Pete Hegseth’s Mom Called Him An Abuser - The Monday AM Quickie 12/2/24

By Jacob Silverman — Dec 2, 2024

I am going on record that the NIH is probably a good thing to have. -Jacob

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THE BIG NEWS

Pete Hegseth’s Mom Called Him An Abuser

It's not often that a potential cabinet secretary is denounced by his own mother, but that's essentially what happened over the weekend to Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense. The New York Times obtained and published an email that Penelope Hegseth, Pete's mother, sent to him on April 30, 2018. In the 400-word email, Penelope Hegseth called her son "an abuser of women" who "belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego."

Penelope Hegseth blasted her son for his treatment of his second wife, Samantha, whom Pete was then divorcing after he had gotten a Fox News producer pregnant. (He's now married to that producer.) Pete, she wrote, had called Samantha "unstable." Penelope Hegseth expressed herself in tortured, emotional terms. "We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character," she wrote. "I don’t want to write emails like this and never thought I would. If it damages our relationship further, then so be it, but at least I have said my piece."

Interviewed recently by the New York Times, Penelope Hegseth said that she didn't stand by the email and opposed the Times publishing it. She said that she apologized to her son in a follow-up message and that he was "a good father, husband" and not an abuser of women.

Besides being called an abuser by his own mother, Pete Hegseth's serial philandering produced an array of messy relationships, children in and out of wedlock, and custody battles. He was also investigated after a woman filed a rape complaint against him at a conservative political conference in 2017. He was not ultimately charged. He paid the woman a financial settlement.

A New Yorker report also reveals that Hegseth was forced to quit two veterans organizations he ran. Whistleblowers at the nonprofits alleged "financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct," including being intoxicated on the job.

In a halfway decent society, this record would doom him. But this is Trump's cabinet of rapists, where Hegseth's rap sheet is practically considered an asset.

MORE STORIES TO WATCH

Trump Taps Kash Patel To Lead FBI’s Retribution Against Political Enemies

Trump watchers knew that he'd find a position somewhere in the national security apparatus for Kash Patel, the perpetually unqualified Trump loyalist who has expressed longings to imprison the boss's political enemies. Now Trump has selected a spot where Patel could possibly do the most damage: FBI director. Trump plans to fire current FBI director Christopher Wray and appoint Patel, who has said he would imprison members of the media, government "conspirators," and people "who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections."

Trump Nominates Jared’s Criminal Father As Ambassador To France

At the end of Trump's first term, Charles Kushner was one of many beneficiaries of the president's pardon power. The father of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, Charles did 14 months in federal prison after being convicted of campaign finance crimes, tax evasion, and witness tampering. He's most infamous for soliciting a sex worker for his brother-in-law (who was cooperating with authorities in an investigation against him), secretly filming the encounter, and sending it to his sister.

Now, Kushner has a clean slate and a new position: Trump's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to France. Apparently the French aren't too keen on it. But in Trump-world, this is a standard-issue appointment. Over the weekend, the president-elect also announced that Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump's father-in-law, would be a senior adviser on Middle East issues. "Massad is a dealmaker, and an unwavering supporter of PEACE in the Middle East," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Joe Biden Pardons His Beloved Dirtbag Son Hunter

Lame duck President Joe Biden is entering his pardon season, and first up is his ne'er do well son, Hunter. Yesterday, Biden issued a "full and unconditional pardon" to Hunter, who was convicted of three felony gun charges in 2023 and later pleaded guilty to tax evasion. Biden had previously said that he wouldn't pardon his son, but the writing was on the wall. A few days ago, Hunter Biden's lawyers published a 52-page document outlining what they described as "the political prosecutions" of their client.

"No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong," Biden said in a statement accompanying the pardon.

In the meantime, President Biden continues to help prosecute a genocide in Gaza while thousands of Americans languish in prison for petty drug offenses. He could do much more, but he won't.

QUICKEST QUICKIES

Aleppo Falls As Syrian Rebels Make Sudden Gains In Decade-Long Civil War After 13 years of horrific violence, the stalemated Syrian civil war suddenly turned hot again over the weekend. The Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, boosted by Turkish-sponsored militias and other allies, launched a surprise attack on Aleppo and took the city within 48 hours. Russia's military commitments in Ukraine, Iran's losses via Hezbollah and Hamas, and Assad's own weakness mean that the Syrian dictator may be more vulnerable than he's been in years. via FT, WSJ, and WaPo.
Jamie Dimon Has Been Secretly Advising Donald Trump JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has apparently been advising Donald Trump on economic policy in secret this year. Arguably the most powerful figure on Wall Street, Dimon has been relentlessly courted by Democrats and Republicans and didn't officially endorse anyone this election cycle. Looks like he's chosen a side! via NY Post.
Trudeau Visits Trump, Makes Border Promises Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew down to Mar-a-Lago to dine with President-elect Trump and hopefully talk him out of his insane tariff plans. Trump called the meeting "very productive" while Canadian officials promised to deploy more security personnel and surveillance capabilities to the northern border. via Reuters.
State Senator Says California Won't Assist Trump Deportations California Sen. Alex Padilla said that the golden state's government won't assist in Trump's mass deportations. Padilla didn't exactly couch his protest in moral terms: he said that it was the federal government's responsibility to enforce immigration law, not the states'. Okay, Alex. via Politico.

SOME NUMBER

16 hours per day, 7 days a week

That's supposedly the work schedule of the civic-minded pros staffing the incoming Trump administration, according to wacky venture capitalist Shaun Maguire and his eternal liege-lord Elon Musk.

ON THE SHOW TODAY

12/2: Happy Monday! Sam and Emma speak with Rick Perlstein, historian, writer at The American Prospect, and author of his most recent book Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980.

DON'T MISS MR CLIPS‌

Trump's DOGE Plan Is GOLD For Wealthy Tax Cheats

They're going to cripple the IRS in the name of "efficiency."

Biden's Disastrous Return To Bush-Era Foreign Policy

Somehow Democrats have become neoconservative foreign policy hawks – with typically horrific results.

PARTING WORDS

"Lower prices and increased tariffs are mutually exclusive. It's one or the other; not both. Blanket and indiscriminate tariffs on a limitless range of consumer goods will be inflationary and hurt American families and workers."

-- From a statement released by the National Retail Federation warning about potentially disastrous economic consequences from Trump's proposed tariffs. The president-elect has said that he wants to impose tariffs on goods from our three closest trading partners: 25 percent tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico and up to 60 percent for goods from China. Numerous industry groups have spoken out about the potential for Trump's completely unnecessary policy proposal to reignite inflation and cause economic calamity.

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