The law that authorizes the Director of National Intelligence requires the candidate to have "extensive experience" in national intelligence. US Code 50-3023. Gabbard's lack of that experience seems to be consistently glossed over in all mainstream reporting. Not that it interfered with Hegseth becoming DOD secretary. But it should. More than a candidate's private behavior or political positions, their lack of qualifying experience should be the main focus of journalistic reporting. The competence of any President's cabinet affects all of us, one way or another.
I'm pretty sure that the Trump appointee will redact any information that is embarrassing for Trump, in MAGA eyes, as little as that might be, before any of it would get released.
You are so right! If it ever is released, the most interesting thing will be the guessing game of whose names are under the blacked out lines (and also the reasons why "it couldn't possibly be me" under that black line"!
The problem with these Senate committees, after they vote, is what did they know and when did they know it? Ditto the entire Senate when they vote to confirm someone.
Now, if Jon Stewart was able to find these videos and share them on his late night show, someone please tell me why the Senate Armed Services Committee was not able to present these videos to the Committee and to the Senate to convince at least 1 more GOP Senator to vote NO on this alcoholic jerk’s nomination to SecDef. WHY AM I ONLY JUST NOW SEEING THIS ?????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE ???????
Joni Ernst is the worst. She could have single handedly torpedoed his nomination and chose not to. When I learned that the Republicans had only a 1 vote majority on that committee, and she was the deciding vote, it made me sick🤮. Unless she was receiving credible death threats, mere threats to primary her should have been ignored. Other Trump targets have been primaried and survived the next election. Ditto Tillis, and he was the one who asked Danielle Hegseth to provide the affidavit, promising it would get the necessary 4th vote! Which was going to be him! They’re despicable cowards.
Every time I see a veteran support Trump I get sick to my stomach. The US Army has 7 core Army values: Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage, Respect, Duty, Loyalty, and Selfless Service. By voting for Hegseth, Joni Ernst - a US Army veteran- failed in both personal courage and selfless service to our Nation. Out of fear, she put her own career first.
Kurt - minor technicality here: I read that Ernst is retired from the army. Perhaps she retired from those 7 values too?
Now, there's that little matter of the oath of office she took when sworn in to Senate... something about support and defend the Constitution? ...bearing true faith and allegiance to the same?
I thought the same about Sen. Todd Young of Indiana. Likes to talk about his Naval Academy education & career in the Marines. Hard to square those values with his vote & statements supporting Hegseth. Of course, he couldn't point to any actual qualifications the guy has (cuz, nada) but said in a statement supporting Hegseth, "the Department of Defense needs innovative thinking and a break from the status quo" - I'd guesstimate 99% of Americans meet those two standards... so to Todd Young, almost anyone is qualified to be Sec Def!
Yes, it is amazing how little the Oath to the Constitution means to some people, although I expect that they rationalize it to themselves in one form or another - we human beings are great at justifying our decisions (and I am no exception to that). I am dismayed by the number of active duty military personnel and veterans that support Trump, because he has such contempt for the military and the whole concept of selfless service. He deliberately avoided service during the Vietnam war, the very embodiment of the "Fortunate Son" that John Fogerty wrote about. I suspect that the MAGA cult is a group of very unhappy people; you have to be, to be so hateful and cruel to others. The sad thing is that Trump is not going to bring them happiness or improve their lives. Trump is using them for his own benefit and I don't think that most of them will ever recognize that fact because it would mean giving up their identity, which is very hard to do (at least from my own experience).
Hmm ... Maybe the Epstein files are a nothing burger when it comes to Trump. That said, there could be significant blow back from the rich people that are mentioned in those files. Republicans must believe there are more rich Democrats mentioned than rich Republicans. I'm not sure I would take that bet.
I think Tulsi Gabbard is DOA. It is just going to take Senators to hear her scary nonsense explanations for her national security failures.
The other person I think will end up DOA is RFK Jr. Particularly after Caroline Kennedy's letter gets introduced and RFK Jr. has to explain why Caroline's issues are nothing to worry about.
But Harley, a corollary of the misogyny is that if they look at her as an object (they do) and they think she's a purty gal, their minds start to race a little & they think they maybe might like to do her a favor cuz ya never know, maybe in their wildest daydreams...
I have always maintained that the classified "personal documents" trump kept in his Mar-a-Lardo bathroom included the tapes, CDs, and photo stashes that mysteriously disappeared when the FBI raided Epstein's Manhattan townhouse three days after his death.
After all, trump, Epstein, and Tom Barrack were widely known as the "Nightlife Musketeers" during their decades-long heyday in demi-mode Manhattan. (Remember "Eurotrash", anyone?)
There's no way in hell Dear Leader is going to incriminate himself unless he can somehow be goaded into believing that documenting his career as an epic sex pest will reflect well on his Hugh Hefner-esque pretensions.
“But I do really believe that President Trump is really moving fast and moving the proper way, and it’s different and everything, but we’ve got to absolutely give him his chance to really perform.”
Translation: He needs to get his name scrubbed from the files first. That takes time!
"Based on his tone, there’s a strong possibility that Justice was unaware of who Epstein was; that’s often the case when a senator gives such a general answer to a straightforward question."
Tommy Tuberville couldn't even name the 3 branches of government. I wonder if Justice is just as dense. (Jesus Christ, am I the only one who attended high school in the Deep South, Louisiana, who took a civics course?)
Great reference; thank you! It's maddening to have people smirk at me, shake their heads in despair at my supposed naïveté, and say, "These things don't just happen." They do.
The law that authorizes the Director of National Intelligence requires the candidate to have "extensive experience" in national intelligence. US Code 50-3023. Gabbard's lack of that experience seems to be consistently glossed over in all mainstream reporting. Not that it interfered with Hegseth becoming DOD secretary. But it should. More than a candidate's private behavior or political positions, their lack of qualifying experience should be the main focus of journalistic reporting. The competence of any President's cabinet affects all of us, one way or another.
the epstein file....I think they want those files released because they are still obsessed with bill clinton...
I'm pretty sure that the Trump appointee will redact any information that is embarrassing for Trump, in MAGA eyes, as little as that might be, before any of it would get released.
You are so right! If it ever is released, the most interesting thing will be the guessing game of whose names are under the blacked out lines (and also the reasons why "it couldn't possibly be me" under that black line"!
Release the file! Whatever is in there cannot possibly be a crime that Trump did not commit.
The problem with these Senate committees, after they vote, is what did they know and when did they know it? Ditto the entire Senate when they vote to confirm someone.
Here’s a gift link to the most recent NYT “Best of Late Night” where you can watch Jon Stewart show you video clips of Pete Hegseth being a carousing asshole drunk in public, tattoos and all: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/arts/television/jon-stewart-trump-firings.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sk4.6LXx.hfZnFZyuP6O0&smid=url-share
Now, if Jon Stewart was able to find these videos and share them on his late night show, someone please tell me why the Senate Armed Services Committee was not able to present these videos to the Committee and to the Senate to convince at least 1 more GOP Senator to vote NO on this alcoholic jerk’s nomination to SecDef. WHY AM I ONLY JUST NOW SEEING THIS ?????? WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE ???????
The senators care more about their jobs than about America. Which means they absolutely should lose them.
Joni Ernst is the worst. She could have single handedly torpedoed his nomination and chose not to. When I learned that the Republicans had only a 1 vote majority on that committee, and she was the deciding vote, it made me sick🤮. Unless she was receiving credible death threats, mere threats to primary her should have been ignored. Other Trump targets have been primaried and survived the next election. Ditto Tillis, and he was the one who asked Danielle Hegseth to provide the affidavit, promising it would get the necessary 4th vote! Which was going to be him! They’re despicable cowards.
Every time I see a veteran support Trump I get sick to my stomach. The US Army has 7 core Army values: Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage, Respect, Duty, Loyalty, and Selfless Service. By voting for Hegseth, Joni Ernst - a US Army veteran- failed in both personal courage and selfless service to our Nation. Out of fear, she put her own career first.
Kurt - minor technicality here: I read that Ernst is retired from the army. Perhaps she retired from those 7 values too?
Now, there's that little matter of the oath of office she took when sworn in to Senate... something about support and defend the Constitution? ...bearing true faith and allegiance to the same?
I thought the same about Sen. Todd Young of Indiana. Likes to talk about his Naval Academy education & career in the Marines. Hard to square those values with his vote & statements supporting Hegseth. Of course, he couldn't point to any actual qualifications the guy has (cuz, nada) but said in a statement supporting Hegseth, "the Department of Defense needs innovative thinking and a break from the status quo" - I'd guesstimate 99% of Americans meet those two standards... so to Todd Young, almost anyone is qualified to be Sec Def!
Yes, it is amazing how little the Oath to the Constitution means to some people, although I expect that they rationalize it to themselves in one form or another - we human beings are great at justifying our decisions (and I am no exception to that). I am dismayed by the number of active duty military personnel and veterans that support Trump, because he has such contempt for the military and the whole concept of selfless service. He deliberately avoided service during the Vietnam war, the very embodiment of the "Fortunate Son" that John Fogerty wrote about. I suspect that the MAGA cult is a group of very unhappy people; you have to be, to be so hateful and cruel to others. The sad thing is that Trump is not going to bring them happiness or improve their lives. Trump is using them for his own benefit and I don't think that most of them will ever recognize that fact because it would mean giving up their identity, which is very hard to do (at least from my own experience).
Ernst had every reason in the world to vote against him. I used to respect her, but not anymore.
You gotta follow up with Kennedy next time he meets with Trump to see if he asks him about the Epstein archives, as promised, lol
Hmm ... Maybe the Epstein files are a nothing burger when it comes to Trump. That said, there could be significant blow back from the rich people that are mentioned in those files. Republicans must believe there are more rich Democrats mentioned than rich Republicans. I'm not sure I would take that bet.
I think Tulsi Gabbard is DOA. It is just going to take Senators to hear her scary nonsense explanations for her national security failures.
The other person I think will end up DOA is RFK Jr. Particularly after Caroline Kennedy's letter gets introduced and RFK Jr. has to explain why Caroline's issues are nothing to worry about.
Cassidy will do his best to stop RFK Jr.
Trump will never release the files that embarrass himself and a thousand super-rich potential donor-child-rapists
Remember they can pay him off anytime they want buying his ridiculous bit-coin.
Including foreigners
Let's face it the biggest obstacle for Gabbard is her sex. If she was a good'ol womanizing drunk she'd be a shoe in.
Of course for the good of the country Republican misogyny is an advantage here is working in our best interest here.
But Harley, a corollary of the misogyny is that if they look at her as an object (they do) and they think she's a purty gal, their minds start to race a little & they think they maybe might like to do her a favor cuz ya never know, maybe in their wildest daydreams...
Ick
That Goebbels—he walks funny, but I love his dedication to the Fuhrer … he’s got my vote.
I have always maintained that the classified "personal documents" trump kept in his Mar-a-Lardo bathroom included the tapes, CDs, and photo stashes that mysteriously disappeared when the FBI raided Epstein's Manhattan townhouse three days after his death.
After all, trump, Epstein, and Tom Barrack were widely known as the "Nightlife Musketeers" during their decades-long heyday in demi-mode Manhattan. (Remember "Eurotrash", anyone?)
There's no way in hell Dear Leader is going to incriminate himself unless he can somehow be goaded into believing that documenting his career as an epic sex pest will reflect well on his Hugh Hefner-esque pretensions.
His mushroom is probably more like a toadstool.....🍄
You buried the lede in that you found Jim Justice in the Capitol to give a quote.
When Russia announces that Gabbard is an asset, think twice about voting for her.
How can Susan Collins be associated with anything having to do with intelligence?
“But I do really believe that President Trump is really moving fast and moving the proper way, and it’s different and everything, but we’ve got to absolutely give him his chance to really perform.”
Translation: He needs to get his name scrubbed from the files first. That takes time!
It would be remarkable/bizarre if anything related to Epstein was classified, but, yes material on him should be released.
Senator Cancun wants the tea on Diddy?
Slimeballs are just like the rest of us!
But this read sent me into orbit...
"Based on his tone, there’s a strong possibility that Justice was unaware of who Epstein was; that’s often the case when a senator gives such a general answer to a straightforward question."
Tommy Tuberville couldn't even name the 3 branches of government. I wonder if Justice is just as dense. (Jesus Christ, am I the only one who attended high school in the Deep South, Louisiana, who took a civics course?)
Ken White had a good essay in The Atlantic about Epstein.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/thirty-two-stories-jeffrey-epstein-prison-death/596029/
Great reference; thank you! It's maddening to have people smirk at me, shake their heads in despair at my supposed naïveté, and say, "These things don't just happen." They do.