Up on the Hill

The insurrection comes full circle.

I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it absolutely surreal to watch Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks cavorting on Capitol Hill, schmoozing with lawmakers to win their favor. Many are the very same lawmakers who bore witness to Jan. 6—who were targeted, in fact, by the rioters that day. Now, they’re holding pleasant meetings with those who would defend that attack, right at the site of the attack itself.

As I said, surreal. But here we are.

This week, three members of the team Trump has assembled to dismantle the federal government and seek retribution against his enemies made their way to Capitol Hill. And each, in their own way, demonstrates that Jan. 6 wasn’t a one-day failed attempt to overturn our democracy, as we believed and hoped. It’s an ongoing operation that’s still very active.

Consider Trump’s Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth—he’s problematic on many fronts. He’s faced multiple credible allegations of sexual misconduct, and even his own mother rebuked him years ago for mistreating women. Unfortunately, a troubling pattern that we’ve seen in the past amongst Republicans in Congress who challenge MAGA, but eventually fall in line, emerged once again. Senator Joni Ernst, a survivor of sexual assault and a military veteran, raised questions about Hegseth’s history, and the wrath of the right-wing spin machine responded. Iowa’s Attorney General Brenna Bird wrote a column for Breitbart and a right-wing country music star called for someone to primary her. Turning Point’s Charlie Kirk attacked her views on who should serve in the military.

Suddenly, Sen. Joni Ernst, after meeting with Hegseth again this week, said—with a straight face, I might add—that she hopes Hegseth, if confirmed to lead the Pentagon, “will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.” Let’s be clear about what just happened here. They bullied her, and she’s left trying to navigate it.

I’m also fairly confident the Trump team hasn’t forgotten this poignant article by Ernst on her belief that the Jan. 6 insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol “should all be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will fight to make sure that happens.” Awkward, especially given the following. Hegseth has portrayed the Jan. 6 rioters as patriots, saying they “love freedom” and were “people who love our country” who had “been re-awoken to the reality of what the left has done” to America. Not much subtlety there. He also has downplayed the role of active military and veterans in the Jan. 6 attack and criticized the Pentagon’s efforts to address extremism in the ranks.

If you’re keeping score at home…

Insurrection-defenders 1, Team America 0

Returning to the Hill this week was former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who’s been tapped for Director of National Intelligence. She’s facing some well-deserved extra scrutiny since her bestie in Syria, Bashar al-Assad, had to flee the country after being deposed by rebels last weekend. Anyone else wondering what the internal intelligence documents lying around Assad’s former presidential place say about her meeting with him? Inquiring minds want to know.

Gabbard has a chronic and nasty habit of taking sides with bad dudes like Assad. Vladimir Putin is a personal favorite, and she has elevated the parroting of Russian propaganda to an art form. Two years ago, Gabbard posted a video, in which she called it an “undeniable fact” that bio labs funded by the U.S. are scattered across Ukraine. The claim, of course, originated in Moscow, as a way to falsely accuse the U.S. of bioweapons production. Gabbard ran with it.

Having a Russian propagandist who spreads fringe conspiracies at the helm of national intelligence will likely lead our allies to refrain from sharing intel with us. It will weaken our security posture and make us more susceptible to terrorist attacks on our homeland. Gabbard as DNI is not only dangerous but also a slap in the face to actual intel officers. But that's sort of the point, given Trump's disdain for our national security community.

So what’s Gabbard’s take on Jan. 6? She’s a “let’s move on” kind of gal. She called the Jan. 6 committee hearings “nothing more than a ‘show trial’ to try to distract our attention away from the serious issues that face our country.” Uh-huh.

Insurrection-defenders 2, Team America 0

Then there’s Kash Patel, the hyper-loyal Trump ally chosen for FBI director. As you can imagine, there’s no love lost between Kash and me. But I’m not the only one with reservations about him. When Trump tried to install him at the FBI as deputy director in 2020, it was blocked by former Attorney General Bill Barr himself. And John Bolton, who got to know Kash during his time on the National Security Council, warns senators that they “won’t escape history’s judgment” if they vote to confirm him.

Kash has vowed to take on Trump's enemies, has called the FBI the “prime functionary of the Deep State,” and has suggested he would dismantle the FBI’s headquarters in D.C. on Day 1. His views are radical even by Trump standards. And he’s proven his loyalty. As we all know, in MAGA world, there can be no higher reference or experience than that.

But where does he stand on Jan. 6? Where do I begin?

• Before the election even happened, Kash was connected to the diplomatic back channel led by Rudy Giuliani to spread conspiracy theories about Joe Biden and strongarm Ukraine into announcing an investigation of the Bidens.

• As chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller on Jan. 6, he pushed the ‘fedsurrection’ conspiracy theory, which claims that undercover FBI agents instigated the Capitol riot to make the MAGA movement look bad. A just-released watchdog report has discredited it.

• He has proposed a ‘full-fledged investigation’ into the Jan. 6 Select Committee.

• He has established a legal defense fund, purportedly for Jan. 6 detainees, via his nonprofit the Kash Foundation.

• He helped produce “Justice for All,” a single that features the “J6 Prison Choir” singing the national anthem mixed with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

• He authored a children’s book series called “The Plot Against the King,” which is about Trump’s “Deep State” enemies.

You get the picture.

This week, current FBI chief Chris Wray cleared the way for Kash’s confirmation, announcing that he will resign at the end of the Biden administration, even though he has three years left on his 10-year term. I have tremendous respect for Director Wray, having worked with him along the way. I just wish he would have stayed and made Trump fire him. In either case, let me stress the fact that THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Trump celebrated it by posting on his social media stating it was “a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice.”

Insurrection-defenders 3, Team America 0

If there’s any question left in your mind that Jan. 6 is alive and well, Pete Marocco is working on Trump’s transition on national security matters. He’s at the transition’s HQ in Florida, focusing on hiring, including for the State Department.

Who is he? During Trump’s first term, Marocco hopped around the departments of State, Defense, and Commerce and the U.S. Agency for International Development, creating a lot of bad blood with colleagues in the process.

But more importantly, he and his wife were caught on camera inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 (though they have not been charged with any crime). Asked about the allegation, Marocco called it “petty smear tactics and desperate personal attacks.” Sure, Pete.

Next week, RFK Jr. will be making the rounds on Capitol Hill. Oh, joy. And there’s so much to say about Trump’s so-called ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk.

More to come…

Olivia