Tag: misconduct
Senators Worried By Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Trump Nominees

Senators Worried By Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Trump Nominees

In Congress, critics of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) breathed a sigh of relief when he withdrew from consideration for U.S. attorney general. President-elect Donald Trump, following Gaetz's withdrawal, promptly nominated someone else: former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Among GOP members of Congress, Gaetz is controversial not only because of the role he played in former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) being ousted as House speaker, but also, because of the sex trafficking allegations he has faced.

Gaetz vehemently denied those allegations, and he was never charged with anything. But he was the subject of two separate investigations: one by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the other by the House Ethics Committee.

Gaetz, however, isn't the only Trump ally who has faced sex-related allegations. Fox News star Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, has faced a sexual assault allegation — which he has forcefully denied.

The Hill's Alexander Bolton, in an article published on November 25, reports that GOP senators are becoming increasingly uneasy over the sexual misconduct allegations against nominees for Trump's incoming administration.

"Republican senators are squirming over the rash of sexual misconduct allegations against President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks, which they fear will become a focal point of Senate confirmation hearings next year," Bolton explains. "Senate Republicans expressed relief Thursday when former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration to serve as attorney general amid allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use."

Bolton continues, "But GOP lawmakers are already warning that Trump's other controversial nominees, including Pete Hegseth, who has been tapped to head the Defense Department; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is slated to head the Department of Health and Human Services; and Linda McMahon, who would lead the Department of Education, will also face tough questions related to allegations of sexual misconduct or enabling sexual abuse."

A GOP senator, interviewed on condition of anonymity, stressed that senators must be given a chance to thoroughly vet Trump's nominees.

The senator told The Hill, "That's why the Constitution matters. It gives us the chance to advise and consent. We just need to make sure we do our jobs. A president should have some level of deference to who he or she wants in positions that surround them but that doesn't mean it's a free card. It doesn't mean there's nothing we’re supposed to do."

Another GOP senator, also quoted anonymously, told The Hill, "There are clear signals from my colleagues that there's more trouble than just with Gaetz…. It would be awful for the Senate, and I don't think it's good for the country."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Hacked Court Documents Implicate Gaetz In Misconduct Or Worse

Hacked Court Documents Implicate Gaetz In Misconduct Or Worse

Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz's problems are growing by the day.

The New York Timesreported on Tuesday that a hacker obtained "damaging" testimony both from the Department of Justice investigation into the former congressman’s alleged child sex trafficking, and from the House Ethics Committee's probe into his alleged drug-fueled sex parties.

According to the Times, the hacker obtained 24 exhibits, including sworn testimony from two women: one who said she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17, and another who said she witnessed the two having sex.

The Times reported:

The material apparently taken by the hacker is unredacted and includes the names and other personal information of the witnesses but is otherwise said to be more damaging to Mr. Gaetz than to his accusers, according to the person familiar with the hack. The hacker had not contacted the lawyers as of Tuesday morning, and it was not clear what motive the person might have.

Also looming over Gaetz is whether the House Ethics Committee will release its report from its yearslong probe into a number of allegations around him, including whether he “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”

The committee will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to publicly release the report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to help Trump get Gaetz confirmed by keeping the report private, saying the Ethics Committee shouldn’t release the report because it would “be a terrible precedent to set” and “open a Pandora’s box” by saying the committee could release information on other former members of Congress. Gaetz resigned his seat shortly after Trump nominated him as attorney general, likely in an effort to keep this report from becoming public since the committee no longer has jurisdiction over former members.

House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi said he won't be influenced by Johnson's desires.

“I appreciate Mike reaching out,” Guest told Politico, saying that Johnson called him to express his wishes for the report to remain sealed. “I don't see it having an impact on what we as a committee ultimately decide.”

Nearly 100 House Democrats also signed a letter urging the Ethics Committee to release the report.

From the letter:

We are aware that traditionally, the Ethics Committee stops investigations into alleged misconduct when a member of Congress resigns. However, there is precedent for the House and Senate ethics committees to continue their investigations and release findings after a member has resigned in a scandal. For example, the Committee continued investigating Rep. Eric Massa for inappropriate sexual behavior even after his resignation. Similarly, in 2011, the Senate Ethics Committee publicly released its report on Sen. John Ensign in the days following his resignation and forwarded the report to the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission.

We strongly believe that this situation meets or exceeds those standards. This is not a partisan issue. In a statement to reporters on November 14th, Republican Senator of Texas John Cornyn, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted, “I think that there should not be any limitations on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.”

Given the seriousness of the charges against Representative Gaetz, withholding the findings of your investigation may jeopardize the Senate's ability to provide fully informed, constitutionally required advice and consent regarding this nomination. Representative Gaetz’s abrupt resignation from Congress should not circumvent the Senate’s ability to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities.

We urge you to immediately release the Ethics Committee’s report into allegations of serious misconduct by former Congressman Matt Gaetz.

Meanwhile, Gaetz’s former House colleagues have been trashing Gaetz publicly.

Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio said that Gaetz is "literally worse than gum on the bottom of my shoe.”

“I’m looking at him as a member of Congress and the job that he has done here, and it has been abhorrent,” Miller told CNN. “I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I just say the quiet part out loud, and I wish other of my colleagues would have the same courage to do so.”

Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia criticized Trump for nominating Gaetz in the first place, telling CNN of Trump’s decision to pick Gaetz, “It wasn't my decision to make, but I would have made it differently, I can tell you that."

What’s more, Politicoreported late on Monday that nearly a dozen Senate Republicans wouldn't commit to voting to confirm Gaetz. Of course, most Republicans are cowards who regularly cave to Trump, so you can't count on that many "no" votes in a potential confirmation vote. But the fact that they aren’t gung ho to defend Trump on this one is a telling signal that they don’t want to put their necks out for Gaetz.

Meanwhile, a poll from Echelon Insights, a Republican firm, found that Gaetz is the least popular of the cast of misfits Trump has so far nominated to serve in his administration. According to the survey, just 26 percent strongly or somewhat support Gaetz, while 37 percent strongly or somewhat oppose him—an 11-percentage-point deficit.

Even Trump seems to understand the peril Gaetz’s nomination is in.

The Timesreported that Trump believes Gaetz's chances at confirmation are less than 50-50.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

'Grab 'Em' Trump Fills His Cabinet With Alleged Sex Abusers

'Grab 'Em' Trump Fills His Cabinet With Alleged Sex Abusers

President-elect Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by 26 women, has appointed at least three men to his cabinet who have also been accused of sex crimes.

Trump’s 2016 electoral victory is often cited as an inciting event for the MeToo movement, a social phenomenon that resulted in the ousting of abusive men, particularly sexual predators, from positions of power and influence. For some, Trump’s return to power and his embrace of alleged sex offenders is seen as a repudiation of that cause.

On November 12, Trump chose Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense. Hegseth is a decorated veteran, but otherwise has no experience in foreign policy or national security.

Hegseth was investigated for sexual assault by the Monterey Police Department in California in 2017. A Republican operative claimed Hegseth raped her following an event at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa. Hegseth’s accuser went to a hospital following the alleged incident and was tested with a rape kit that detected the presence of semen.

Hegseth does not deny having a sexual encounter with his accuser, but maintains that it was consensual. Hegseth entered a settlement agreement with his accuser in February 2020, in which she was paid an undisclosed sum to not go public with the allegations.

No criminal charges were ever filed against Hegseth.

Trump nominated Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General on November 13. Gaetz attended law school and had a brief stint as a lawyer, but, like Hegseth, has minimal relevant experience for the top law enforcement job.

The Department of Justice investigated in 2021 whether Gaetz was involved in the sex trafficking of a 17 year old girl. Despite evidence that Gaetz had sex with the victim, the trafficking investigation was dropped in 2023.

The House Ethics Committee launched its own investigation into Gaetz in 2021. The inquiry was supported by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, some of whom claimed Gaetz had personally boasted to them about engaging in deviant sexual behavior.

In October 2023, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin claimed Gaetz had shown fellow legislators photos and videos of women he had slept with and would “brag about how he would crush ED (erectile dysfunction) medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night.”

The ethics committee was preparing to publish the findings of its investigation when Trump nominated Gaetz to be Attorney General. Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress the same day. Under House rules, the report is not required to be released if Gaetz is not serving in Congress.

Politicoreported on November 18 that a woman testified to the ethics committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with an underage girl. Other witnesses said Gaetz attended several sex parties in 2017 and 2018 where illegal drugs were used.

Gaetz denies these allegations.

Senators from both parties have called for the Ethics Committee’s findings to be made public, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled he will prevent that from happening.

Trump nominated lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services on Nov. 14. Kennedy initially ran for president in 2024 as a Democrat before switching to become an independent. He suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump.

In July, Vanity Fair reported that Kennedy had allegedly groped his children’s babysitter in 1998. Kennedy denied the allegations, but also sent a text message to his accuser apologizing for any behavior he engaged in that made her feel uncomfortable.

At the time of the alleged incident, Kennedy reportedly kept a “sex diary” in which he detailed extramarital affairs with 37 different women. In excerpts published by the New York Post, Kennedy wrote that he was a slave to “wild impulses” and “powerful demons.” It has been suggested that Kennedy’s serial philandering contributed to the suicide of his ex-wife Mary Richardson in 2012.

Kennedy is currently married to actress Cheryl Hines. In September, a political reporter for New York magazine said she had an emotional affair with Kennedy while he was campaigning for president. Kennedy denies this allegation as well.

Trump is reportedly considering appointing business executive and Republican donor Charles Herbster to be his Secretary of Agriculture. Hebster ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Governor of Nebraska in 2014 and 2022.

During his 2022 campaign, nine women accused Hebster of forcibly groping and kissing them. Hebster claims all of his accusers are lying.

Hegseth, Gaetz, Kennedy, and, if nominated, Hebster, would all need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in order to serve in Trump’s cabinet. Trump has pressured the Senate to let him do recess appointments, which would allow him to install cabinet officials without senate approval.

On May 9, a New York jury ruled that Trump had sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the dressing room of a Bloomingdale’s department store in 1996. Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. That amount increased when a separate jury ruled that Trump had defamed Carroll by accusing her of lying about the incident.

Several of Trump’s advisers have also been accused of sexual assault or misconduct.

Corey Lewandowski was an adviser on Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaigns. In 2017, a woman filed a police report alleging that Lewandowski slapped her buttocks at a holiday party.

Billionaire Elon Musk was an informal adviser on Trump’s 2024 campaign and has reportedly played a role in staffing Trump’s cabinet. In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had sexual relationships with several of his employees, engaged in sexual harassment, and once exposed himself to a flight attendant.

Musk denies these allegations.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News.

Oregon Police Accused Of Misconduct In White Supremacist Investigation

Oregon Police Accused Of Misconduct In White Supremacist Investigation

By Matt Pearce, Los Angeles Times

David Joseph Pedersen wanted to start a white supremacist revolution, so he came up with a plan to massacre Jews in the Pacific Northwest in hopes of inspiring copycats.

Pedersen got caught before he could carry out such an attack — but not before he and an accomplice killed four people in fall 2011 during a 10-day crime rampage across Washington, Oregon, and Northern California.

On Monday, a Portland federal judge sentenced Pedersen, 34, to two life terms without parole.

Then, in a thundering written opinion, Senior District Judge Ancer L. Haggerty criticized prosecutors for a “disturbing” series of oversights and ethical missteps. The errors were especially disturbing, he said, because officials had considered seeking the death penalty.

Investigators failed to turn over huge swaths of evidence to the defense, and collected and listened to Pedersen’s confidential jailhouse phone calls with his attorneys, Haggerty said.

The judge accused the lead investigator, Oregon State Police Detective Dave Steele, of “backdating” evidence reports, reviewing Pedersen’s confidential attorney calls and letters, destroying evidence, lying to the U.S. attorney’s office, and filing a false declaration with the court — a potentially criminal pattern of conduct.

“Given the breadth of his misconduct in this case, it is not difficult to imagine that he has committed similar misconduct in other cases,” the judge wrote, suggesting Steele might be prosecuted.

Pedersen’s crime spree began Sept. 26, 2011, with the slayings of his father, David Jones “Red” Pedersen, and stepmother, Leslie Mae “Dee Dee” Pedersen, in Snohomish County, Wash., according to court records.

Officials say that Pedersen shot his father, calling him a child molester, and that his partner in the spree, Holly Ann Grigsby, cut Dee Dee Pedersen’s throat.

The pair then traveled to Oregon, where, on Oct. 1, Pedersen shot and killed 19-year-old Cody Myers, stole his car, and dumped his body in the woods, according to court records.

Next, they drove to Eureka, Calif., where Pedersen killed Reginald Alan Clark, 53, on Oct. 4.

The California Highway Patrol arrested them the next day. Pedersen had his father’s wallet, as well as phone numbers and addresses of Jewish organizations in Portland, officials said.

After his arrest, Pedersen wrote a letter to the Oregonian newspaper, saying he hoped his actions “would serve as an example for others to follow.”

In March 2012, he pleaded guilty in Snohomish County to Washington state charges of killing his parents. He received life without parole.

In August 2012, he was indicted in Oregon federal court for the entire crime spree. That’s when the trouble began.

Haggerty described a federal-state criminal investigation team spearheaded by the Oregon State Police as overwhelmed by the amount of evidence, to the point that prosecutors didn’t know what investigators had collected.

Spokesmen for the U.S. attorney’s office in Oregon and the Oregon State Police declined to comment.

The judge believed that prosecutors did not intentionally collect Pedersen’s calls with his attorneys, but said the chief investigator, Steele, apparently listened to the recordings.

Steele was suspended in December pending a criminal investigation. At one point, Steele’s attorney told the judge the detective would invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself if he was asked to testify about the Pedersen investigation.

The status of the Steele investigation could not be determined. A spokesman for the Oregon State Police said he was still on leave “pending this matter.” Neither Steele nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

AFP Photo/Mat Hayward

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