4 of the 14 folks Donald Trump has nominated for prime roles in his administration have confronted intercourse scandals, together with three who’ve confronted allegations of sexual abuse, in accordance with a Day by day Kos assessment. (The checklist of 14 nominees consists of solely these requiring Senate affirmation.)
Self-importance Honest and The New York Instances reported that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for secretary of protection, was accused of sexual assault in 2017 following an encounter he had in Monterey, California. Hegseth and his second spouse had been divorced the identical yr the assault allegation was made, CBS Information reported.
The allegation, which was made to Monterey police, was unknown to Trump’s incoming chief of workers, Susie Wiles, forward of the nomination, Self-importance Honest reported. It’s one more failure of her tenure lower than per week since Trump selected her for the position.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choose for secretary of well being and human companies, additionally has an untoward historical past with girls.
In 2013, the New York Publish reported that Kennedy stored a journal through which he detailed his sexual exploits with 37 totally different girls, none of which had been his spouse on the time.
From the Publish’s story:
Most ladies are recognized solely by their first title within the ledger.
They embrace a lawyer, an environmental activist, a health care provider, and at the least one girl married to a well-known actor.
A Publish reporter who questioned Kennedy on Friday concerning the diary was first met with six seconds of shocked silence.
The Publish reported that his then-wife, Mary Richardson, was the one who discovered the journal. Richardson would later commit suicide amid their divorce proceedings.
In July, Politico reported that Kennedy apologized to a girl who accused Kennedy of forcibly groping her when she was a babysitter for his children.
“I have no memory of this incident but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings,” Kennedy texted the girl, who was in her 20s on the time of the alleged incident.
And through his since-failed presidential marketing campaign, Kennedy had a digital affair with Olivia Nuzzi, a New York Journal reporter who has since resigned after information of the connection grew to become public. The Day by day Beast reported that Nuzzi despatched Kennedy nude photographs of herself, which Kennedy bragged to others about possessing.
Then there’s now-former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choose for lawyer common, who was investigated by the Justice Division for alleged little one intercourse trafficking.
The Republican-led Home Ethics Committee additionally probed experiences that Gaetz had inappropriate relationships with underaged ladies, one in every of whom testified underneath oath earlier than the committee that she had intercourse with Gaetz when she was 17.
And Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor whom Trump tapped to steer the Division of Homeland Safety, allegedly had an extramarital affair with former Trump marketing campaign aide Corey Lewandowski, the New York Publish reported in 2023.
From the Publish’s report:
Although no photographs of the 2 getting frisky are recognized to exist, the pair have been lower than discreet about their relationship, with one supply recalling them making out at a resort bar in the course of the 2021 Conservative Political Motion Convention in Orlando, Fla.
“I remember it was so absurdly blatant and public,” stated the particular person, who recalled Noem and Lewandowski getting “handsy” on the bar of the Hyatt Regency Orlando with between 100 and 200 others round.
“It wasn’t like 2 a.m.,” the supply stated. “It isn’t like we caught them at some dive bar miles away. It’s a lobby bar where everyone is staying and so there’s a bajillion political operatives and journalists and electeds around. I remember I saw it with my own eyes and a couple other people saw it and the blatantness was absurd.”
After all, Trump himself can be an accused sexual abuser.
In 2023, a jury in New York discovered Trump liable for sexually abusing author E. Jean Carroll in a Manhattan division retailer dressing room in 1996.
Trump has additionally confronted allegations of sexual misconduct from dozens of ladies. Trump has denied their allegations. However don’t overlook that he was caught on tape bragging about kissing girls with out their consent, saying, “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
In the end, Trump’s nominees are so corrupt and compromised that he’s bypassing FBI background checks and as an alternative utilizing non-public firms to vet them—seemingly as a result of his picks would not move an FBI screening with their baggage.
“Passing an FBI security clearance to be entrusted with our country’s most guarded secrets requires unquestionable loyalty to the United States, a test Trump and his cronies, who are the poster children of plutocratic globalization and ‘elite capture,’ know they could never pass,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland advised the information outlet Authorities Govt.