerged over the weekend about the sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of defense.
The WaPo was first with extensive new information about the circumstance of the alleged sexual assault, based on (i) a memo it obtained that was provided to the Trump transition team late Wednesday by a friend of the victim; and (ii) a statement from Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore.
The woman later reported the alleged assault to police, but no charges were ever filed:
According to the police statement, the complaint was filed four days after the encounter, and the complainant had bruises to her thigh. The police report itself was not released.
Hegseth settled the woman’s claim for an undisclosed amount, and she signed a nondisclosure agreement.
Trump is standing by Hegseth in the face of the undisclosed settlement of the sexual assault claim.
More On Hegseth’s Tattoos
- WSJ: How Hegseth’s Tattoo Got Him Barred From Working at Biden’s Inauguration
- WaPo: Pentagon pick left Guard after being reported as possible ‘insider threat’ due to tattoo
The Prospects For Matt Gaetz’ Nomination As AG
Surveying the backlash to the Gaetz nomination:
- “Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz.”–Reuters
- “More than half of Senate Republicans, including some in senior leadership positions, privately say they don’t see a path for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be confirmed as attorney general and would not support him to lead the Department of Justice, according to multiple people who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity.”–NBC News
- “An attorney representing two women who testified to both federal and House Ethics investigators about Gaetz’s alleged misdeeds is coming forward with new details about what his clients told investigators. Lawyer Joel Leppard is set to do multiple network TV interviews Monday as he pushes for the release of the House Ethics report.”–Politico
As Bad As It Gets
Perhaps the biggest story of the weekend came from NBC News:
The Trump transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers who were directly involved in the withdrawal from Afghanistan and exploring whether they could be court-martialed for their involvement, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plan.
Officials working on the transition are considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including gathering information about who was directly involved in the decision-making for the military, how it was carried out and whether the military leaders could be eligible for charges as serious as treason, the two sources said.
The Coming Corruption
It’s often said that Trump campaigned expressly on a platform of authoritarian rule, but this also applies to corruption: He didn’t disguise his promises to govern in the direct interests of some of the wealthiest executives and investors in the country—and he won anyway. Trump and his allies will likely interpret this as a green light to engage in an extraordinary spree of unrestrained malfeasance.
Trump Launches Wave Of Media Lawsuits
With only two months left until Donald Trump returns to the White House, the president-elect and convicted felon has been waging lawfare by a flurry of lawsuits against media companies and publishers that have been critical of him.
The lawsuits come amid growing fears of what a second Trump term would mean for press freedom as Trump intensifies his longstanding hostility against the media – which he called “the enemy camp” in his victory speech last week.
Trump Calls For ‘Investigation’ of Iowa Pollster
In a social media, Trump bizarrely called for an investigation of retiring Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, whose late-in-the-race shock poll showed Kamala Harris in lead in a state that ultimately went to Trump by a comfortable margin:
Already Paying The Price Of Trump’s Retribution
“Multiple current and former senior Justice Department and FBI officials have begun reaching out to lawyers in anticipation of being criminally investigated by the Trump administration, according to three people with knowledge of their deliberations.”–NBC News
Quote Of The Day
National security Mark Zaid, on what he’s advising his clients to do ahead of Trump II:
There are a small number of people who I have told, “Look, you should take a vacation outside of the country around the time of inauguration, just to see what happens. Just go on a routine vacation and see what plays out come Jan. 20, 21st, 22nd.” By that time, we’ll know who’s going to be [in senior administration roles] and whether they will be more fundamentalist about this issue than the general politician who’s appointed into a position that requires Senate confirmation.
NOT NORMAL
It is not normal for an incoming president to replace the FBI director, who has a 10-year term precisely to insulate them from partisan politics, but Donald Trump is widely reported to be considering firing Christopher Wray, whom Trump famously appointed after firing James Comey in 2017.
Among the supposed contenders to replace Wray if Trump goes through with the firing: the destructive and unqualified Kash Patel.
Trump Transition Bypasses FBI For Some Background Checks
“President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs, people close to the transition planning say.”–CNN
The Trump II Clown Show
A good reminder from historian Kevin Kruse that Trump’s announcement of his expected cabinet nominees is coming at a breakneck speed that far exceeds the pace of his predecessors and his own first administration. Among Trump’s latest personnel moves:
An Election Is Not A Jury Verdict
Randall Eliason: Trump’s New York Sentencing Must Proceed
Keep An Eye On Pennsylvania …
“In at least four counties — Bucks, Philadelphia, Centre and Montgomery — local election officials are acting in open defiance of a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that arrived weeks before the election. The court found that mail ballots that are missing the date on the outer envelope, or have the wrong date, cannot be counted for this election.”–NYT
Wave Of Offensive Texts Expands To Hispanics And LGBTQ
The campaign of racists texts sent soon after the election to Black people has expanded to include Hispanics and LGBTQ communities. The texts include false claims that they have been “selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp,” the FBI warned.
Neo-Nazis March In Ohio
A small group carrying the Nazi flag marched Saturday in a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.
The Stunning Pronatalist Argument Against Abortion
The attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri, seeking to establish the states’ standing to challenge the federal government’s liberalized rules for medication abortion, claim that expanded access to the abortion pills is “causing a loss in potential population or potential population increase,” and that “decreased births” were inflicting “a sovereign injury to the state itself.” This remarkable assertion comes on Page 189 of the states’ 199-page complaint, as astonishing a legal document as I have ever read.
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