Two Trump cabinet picks in jeopardy over sexual misconduct claims
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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.
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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.
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.
