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January 21st , 2025 Len’s Political Note #700 Hegseth claims hypocrisy
2025 Appointments
Pete Hegseth has been nominated for Defense Secretary even though Donald Trump is not quite in office. The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing regarding the nomination and Hegseth testified.
Hegseth was prepared for grilling. Regarding an accusation of sexual assault, he insisted that he had been entirely exonerated. Exoneration was her stating the sexual encounter was consensual. Regarding almost everything else, ha had an evasion. The statements were anonymous smears. We should note they were smears he refused to deny, after all denial might have been perjury. But they were smears.
The assault was not what Senator Kaine was after during his turn with Hegseth. Kaine was asking questions within the context of the military rule prohibiting adultery, a prohibition that can have consequences as severe as dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of\ pay and even jail for up to a year.
The year Hegseth was accused of assault, he was married to his second wife. Furthermore, he had fathered a child of a woman who would become his third wife. His defense has been that he was not a perfect person. His emotional reaction was outrage. Hypocricy he insisted. He didn’t say it, but let’s assume it: he believes everyone, at least every man, commits adultery.
So, I thought, let’s look at the Democrats on the committee he believes are hypocrites.
Begin with Senator Kaine of Virginia. Born in 1958, he married in 1984. His wife is the daughter of a former Virginia governor. She has served as a judge and as Virginia’s Secretary of Education. Tim and Anne Kaine are still married more than 40 years later.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Born in 1947, married in 1972, she moved from Mississippi with her husband to New Hampshire. Bill Shaheen is an attorney and a judge. They are still married after more than 50 years.
Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. She was born in 1966, married in 2001. Husband Jonathan Gillibrand is British and a venture capitalist. They are still married after nearly 25 years.
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He was born in 1946, married in 1982. Cynthia Malkin is the daughter of a wealthy real estate investor She manages a family trust and is a partner in a private equity company. They have been married for over 40 years.
Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. She was born in 1947, married in 1987. The daughter of a US Citizen, Japanese American whose family had returned to Japan and moved back to the US in the 1950s. Husband Leighton Kim Oshima is an attorney. This is his second marriage. They are still married after more than 35 years.
Angus King of Maine. He was born in 1944. He was married for the second time in 1884 to Mary Herman, two years after a divorce. An attorney and eventually Founder of an energy management company, They have been married for more than 40 years.,
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. She was born in 1949, married for the second time to Bruce Mann in 1980, two years after her divorce from Jim Warren. She had been a teacher, but became a lawyer and a law professor. Bruce Mann is also an attorney. Jim Warren, now deceased, was a mathematician working for IBM and NASA and eventually founded a DNA testing company.
Gary Peters of Michigan. He was born in 1958, married for the second time in 1974 to Colleen Ochoa. She founded a consulting firm that works with non-profits. Peters first wife nearly died when her water broke and her hospital refused to perform an abortion.
Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. She was born in 1968 in Thailand, raised in Hawaii, married to Bryan Bowlsbey in 1993. A retired National Guard Lt. Colonel, she lost both her legs and some mobility in one arm in 2004 when her helicopter was hit an insurgent’s rocket propelled grenade. She met her husband, when they were in ROTC together. She tells the story that Bowlsbey “made a comment that [she] felt was derogatory about the role of women in the Army. But he came over and apologized very nicely and then helped [her] clean her M16.” This has been a romance for over 30 years.
Jacky Rosen of Nevada. She was born in 1957 in Chicago, was raised in Minnesota, went to Nevada where her parents had retired. Divorced from her first husband, she married radiologist Larry Rosen in Nevada in 1993. They have been married for more than 30 years.
Mark Kelly of Arizona. He was born in 1964 in New Jersey. A former test pilot and an astronaut, he married then Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in 2007 three years after divorcing his first wife Amelia Babis.
Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. She was born in 1976, married David Moore in 2011. She met him in Iraq where she was working with the CIA and he was a helicopter pilot who had been married previously. They were divorced in 2023.
Where things stand
It appears that Hegseth has the votes for the nomination. That is a product of tens of thousands of phone calls to senators in his favor and of Joni Ernst, Republican from Iowa and on the Armed Services Committee announcing she will vote for confirmation. Many of those phone calls were to her. Some claimed they would vote for a primary opponent if she did not support Hegseth.
Do not give up. It takes three Republicans to prevent confirmation. And this will not be the only controversial nomination. Hegseth’s FBI report was not complete, so there is much about Hegseth’s inadequate management of veteran’s organizations that was not confirmed but could be with a proper investigation. Of course, an FBI subject to threats of firing, might not do a thorough examination even if there was plenty of time. Enough was convincing about Hegseth’s drinking that he promised not to drink alcohol while Secretary of Defense. Enough was convincing about Hegseth’s frequent adulterous affairs that some report that that he announced he has found religion.
Hegseth’s candidacy was on the ropes and was resurrected. It is worth the effort to continue to oppose him. Tim Kaine had the right point. An officer in the military can be demoted or even discharged for adultery. He won’t be though under ordinary circumstances. If, however, there is a pattern of adultery, he just might be subject to the most severe consequences. Tim Kaine was demonstrating that Pete Hegseth had a pattern of adultery; a character defect that could lead to discharge if he were an officer. Under those circumstances, his nomination should not be confirmed.
But hypocrisy. Are the Democrats guilty as charged? Half of the Democrats on the Armed Services Committee have been divorced. We really don’t know how many have committed adultery. None, however, demonstrate a pattern of adultery.
I have to admit, I could not convince my wife that Hegseth’s pattern of adultery is sufficient to jeopardize his nomination. I hope I have convinced you. Call the offices of these Senators. You can say you regret Joni Ernst’s decision. Urge the others to oppose Hegseth’s nomination. You may get three to oppose the nomination. Hegseth, if he becomes Defense Secretary, will almost certainly do real damage to the military.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (202-224-2499)
Senator Susan Collins of Maine. (202-224-2523)
Senator Lisa Murkowsky of Alaska. (202-224-6665)
Senator John Curtis of Utah. (202-224-2512)
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. (202-224-5824)
Senator Todd Young of Indiana. (202-224-5623)
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. (202-224-3254)
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina (202-224-6342)
Senator John Cornyn of Texas. (202-224-2934)