Trump appointees

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Here's something else about Hegseth that should make you sleep tight knowing he's in charge of the Pentagon (I should point out to my fellow Aspies that I'm being sarcastic):

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pete-hegseth ... 11533.html

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to nominate billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.

“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Isaacman, 41, is the founder and CEO of the payment processing company Shift4. He has flown to space twice on commercial SpaceX missions, but has not worked at NASA or in the federal government. Isaacman funded both of those spaceflights himself, for an undisclosed sum.

In a statement, Isaacman said he was “honored” to receive Trump’s nomination.

“Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history,” he wrote on X.

Isaacman has close ties to Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Trump chose Musk, a close ally, to co-lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency." Musk on Wednesday congratulated Isaacman in a post on X.

Isaacman in 2022 partnered with Musk and SpaceX to pay for and launch the Polaris Program, a series of three private spaceflights to test technologies and maneuvers for exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. Isaacman was one of four private citizens sent into orbit on the first of the spaceflights, known as Polaris Dawn.

The five-day mission, in September, included the first all-civilian spacewalk.

Isaacman also bankrolled and flew on SpaceX’s first all-civilian mission to orbit in 2021.

If Isaacman is confirmed, he will take control of NASA at a pivotal time for the agency, with key missions planned to help return humans to the moon in the coming years.

The United States has faced increasing competition in its efforts to go to the moon and establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface.

China has made significant progress with its space program in recent years and has said it intends to land Chinese astronauts on the moon by 2030. The country has already flown robotic spacecraft to the moon and returned the first samples from the moon’s far side. Chinese leaders have said they plan to eventually build a base on the lunar surface.

“I was born after the Moon landings; my children were born after the final space shuttle launch,” Isaacman said in his statement, adding: "I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place ... Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”

Trump’s selection of a relative outsider to lead NASA — along with Musk’s involvement with the incoming administration — may signal a move toward increased commercialization of NASA’s operations. Already, the space agency relies heavily on SpaceX and other commercial partners to launch its astronauts, cargo and spacecraft to the International Space Station and beyond.

NASA’s current administrator, Bill Nelson, has occupied the role since May 2021. Nelson represented Florida as a senator from 2001 to 2019, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, promoted a supplement line this year that purports without evidence to help people “detox” from Covid vaccines.

Patel plugged the supplements in posts on Truth Social — the social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group — in February and April.

“Mrna detox, reverse the vaxx n get healthy,” he wrote in one post, tagging the company Warrior Essentials and linking to its website. “Spike the Vax, order this homerun kit to rid your body of the harms of the vax,” he wrote in another. It is not clear whether the posts were paid promotions; they were not labeled as such.

Warrior Essentials sells what it calls a “Spike Protein Detox Protocol,” a set of up to three supplements that it claims, without evidence, will “undo the damage from the spike protein,” a component of the coronavirus. The mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna prompt the body to produce and fight an altered version of the protein to train the immune system.

Warrior Essentials is one of many companies that trade on unfounded theories about the dangers of vaccines, which have proliferated in the alt-right social media landscape since the pandemic — ideas that are not backed by science.

Patel, who was chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller during the Trump administration, is among Trump’s most vocal supporters. He has leveraged his association with Trump to sell books and merchandise. Patel received $120,000 per year as an independent contractor with Trump Media & Technology Group, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in June, as part of a contract that ended in March.

As FBI director, Patel would oversee more than 37,000 employees at the nation’s top law enforcement agency and a requested annual budget of roughly $11.3 billion.

Warrior Essentials told NBC News that it was “proud to have Kash Patel as a supporter and advocate.”

“While the so-called ‘experts’ who ignored vaccine injuries and pushed failed policies scramble to defend their narratives, we deliver real, science-backed solutions that have already helped thousands reclaim their health,” the company said.

Warrior Essentials says that its “detox protocol” “promotes the body’s own internal cellular regeneration process” and can remove toxins from cells, repair circulatory health and restore DNA stability. None of those claims are supported by scientific research, according to two medical experts.

“They can’t say with confidence that their product is going to do what it is that they intend it to do,” said Dr. C. Michael White, head of the pharmacy practice department at the University of Connecticut.

In the vast majority of people, spike proteins leave the body within a few weeks of a vaccine’s being administered. Like other vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Covid shots are safe, and serious side effects are rare.

What’s more, the experts said there is no evidence that Warrior Essentials’ supplements are effective at reducing vaccine side effects — which are mostly mild or moderate and tend to resolve quickly. No supplements have been found to do that.

Dietary supplements do not require FDA approval before they are sold, so their manufacturers have more leeway than producers of foods or drugs when it comes to health claims. Although the FDA can issue warnings and mandate recalls, it does not have the resources to track or assess every supplement available to customers.

Since Donald Trump announced Kash Patel as his pick for FBI director, a 2023 podcast interview he did with fellow Trump loyalist Steve Bannon has circulated far and wide.

In the recording last year, Patel asserted how he would handle reporters if he were put in power.

“We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,” Patel said then. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”

Now that Patel is in the running to head one of the most powerful agencies in the U.S. government, the question of whether he will really “come after” journalists is troubling both sides of the aisle, and it is likely to become a central point of contention if he comes up for Senate confirmation, with one senator calling his remarks “vile.” Patel has privately conceded he needs to publicly clean up the remark, according to a Trump ally who has spoken with him.

In a brief interview with NBC News in February, Patel laughed off the notion that he was hellbent on attacking reporters and even praised them as “invaluable.” He backed off a bit on his tough talk with Bannon, seeming to suggest that he believed his words had been blown out of proportion and adding that he had meant for his threat to apply only to people who had broken the law.

“I would love for you to go back and get the whole quote and I appreciate you letting me talk about it,” Patel told NBC News then. “That full quote kind of speaks for itself. It was three words taken out of two sentences. But I basically said we’re going to use the Constitution and the courts of law to go after people criminally and civilly — if they broke the law.”

He emphasized that the threshold was violating the law and accused some “folks in the media” of coordinating with the government to put out a false narrative about Trump.

"I have a problem with that," Patel said. "And I think there should be some form of accountability for it. I don’t know what that looks like."

He also went on to compliment journalists.

“I’ve always said this, I think reporters are invaluable. Like, who else is going to tell the world what’s going on in Washington or wherever, right?” he said.

Still, those statements are unlikely to quell the concerns of those who view Patel as a personification of Trump’s vow to pursue retribution against his enemies once he takes office. Critics fear Patel’s fierce loyalty to Trump and his history of embracing conspiracy theories, like a false contention that the “deep state” attempted to overthrow Trump’s presidency, would influence his actions at the FBI. They point to his deep investment in the MAGA movement as evidence of his motivations and of how steeped he is in politics, something that both Democrats and Republicans contend they want to keep out of the law enforcement agency.

Trump’s choice of Patel defies a post-Watergate practice that FBI directors serve 10-year terms. The goal of a lengthy term is to ensure that the FBI is seen as not serving the political interests of a specific president. The current FBI director, Christopher Wray, is scheduled to complete his term in 2027.

In an interview this year on a YouTube show hosted by former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan, Patel said he would “shut down” the bureau’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and “reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state.’”

Angelo Carusone, president of the left-leaning journalism watchdog group Media Matters for America, said he fully expects the Trump administration to take a confrontational approach with the media and warned it could have a chilling effect on reporting.

“He’s going to be responsive not just to what Trump is saying, but also to what that larger underlying right wing media ecosystem is calling for and demanding,” Carusone said. “We shouldn’t discount the blood thirst that’s out there. People want revenge.”

Asked what Patel’s intentions are with respect to journalists, a Trump transition spokesperson said the nominee’s focus would be trained on traditional FBI values.

“Kash Patel is going to deliver on President Trump’s mandate to restore integrity to the FBI and return the agency to its core mission of protecting America,” Alex Pfeiffer, the spokesperson, said in a statement. “Kash is committed to safeguarding Americans’ First Amendment rights, unlike Joe Biden who weaponized the DOJ to target journalists.”

Under the Biden administration, the FBI raided the home of conservative provocateur James O'Keefe, the founder of the since-disbanded Project Veritas, securing search warrants for his notes and cellphone in connection to an investigation into the theft of a journal belonging to Biden’s daughter. (O'Keefe was never charged in the investigation, which resulted in the conviction of another person.) Then-President Barack Obama did not have a good reputation when it came to press freedoms; he targeted journalists and their work as he sought to root out government officials who were leaking information pertaining to national security. And Trump himself has had a storied, combative relationship with the news media, often referring to it as "the enemy of the people."

Now, Patel’s past remarks to Bannon are leaving some on the right unsettled.

Mike Davis, a pugnacious Trump ally and former Senate GOP chief counsel for nominations, said he’s talked to Patel and he recognizes the need to clean up some of his comments about using law enforcement power against the media.

He said some of Patel’s remarks shouldn’t be taken too literally, comparing them to his own.

“Kash and I use hyperbole to force people to pay attention to our broader point: politicizing and weaponizing intel agencies and law enforcement is very destructive to our republic,” said Davis, who runs the conservative group Article III Project and informally advises some Trump nominees. “The FBI must return to its core mission of protecting Americans from crime.”

Patel’s remarks could invite a grilling from some Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee, which oversees the FBI and its nominees, during a confirmation hearing.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the panel, said he plans to ask Patel to "clarify" some of his past remarks, including those regarding the use of law enforcement power against people “in the media.”

“I don’t know how much of it was rhetorical and how much of it was serious," Cornyn told NBC News.

For Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, Patel’s comments are a major red flag.

“That’s got to be off limits,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Tuesday. “The awesome power of the prosecutor, FBI or [attorney general] — it has to be about protecting the American people and public safety. Not prosecuting or persecuting the press, political opponents or people you just don’t like."

“I hope every senator has that concern. And Patel has got to address that,” he continued. “He’s been very explicit about his intentions to use the power to pursue political advocacy. That’s his words, not mine.”

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said she hasn’t decided how she would handle Patel’s nomination if he were to come before the committee. But she argued that he — and other Trump nominees — should first get an FBI background check before they move forward.

When asked about Patel’s past remarks about going after the media, Hirono deadpanned: “That goes into the category of misuse of power.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a Judiciary Committee member and former prosecutor, said Patel’s comments are “totally disqualifying” and “head-spinning” for anyone who could be in charge of the FBI.

“I know from having been a prosecutor and U.S. attorney, part of the Department of Justice — it’s not just the conviction that dooms a person’s life. It is the investigation. For neighbors and co-workers to know that the FBI is investigating you, and the head of the FBI claims you committed a crime, that can be crippling financially and personally,” he said.

For senators like Blumenthal, walking those remarks back may not be enough.

The consumer protection watchdog group Public Citizen asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate allegations against Dr. Mehmet Oz that he violated the FTC’s influencer marketing standards.

In numerous videos posted to his various social media channels, Oz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has promoted herbal supplements.
The day before Thanksgiving, Oz posted a video on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X about the stress relief benefits of ashwagandha, a shrub found in Asia and Africa. Oz referred his 11 million followers to a “trusted source” to buy the herbal supplement, an online marketplace called iHerb. On social media, Oz says he is the company’s global adviser and a stakeholder.

Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump transition team, said “”All nominees and appointees will comply with the ethical obligations of their respective agencies.”

In a letter sent to the FTC on Tuesday, Robert Weissman, a co-president of Public Citizen, said some of Oz’s videos advertising herbal supplements may have violated influencer marketing guidelines by not disclosing that Oz has a financial connection to the brands. The FTC declined to comment to NBC News, saying it does not comment on communications or complaints from outside entities.

“Dr. Oz posts regularly with appeals to consumers to consider buying products from iHerb. Video posts do not disclose his financial connections, nor does the accompanying text. Nor do the posts contain other disclosures such as #ad,” Weissman wrote in a review of Oz’s posts across platforms.

Known as “America’s doctor” during his successful TV career, Oz has also been known for controversial and unsupported health claims, including his promotion of ingredients and foods that are purported to help with weight loss and avoiding cancer.

While several of Trump’s choices for his Cabinet, agency heads and administration staff have social media platforms, Oz has one of the biggest followings, and he has engaged in the most transparent influencer marketing. While deceptive campaign ads and influencer endorsements were big topics in the past election cycle, political figures possibly engaging in undisclosed influencer marketing is a newer issue.

With that knowledge, consumers can hopefully apply the appropriate emotional and intellectual filters to advertisements, discounting puffery and claims of authenticity. By contrast, disguised advertisements are inherently deceptive, because consumers do not know to apply appropriate screens,” Weissman wrote about the right for consumers to know if they are viewing an advertisement. “The issue is acute with disguised ads featuring paid endorsements, where deceived consumers believe admired celebrities are making genuine, self-directed and enthusiastic endorsements of brands, not realizing that those celebrities are instead paid and may not even use the touted brand.”

NBC News has reported that on TikTok, where he has 1.1 million followers, Oz has advertised iHerb products through the TikTok Shop marketplace as recently as September, using the in-app feature that allows TikTok users to buy items shown in videos in just three clicks. The most recent iHerb videos Oz posted to TikTok have not used the shop feature, and they have a label that says, “Creator earns commission,” but they do not indicate Oz’s relationship to the brand.

Weissman wrote that the TikTok commission labels may not sufficiently meet FTC influencer marketing standards for disclosing Oz’s interests in the brand and are most “likely automated” by TikTok. He also wrote that Oz’s posts on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram do not include such labels.

While Oz discloses his position at iHerb in his bios on Instagram, X and TikTok, he does not disclose it on Facebook, where he has his largest following, 5.4 million. The FTC says in its guidelines that individual posts should include disclosures in text and in audio if the posts are videos, with disclosures in bios not being sufficient.

In the middle of the Thanksgiving holiday stretch, Donald Trump announced what might be his most extreme and controversial appointment yet: Kash Patel for FBI director. There are many reasons why this decision is outrageous. Patel is a MAGA combatant who has fiercely advocated Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and who has championed January 6 rioters as patriots and unfairly persecuted political prisoners. (The still ongoing January 6 case, including scores of prosecutions for assaults on police, is one of the FBI’s largest and most successful criminal investigations ever.) Patel is also a fervent promoter of conspiracy theories. At the end of Trump’s first presidency, when he was a Pentagon official, he spread the bonkers idea that Italian military satellites had been employed to turn Trump votes to Joe Biden votes in the 2020 election. And he has falsely claimed that the Trump-Russia scandal was a hoax cooked up by the FBI and so-called Deep State to sabotage Trump.

Moreover, Patel has been supportive of the most loony conspiracy theory in MAGA land: QAnon

Patel repeatedly has hailed QAnoners and promoted this conspiracy theory. In early 2022, when he sat on the board of Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, Patel amplified an account called @Q that pushed out QAnon messaging. As Media Matters reported: “Patel’s catering to the QAnon community has also gone beyond the @Q account. In July, he posted an image featuring a flaming Q on Truth Social and starting in at least April, he went on numerous QAnon-supporting shows to promote Truth Social—urging viewers to join the platform, praising hosts for being on the platform, and promising to promote the hosts there.” On one show, Patel declared, “Whether it’s the Qs of the world, who I agree with some of what he does and I disagree with some of what he does, if it allows people to gather and focus on the truth and the facts, I’m all for it.”

On another show, Patel acknowledged he was courting the QAnon crowd for Truth Social: “We try to incorporate it into our overall messaging scheme to capture audiences because whoever that person is has certainly captured a widespread breath of the MAGA and the America First movement. And so what I try to do is—what I try to do with anything, Q or otherwise, is you can’t ignore that group of people that has such a strong dominant following.” He praised QAnon, saying, “There’s a lot of good to a lot of it,” and he agreed with a host who said Q had “been so right on so many things.” Patel praised Q for starting a “movement.”

Appearing on Grace Time TV in Septmeber 2022, Patel said of the QAnon community, “We’re just blown away at the amount of acumen some of these people have.” He added, “If it’s Q or whatever movement that’s getting that information out, I am all for it, every day of the week.”

When Patel was promoting a children’s book he wrote—about a King Donald who is persecuted by his political enemies—he offered ten copies in which he signed the books and added a special message: “WWG1WGA!”” That’s the QAnon motto: “Where we go one, we go all.” He hyped this special offer on Truth Social using the hashtag “#WWG1WGA.”

Appearing on the MatrixxxGrove Show, Patel defended his use of the QAnon motto: “People keep asking me about all this Q stuff. I’m like, what does it matter? What I’m telling you is there is truth in a lot of things that many people say, and what I’m putting out there is the truth. And how about we have some fun along the way?” He added, “Let’s have fun with the truth.” He also characterized the QAnon movement as being a vital part of the national debate: “Basically, the bottom line is—and I get attacked for calling out some of the stuff that quote-unquote Q says and whatnot. I’m like, what’s the problem with that? It’s social discourse.”

Seeking retribution, spreading conspiracy theories, backing an attempt to overthrow a presidential election, supporting J6 rioters, echoing Moscow talking points—none of this is what one would see in a responsible choice for FBI director. But Patel’s cozying up to QAnon is especially troubling. Among many vital duties, the FBI director oversees the federal government’s efforts to combat violent crime—an area where QAnon remains a concern. Patel’s relationship with QAnon shows either that he has a severely distorted view of reality or that he will recklessly exploit dangerous, misguided, and false ideas for political benefit. Neither is an approach suitable for the most powerful and important law enforcement agency in the land.

How Kash Patel, Trump’s FBI Pick, Embraced the Unhinged QAnon Movement


“If this man had been a character in a book or a movie, most people would have criticized its creator for being too over the top. Putting such a man in any position of public trust, let alone in charge of the FBI, is the stuff of very dark comedy. It also confirms some of the worst fears about a new Trump administration: that it would be both farcical and dangerous.” - Columnist Cathy Young

President-elect Trump tapped Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department spokesperson, to serve as deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East peace in his next administration.

Trump noted in his announcement that Ortagus previously was critical of him. As a Fox News contributor in 2016, she bashed Trump over behavior she thought was “disgusting.” She then served in the State Department from 2019 to 2021.

“Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support, and I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for them,” he said on Truth Social. “Let’s see what happens.”

Ortagus would serve as deputy to real estate executive Steven Witkoff, who Trump named in November to be special envoy to the Middle East.

“She will hopefully be an asset to Steve, a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region. I expect great results, and soon!” Trump said in the announcement.

Trump endorsed Ortagus’s run for Congress in 2022, before she was removed from the ballot by the Tennessee Republican Party because she had moved to the state too recently.

Ortagus is an officer in the Navy Reserve and worked at the Treasury Department during President Obama’s administration.

“If this man had been a character in a book or a movie, most people would have criticized its creator for being too over the top. Putting such a man in any position of public trust, let alone in charge of the FBI, is the stuff of very dark comedy. It also confirms some of the worst fears about a new Trump administration: that it would be both farcical and dangerous.” - Columnist Cathy Young

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, rose to prominence partly based on his searing criticism on Fox News of the rules governing U.S. troops in combat. Having served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army National Guard, he argued that American soldiers were hampered by excessive constraints when battling jihadist extremists who “fight like savages.”

“In some cases, our units were so boxed in by rules and regulations and political correctness, we even second-guess ourselves,” Hegseth wrote in his book “The War on Warriors” last year. “That needs to end. Count me out on the Monday morning quarterbacking— I’m with the American warfighter, all the way”

At his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Hegseth will likely be asked about allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and mismanagement in his previous jobs.

But some current and former military officers say Hegseth’s strident statements regarding war crimes prosecutions of U.S. troops — and his advocacy for service members who were convicted by fellow soldiers — risk undermining core principles that have shaped the American military for decades.

A current U.S. military officer who asked not to be named said Hegseth's stance "should be disqualifying." And Paul Eaton, a retired Army major general, said Hegseth’s past support for service members accused of — or convicted of — crimes on the battlefield could have ripple effects through the military.

“He condoned murder and execution,” Eaton said, referring to Hegseth's past interventions in cases as a Fox News contributor. “That will create a stunning problem for every senior noncommissioned officer out there, every leader down to the squad leader.”

Tim Parlatore, Hegseth’s lawyer, said that Trump’s pick has used colorful language to convey his views about overly restrictive rules of engagement for U.S. troops, but that his critics have misinterpreted his comments.

“He is not in any way advocating that anybody not follow the Law of Armed Conflict,” Parlatore said. “He is saying that the way that has been interpreted at the local level is overly restrictive.”

From the start of their training and at every promotion throughout their careers. U.S. troops receive training and education on lawful conduct in battle. Commanders see the training as foundational for the armed services, both for moral and practical reasons.

Abiding by the code ensures troops maintain discipline and focus on military objectives instead of criminal behavior, current and former military officers say. Committing war crimes and atrocities also potentially endanger any troops who are later captured by the enemy.

“There have to be limits on the conduct of those who are fighting,” said Gary Solis, a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam and who taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. “Otherwise it becomes nothing more than murder.”

Trying to reassure lawmakers
Although Hegseth has publicly questioned whether the Geneva Conventions are relevant to modern warfare against extremists who do not obey them, the former Fox News contributor has been trying to clarify his stance with lawmakers.

In recent meetings with Republican senators, Hegseth has told lawmakers he has no intention of discarding the Geneva Conventions or the U.S. military legal code, a source close to Hegseth and a Republican congressional aide said. Hegseth has told them that he believes service members should continue to abide by them.

Parlatore said Hegseth’s view is that the Geneva Conventions were mainly shaped by the World War II era and do not take into account the kind of adversaries that the U.S. has faced recently, such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist group.

Given that these militants represent no internationally recognized governments, wear no uniforms, make no distinction between civilians or combatants and respect no rules regarding prisoners of war, Hegseth believes the Geneva Conventions “could stand an update” to reflect those new realities on the battlefield, Parlatore said.

Hegseth’s criticisms are focused on how international agreements and the U.S. military code are interpreted by military lawyers and how rules of engagement for troops in combat have been overly restrictive and impractical, according to Parlatore.

But in “The War on Warriors,” Hegseth appears to dismiss the Geneva Conventions, which were heavily revised after WWII. He writes that U.S. troops “should not fight by rules written by dignified men in mahogany rooms eighty years ago,” an apparent reference to the Geneva Conventions.

Hegseth also writes dismissively about both international law and the U.S. military’s rules of engagement, which he argues were too cautious during his tours in the field.

“I could write five thousand more words on the ins and outs of the philosophy of warfare, the folly of international law, and the crazy maze of rules of engagement,” Hegseth wrote. “But if we’re going to send our boys to fight—and it should be boys—we need to unleash them to win. They need them to be the most ruthless. The most uncompromising. The most overwhelmingly lethal as they can be.”

Eugene Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale Law School, said the armed forces’ extensive training on the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. military’s code of conduct are designed to overcome the chaos that ensues on the battlefield.

Lobbying for pardons
During Trump’s first term, Hegseth gained the attention of the president when he championed the cause of three service members who were convicted or accused of war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. In appearances on Fox News, Hegseth helped persuade Trump to intervene on their behalf.

In one case, Trump gave a full pardon to Clint Lorance, a former Army lieutenant who was serving out a 19-year sentence for the murder of two civilians in Afghanistan after being convicted by a jury of fellow service members. Members of Lorance’s unit testified that the two civilians did not pose a threat.

Trump also pardoned Maj. Matthew Golsteyn, an Army special forces officer who was charged with murder for killing an unarmed Afghan he believed was a Taliban bomb maker. And Trump, backed by Hegseth and other conservative commentators, reversed the demotion of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murder charges but convicted of posing in a photo next to a captured dead militant.

n all three cases, Hegseth argued that accused or convicted service members were treated unfairly and that the circumstances of each situation had to be taken into account.

Parlatore said Hegseth does not condone war crimes but disagreed with the outcome of the legal proceedings in those cases. Hegseth also raised no objections to a case involving members of his regiment who were found guilty in connection with the killing of three unarmed Iraqi men.

Trump’s interventions came despite objections from the defense secretary at the time, Mark Esper, and then Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. Both senior Defense officials maintained that Trump’s action would weaken the military’s justice system and send the wrong signal to troops.

In “The War on Warriors,” Hegseth praised Trump’s moves and suggested that international war crimes laws should not apply to extremists who decline to obey them.

“What do you do if your enemy does not honor the Geneva Conventions?” Hegseth wrote. “We asked it all the time—especially if we want to win. And, for all the briefings, PowerPoint slide decks, and lectures, it was never clear.”

Current and former officers and experts on military justice say Hegseth’s statements and claims raise serious questions about whether he would uphold the military’s core principles on battlefield conduct or even seek to interfere in legal proceedings.

They point out that the U.S. military’s legal code, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, was enacted by Congress 75 years ago, not the Biden administration. It incorporates the principles of the Geneva Conventions and the international Law of Armed Conflict about the treatment of captured fighters, distinguishing between civilian and military targets, proportional responses and avoiding unnecessary suffering.

“Americans fight the way we do because we do believe we’re on the side of good,” said Jason Dempsey, who served for 22 years as an Army infantry officer who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. “To overtly cede that high ground from the start, it would be concerning for allies and a boon to our enemies.”

Dempsey, now an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, admitted that some American soldiers have violated the laws of war. “These are things that admittedly the U.S. military has struggled with as all militaries do,” he said. “It’s not a secret that not that all Americans act with honor on the battlefield. But these rules are ingrained in troops.”

Military veterans and legal experts say that Hegseth’s rhetoric could send a confusing message to service members about what rules they should obey, and whether they should report those who violate the code of conduct for the armed forces

“You have to take a hard line against that kind of behavior, in the name of righteousness of the cause and for combat effectiveness,” Dempsey said.

The Republican-led Senate is slated to hold a dozen hearings this week for President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, with the hope of confirming them quickly after he’s inaugurated on Jan. 20.

The selections coming before the Senate range from those who are expected to have smooth paths to confirmation, like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state, to others who face headwinds and need the hearings to garner support, such as former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, a military veteran, for defense secretary.

“We’re going to have a little bit of a train wreck next week of confirmation hearings,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters last week. “But I’m glad we’re getting those done, and the FBI background check would naturally be a part of that process.”

The hearings kick off Tuesday with Hegseth in the hot seat. Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's hearing to be secretary of the interior was postponed from Tuesday to Thursday, as the Office of Government Ethics has yet to complete its review, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the chair of Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources said.

Similarly, a hearing for former Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Trump’s pick for veterans affairs secretary, was also scheduled for Tuesday. But that will be delayed until Jan. 21 because the FBI has not completed its background check, according to Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Jerry Moran, R-Kansas.

On Wednesday, hearings will feature Rubio; former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to run the Department of Homeland Security; former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe, who was picked to lead the CIA; former Trump White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, who was tapped to fill the role again; former Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., who was selected for transportation secretary; and oil and gas industry executive Chris Wright, Trump’s choice for energy secretary.

And the Thursday hearings will include a second day of Bondi appearing before senators; former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., the pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency; hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, who’s in line to lead the Treasury Department; and former NFL player Eric Scott Turner, who was tapped for housing and urban development secretary.

Other hearings will be scheduled in the days and weeks ahead, too.

If the prospective nominees are approved by the respective Senate committees that have oversight over their departments, they will require 50 votes from the full Senate to assure confirmation. Vice President-elect JD Vance will be able to break a tie starting Jan. 20, when he and Trump take office. Sen.-elect Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is expected to be sworn in before the inauguration. Republicans are down a seat due to Vance’s resignation, but his successor can be sworn in quickly after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, selects one. That’ll give the GOP 53 seats, allowing three defections before Democratic votes are needed.

Some nominees will get Democratic votes. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has expressed support for Rubio, Stefanik and Duffy.

The FBI background check on Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, does not include interviews with Hegseth’s ex-wives or the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a California hotel room in 2017, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the contents of the report.

It is standard protocol to interview current and former spouses in conducting FBI background checks, according to two other sources familiar with the process. But it is also contingent on cooperation from the interviewees, and it is not clear whether the FBI attempted outreach to those people.

Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will hold Hegseth's confirmation hearing Tuesday, also sent inquiries to counsel for Hegseth’s ex-wives, but they did not share information with the committee, according to two sources.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a former state attorney general and Armed Services Committee member, told reporters Monday night that "there may be surprises" at Hegseth's confirmation hearing "because we have been denied access to some of the materials and documents and other information, including the FBI report, that may contain information forthcoming during the hearing."

“I just want to emphasize there’s already ample and abundant information on the public record that shows Peter Hegseth lacks the character and confidence to be secretary of defense,” Blumenthal added. “There has never been a nominee for this position as unqualified as he is by virtue of financial mismanagement, as well as sexual impropriety and alcohol.”