Tag: allegations
Donald Trump met

Meeting With South African President, Trump Erupts In Racist Tantrum

President Donald Trump met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office on Wednesday and angrily confronted him with false allegations of a “white genocide” in his nation.

Trump has been obsessed with the issue in recent weeks, even making exceptions for white immigrants from South Africa to come to America as supposed refugees, all while restricting migration for other nationalities.

Trump told aides to turn down the lights in the Oval Office and forced Ramaphosa to watch an edited video purporting to show evidence of mass murders targeting white Afrikaner farmers. Later, Trump leafed through a stack of printouts that he claimed was evidence of the practice.

Ramaphosa strenuously objected, explaining to Trump that while some political groups in South Africa have used violent rhetoric about the issue—which stems from the apartheid-era practice of stealing land from Black residents under that nation’s racist laws—his party and the current government are opposed to it.

Trump decried the violent rhetoric and suggested that people using it should be arrested, which stands in contrast to his own repeated usage of violent language against Democrats and his decision to pardon the Trump supporters who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Undaunted, Trump even argued that white Afrikaner farmers currently face oppression equivalent to what Black South Africans faced under apartheid. Apartheid was enshrined in South African law for roughly 40 years, institutionalizing racial segregation and leading to mass killings tied to political violence.

But even more damning for Trump’s rhetoric is that multiple studies have shown that claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa are false. While the nation has a severe crime problem, the notion that white people there are being persecuted, let alone at the level of persecution Blacks faced during apartheid, is false.

One of the most high-profile promoters of the white-genocide myth is billionaire Elon Musk, who attended the Oval Office meeting with Ramaphosa. Musk is originally from South Africa and grew up during the waning days of apartheid.

Musk’s attendance comes just a few days after he said he would be less financially involved in politics. In the 2024 election cycle, he donated at least $288 million to elect Trump and other Republicans.

Trump has a well-documented history of racism, from his description of countries with large nonwhite populations as “shithole” nations to his promotion of the racist “birther” conspiracy about former President Barack Obama.

With his “white genocide” crusade, Trump is turning a debunked, racist conspiracy into a core American foreign policy.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Pete Hegseth

Despite Serious New Allegations, Senate Republicans Rush Hegseth Confirmation

Senate Republicans are accelerating the timeline for a vote on Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, even as new allegations of abusive behavior have surfaced.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a motion Tuesday to end the debate on Hegseth’s nomination, which means that the Senate will vote on the nomination by Friday or Saturday.

The motion follows the Senate Armed Services Committee’s 14-13 vote to advance the nomination to the Senate floor. Every Democrat on the committee opposed Hegseth’s nomination, while all of the Republicans supported him despite previous allegations of drunkenness, financial mismanagement, and abuse—including a letter in which his own mother said he was abusive.

On Monday, it was reported that Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in a sworn affidavit that he abused his second wife.

In the document, Danielle said that Hegseth’s ex-wife had an “escape plan” in which she would text members of her family for assistance in getting away from him when he became violent. The affidavit also said that she hid in a closet in fear of him.

Hegseth is also accused of being drunk while in military uniform, which is a violation of service laws, while on duty with the Minnesota National Guard.

Danielle also accuses Hegseth of making frequent racist and sexist comments, including arguing that women shouldn’t vote or work and stating that Christians need to outbreed growing Muslim populations.

Hegseth’s attorney denies these allegations.

“There was no question that Pete Hegseth is unqualified and unprepared to be secretary of Defense. The affidavit adds additional weight to a case that is already overwhelming against him,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, told reporters.

But Republicans were unmoved. Sen. Lindsay Graham, Republican of South Carolina and one of Donald Trump’s top congressional allies, claimed without evidence that the allegations “didn’t happen” and refused to address the concerns about Hegseth’s alleged drinking problem.

The affidavit echoes previous concerns about Hegseth’s alleged pattern of behavior throughout his life.

Trump picked Hegseth following his stint as a Fox News host, during which he praised Trump and established misogynistic stances, like his belief that women should not serve in military combat positions.

Senate Republicans have now proven that they share Trump’s desire to put Hegseth in charge of the most lethal military in human history—regardless of allegations of abuse.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Matt Gaetz

Damning Text Messages Detonated The Gaetz Ethics Bombshell

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been the subject of two separate investigations related to alleged sexual misconduct: an actual criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and a probe by the House Ethics Committee.

The DOJ investigation was concluded, and Gaetz — who denied the allegations against him — was never charged with anything. But the House Ethics report was made public on Monday, December 23, and the allegations include paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl.

In an article published on Christmas Eve 2024, USA Today reporter Josh Meyer describes the role that text messages play in the report's "bombshell accusations."

Meyer explains, "Some of the (Ethics) Committee's damning allegations come from the former congressman's own words and actions, according to details within the long-awaited report made public Monday. Others comprise text messages, financial records, photos and interviews of people closest to him, the Committee report said, including a former friend who's now in prison and an ex-girlfriend who both used a 'sugar dating' site linking older men with younger women."

After the House Ethics report was released, many of Gaetz's critics — including Democrats and Never Trump conservatives — were also highly critical of President-elect Donald Trump for picking Gaetz for U.S. attorney general.

Gaetz, however, withdrew from consideration, and Trump has picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for that position.

The House Ethics report alleges, "The record overwhelmingly suggests that Representative Gaetz had sex with multiple women at (a) party, including the then-17-year-old, for which they were paid."

Meyer notes, "Much of that evidence came from text messages by Gaetz and his associates, according to the report. In one text exchange obtained by the (Ethics) Committee, Gaetz balked at a woman's request for money after he accused her of 'ditching' him on a night when she was feeling tired, claiming she only gave him a 'drive by,' the report said. The woman asserted to Gaetz that she was being 'treated differently' than other women he was paying for sex, the report added."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Police Report Reveals Disturbing Details Of Hegseth Sex Assault Charge

Police Report Reveals Disturbing Details Of Hegseth Sex Assault Charge

The police report detailing the sexual assault allegations against Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, will make your stomach churn.

According to a 22-page report, Hegseth was accused of raping an unconscious victim in the early hours of October 8, 2017, at a hotel after a Republican women's conference event in Monterey, California. The alleged rape was first reported to police by an emergency room nurse who treated the victim.

The victim, listed as Jane Doe in the police report, said she believes she was drugged at the event at a Hyatt Hotel, and "cannot remember most of the night's events." The victim said she had approached Hegseth at the event and told him she "did not appreciate how he treated women" after she saw him rubbing women "on their legs.”

During the confrontation, Jane Doe remembered Hegseth telling her he was a “nice guy.”

The next thing she remembered was being in an unfamiliar hotel room and Hegseth blocking her from leaving it. She told the police he took her phone. Then she said that Hegseth was on top of her and that he ejaculated on her stomach and told her to "clean it up." She remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” according to the report.

Through an attorney, Hegseth claimed to The Washington Post that the encounter was consensual. However, he paid the woman to remain silent.

Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, added that the police determined that “the Complainant had been the aggressor in the encounter.”

However, the report does not corroborate that.

What the police report documents was that Hegseth and Jane Doe were seen arguing by a pool at the hotel. A hotel employee, who responded to the incident, said it was Hegseth who “began to curse” when the employee showed up, and told the employee that he had “freedom of speech.” How very Republican of him.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not address the sexual assault allegation and said Trump is standing by Hegseth to be secretary of Defense.

“Pete Hegseth is a highly-respected Combat Veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform,” she said.

Hegseth is merely the latest Trump Cabinet nominee to be dogged by allegations of sexual impropriety.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick for attorney general, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services, have both been accused of sexual misconduct.

Gaetz’s nomination to head the Department of Justice is in peril as allegations that he paid a minor for sex at a drug-fueled party are dogging his confirmation.

The New York Times on Wednesday reported that federal investigators, who probed the allegations against Gaetz but decided against filing charges, had records of payments to the women who testified that they were paid for sex by Gaetz.

The House Ethics Committee also probed the allegations. But Republicans on the panel decided on Wednesday to block the report from being made public—apparently caving to the will of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is trying to shield Gaetz from accountability.

The Hill newspaper reported on Thursday that Senate Republicans are worried that Gaetz's confirmation hearing will be like "Kavanaugh on steroids"—referring to the hearings for now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court pick who was also accused of sexual assault.

But given the new details of the rape allegations against Hegseth, his confirmation hearing could be just as bad as Gaetz’s.

It’s unclear what will happen with Gaetz and Hegseth’s nominations. However, Republicans are good at making excuses for sexual assault. Trump himself was found liable for sexual abuse, and has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, yet Republicans have stood by him the entire time. A party that is fully rotten to the core.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

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