Home Politics Susan Collins and Joni Ernst refuse to meet with woman who accused Pete Hegseth of raping her
Politics - 4 weeks ago

Susan Collins and Joni Ernst refuse to meet with woman who accused Pete Hegseth of raping her

Susan Collins and Joni Ernst refuse to meet with woman who accused Pete Hegseth of raping her

Susan Collins and Joni Ernst refuse to meet with woman who accused Pete Hegseth of raping her

The brow is not even furrowing any more:

Republican senators have disparaged anonymous critics of Hegseth. But some of these senators have also declined to speak face to face and confidentially with such critics, including the woman who accused Hegseth of rape. According to three sources with knowledge of the situation, Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, is one of the senators who have turned down offers to hear privately from Hegseth’s accuser. Ernst is a pro-Trump conservative on the Armed Services Committeee, and her vote is seen as the linchpin to Hegseth’s confirmation, because she is both a military veteran and a survivor of sexual assault who has championed women’s rights. (Ernst’s office did not respond to questions from The New Yorker about her refusal to see Hegseth’s accuser.) Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, also declined an offer to meet with the alleged victim. Collins’s press secretary, Blake Kernen, confirmed the outreach but said that the senator believes that such allegations should be brought to the relevant committee—in this case, the Armed Services Committee—of which she is not a member. Collins has, however, met with Hegseth.

A friend points out to me that things have gotten to a point — call it the Kavanaugh Effect — where an accusation of sexual assault actually helps Republican nominees get confirmed:

“Winning, said several staffers from offices less inclined to light Hegseth up, would mean not leaning in on the rape allegations and instead creating space to oppose him on grounds that Republicans can also oppose him on.” That’s a hell of a sentence. nymag.com/intelligence…

Tedra Osell (@tedos.bsky.social) 2025-01-13T20:16:00.010Z

Well if being an accused rapist isn’t disqualifying, what about being a hardcore drug addict?

Hegseth has admitted to excess drinking in the past, but he has vowed that, if confirmed to lead the Pentagon, “there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I’m doing it.” 

I’m no expert, but “I’ll stop drinking just as soon as you give me this incredibly important job” kinda sounds to me like the kind of thing an alcoholic might say.

As for the kind of a things an alcoholic might do:

In December, he said that he was “a different man than I was years ago,” describing his life as “a redemption story.” But even as he has attempted to reassure senators, additional reports continue to raise questions about when, and whether, he has reformed. As recently as the spring of 2023, according to an account shared last week with The New Yorker, Hegseth ordered three gin-and-tonics at a weekday breakfast meeting with an acquaintance in Manhattan. “It was an extremely strange experience,” his companion that morning told me. “We met at Fox News in New York for breakfast, and he suggested we go across the street to a bar. It was, like, ten in the morning. Then he ordered two gin-and-tonics at the same time for himself. To be polite, I ordered one, too. But it was so strong I couldn’t drink it, so I ordered coffee. Then he had a third gin-and-tonic. I don’t know how he could pass a security clearance. But they’re trying to create a culture where whistle-blowers are uncomfortable coming forward.” Neither Hegseth’s lawyer nor a spokesman for Trump responded to requests for comment.

The post Susan Collins and Joni Ernst refuse to meet with woman who accused Pete Hegseth of raping her appeared first on Lawyers, Guns & Money.

general

Author Of article : Paul Campos

Read full article

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

An Unbearable Farce

The gang went live Wednesday night to discuss RFK Jr.’s Senate hearing, the farce that was…