Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: When our right to enrich is denied, this is an imposition of hegemony, and our policy rejects Western hegemony.
President al-Mashat: Our armed forces, represented by our air defenses, will soon turn the Zionist enemy’s aircraft into a subject of ridicule.
President al-Mashat: Good news about the Zionist enemy’s aircraft used in aggression against our country will reach you soon, God willing.
President al-Mashat: Our armed forces will be able to deal with hostile Zionist aircraft without causing any harm to air or maritime navigation.
President al-Mashat: To ensure the safety of airliners, they must avoid navigating along the routes used by the Zionist entity to carry out aggression against our country.
Yemeni President Mahdi al-Mashat: For the safety of air and maritime navigation in areas where our armed forces operate, we have directed that the routes used by the Zionist enemy to attack our country be designated as dangerous.
Hamas official says despite this, Hamas leadership is currently undertaking a thorough review of the new proposal
Hamas official says the response fails to meet any of the just and legitimate demands of our people
Hamas official says it is clear that the Israeli response fundamentally seeks to entrench the occupation
Reuters citing Hamas official: Group received Israeli response to Witkoff proposal

Two Trump cabinet picks in jeopardy over sexual misconduct claims

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 16 Nov 2024 20:28
5 Min Read

Pete Hegseth and Matt Gaetz are both carrying allegations of sexual misconduct from their past, with sources saying they had not been properly vetted for Trump's cabinet.

  • x
  • Two Trump cabinet picks in jeopardy over sexual misconduct claims
    Pete Hegseth walks into an elevator for a meeting with Donald Trump at Trump tower in New York on December 15, 2016. (AP)

Sexual misconduct claims threatened the confirmation of two of Donald Trump's most contentious cabinet picks on Friday, Pete Hegseth, Trump's choice for defense secretary, and Matt Gaetz, the far-right Florida lawmaker chosen for attorney general. 

Revelations have surfaced that police in California investigated a sexual assault allegation against him in 2017 and despite no charges pressed, the accusations were severe enough for Trump's newly hired chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to allegedly speak with Hegseth after learning about them on Wednesday evening, the day following his nomination.

Vanity Fair reported that the incoming president's attorneys spoke with Hegseth after allegations that he was involved in a 2017 incident at the Hyatt Regency hotel in California, which was holding a Republican women's conference.

According to Vanity Fair, Hegseth informed Wiles and the Trump legal team that it was a consensual affair and described the claim as "he said, she said".

A source said Hegseth had not been thoroughly vetted by the Trump team, something the team denies. 

The screening disagreement arose when independent allegations surfaced that regular FBI background investigations of several of Trump's most contentious candidates, which are supposed to identify previous criminal behavior and other potentially disqualifying liabilities, had been halted.

Matt Gaetz accused of engaging in sexual acts with minor

The revelations also fueled uproar around Matt Gaetz, the Florida lawmaker chosen for attorney general while facing a two-year Department of Justice investigation into sex trafficking claims. They included claims that he had formerly engaged in sexual acts with a 17-year-old. 

Related News

Cuba accuses US envoy of violating diplomatic norms, issues warning

Trump to raise steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%

Republican and Democratic senators called on Friday for a House of Representatives ethics committee report on Gaetz's actions, even though the criminal inquiry was closed without charges.

The inquiry was initially launched in 2021 to determine if Gaetz "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."

Sexual misconduct allegations surrounding several of Donald Trump's cabinet nominees reflect his own troubled history with similar accusations. Trump was ordered to pay $83 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexual assault and defamation.

His 2016 campaign was nearly derailed by the release of an Access Hollywood tape, in which he boasted about groping women. Additionally, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, faces allegations of groping a former babysitter in 1998, which he dismissed by stating, "I’m not a church boy."

Hegseth the Islamophobe

Hegseth has previously vigorously expressed his Islamophobic views, channeling a wide array of extremist, particularly Islamophobic, misogynistic, and racist views, raising fears about the nature of Trump's potential administration and policies, The Washington Post wrote.

According to The Washington Post, Hegseth authored the 2020 book "American Crusade", which heavily attacked Muslims [migrants and refugees] and accused them of infiltrating US society, feeding off the government, while simultaneously incriminating the religion as one of violence. 

He characterized Islam as a force of terror and destruction which seeks to subordinate or kill the rest of the world. Claiming that Muslim countries were automatically a "no-go zone" for Christians and Jews, Hegseth alleges that Muslims, alongside Western liberals and "squish republicans" aim at conquering the world and destroying "Judeo-Christian institutions."

He advocated for violence against the Muslim community, claiming that Christians are forced to fight and arm themselves, metaphorically, intellectually, and physically. "Our fight is not with guns. Yet," he wrote. 

Trump's pick also has a long history of criticizing Democratic policies that sought to promote the inclusion of women, people of color, and other minorities in key factions of society, including the military.

It is worth noting that Trump heavily relied on Muslim voters, which ultimately won him the presidency. As the Muslim-American community grew increasingly dissatisfied with Kamala Harris' support of "Israel", the genocide in Gaza, and the war on Lebanon, Trump appealed to their votes by vowing to end the wars in the Middle East. 

However, despite his promises, Trump's recent picks for his administration include a concoction of staunch pro-"Israel" or anti-Muslim nominees, such as Hegseth, Mike Huckabee, and Marco Rubio. 

  • Matt Gaetz
  • sexual assault
  • Pete Hegseth
  • Donald Trump
  • United States

Most Read

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Iran advisor reveals details of US-Iran nuclear talks to Al Mayadeen

Iran advisor reveals details of US-Iran nuclear talks: Al Mayadeen

  • MENA
  • 24 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Doctors weigh a Palestinian baby at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Muwasi, near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP)
Health

US-Israeli Gaza aid plan is catastrophic, inhumane: MSF

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Latakia governorate on May 30, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Israeli airstrikes hit military targets across western Syria

An Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan, March 30, 2005. (AP)
Politics

US, E3 to push IAEA to declare Iran in breach of nuclear commitments

A Syrian soldier closes the gate of a military base on the outskirts of Harasta, near Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Syrians expel Israeli patrol in Quneitra amid rising tensions

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS