Boris Epshteyn’s One-Two Punch on DOJ

/103 Comments/in , , /by

Politico had a detail about the Matt Gaetz selection that I’ve seen no one else pick up.

It was Boris Epshteyn’s idea.

How did we get here? That story is still coming out, but here’s what we know. As of Monday, Gaetz was not on the short list to be Trump’s choice for attorney general. But Trump wasn’t satisfied with those options, our Meridith McGraw tells Playbook.

[snip]

The Gaetz-for-AG plan came together yesterday, just hours before it was announced, Meridith tells us. It was hatched aboard Trump’s airplane en route to Washington, on which Gaetz was a passenger. A Trump official revealed more details to Playbook late last night: BORIS EPSHTEYN played a central role in the development, lobbying Trump to choose Gaetz while incoming White House chief of staff SUSIE WILES was in a different, adjacent room on the plane, apparently unaware.

Maggie and Swan have retconned that detail to describe, only, that Boris, Elon, and Susie Wiles were all on the plane, then fluffed it all into bullshit about clarity of what he wants.

Boris’ role in Trump’s apparent plan to destroy the country has gotten little notice amid the parlor games focused on when the two narcissists, Elon and Trump, will tear each other down. But his apparent role in this decision bears more notice.

After all, he’s unindicted co-conspirator 6 in the January 6 indictment. He had a central (though uncharged) role in the documents case, orchestrating parts of the plan to have Evan Corcoran do the search but have Christina Bobb do the certification. And he was or may still be under investigation, with Steve Bannon, for a cryptocurrency scheme that cheated Trump’s rubes.

His communications with now Chief of Staff designate Susie Wiles appear to have been a subject of interest for investigators — a subject tied to what a witness that is likely Eric Herschmann described as an effort to cover his own past legal exposure with a retroactive claim to have been acting as an attorney.

And the potentially belated access to the contents of his phone are what expanded the focus of the immunity brief to incorporate Bannon as an unindicted co-conspirator and Bannon’s prediction that “All Hell will break loose” part of the plot.

Donald Trump was considering actual lawyers for the role of Attorney General, but (per Marc Caputo) didn’t like them because they talked Constitution and all that.

“Everyone else looked at AG as if they were applying for a judicial appointment. They talked about their vaunted legal theories and constitutional bullshit. Gaetz was the only one who said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over there and start cuttin’ fuckin’ heads.’”

And then, at least according to Politico, Wiles left the room and Boris convinced Trump to pick Gaetz.

After that, Trump has announced plans to install his defense team — Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, and John Sauer — as Deputy Attorney General, PADAG, and Solicitor General, respectively (note: PADAG is not a confirmed position, so Trump only announced it to make the intent crystal clear).

Now, Bove and Sauer are at least competent to the positions Trump will install them in. All three men know their way around DOJ. Blanche is less horrible than the Gaetz pick — again, if you ignore the symbolism of converting the Department of Justice into the defense firm for the President.

And he’s also Boris’ defense attorney. He was Boris’ defense attorney and then, possibly at Boris’ suggestion, added Trump as a client, creating some challenges regarding discovery.

According to Politico, a key player in Trump’s assault on the Constitution, on the Capitol, is the guy who picked Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General (or who suggested Matt Gaetz be proposed for Attorney General, creating an impossible loyalty test for the Senate).

And the competent people reporting to Gaetz are there to mount a defense.

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103 replies
  1. PeteT0323 says:

    Speaking of Matt Gaetz…

    AOC on Joy Reid last night and – sort of in passing – noted that:

    1) Gaetz resigned the 118th Congress (likely an attempt to quash his ethics report)

    2) Gaetz was (re) elected to the 119th Congress.

    Implication being – I suppose – if Gaetz nomination to be AG fails (as it should) then he’s back in Congress all “polished” up, but still smelly…

    • 2Cats2Furious says:

      But wouldn’t Gaetz have to be sworn in to the 119th Congress on 1/3/2025? Unless Senate Republicans can convince Trump that Gaetz is not confirmable as AG before that date, I don’t see how Gaetz can just re-join the 119th Congress at a later date, unless his prospective appointment is pulled before 1/3.

      I can’t imagine the GQP Senators with enough spine who are going to convince Trump to pull the nomination.

    • Rob_15NOV2024_1126h says:

      Reports are he said he would not be sworn in

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  2. earlofhuntingdon says:

    I know there are many of these. By intention Trump is flooding the zone with shit. But the lamestream press should be shouting from the rooftops at the extraordinary move Donald Trump is attempting. It’s unsubtle even by Trump’s standards.

    He plans to install his personal criminal defense lawyers at the top of the Department of Justice hierarchy. He plans to treat the whole country pretty much the way he treated E. Jean Carroll.

      • SteveBev says:

        Exactly this.

        The shamelessness is the point.

        It is the central aspect of the Trump credo. Not only is he shameless but expects shamelessness on his behalf from his flunkies lieutenants and surrogates.

        Susie Wiles ‘not being in the room’ tor Gates appointment, is a factoid possibly deliberately leaked by Epshteyn or another, on Trumps behalf, as a deliberate message that Trump’s rule is and will be unconstrained by anyone whom outsiders might imagine to be ‘an adult in the room’.

        The goading of Trump by Putin, has had the desired effect.

        • DaveC2022 says:

          This. I hadn’t thought about the effect of Putin’s goading, but it likely does contribute to the insecurity and consequent irrationality of the situation. I was just going to add that the leaks around this bode high unpredictability. The insiders enthusiasm for leaking to undermine their insider opponents does not bode well

        • SteveBev says:

          Asserting his manliness is his response to every slight.
          Shamelessness is manliness to Trump.
          He imagines that such responses are willed by him, because he imagines himself is alpha being alpha.

          But look what Kamala did by talking about his crowds leaving.
          Or about world leaders laughing at him

          He came apart at the seams.

          Goading him about his bought and paid for wife who no longer wants him, is the Russian leader publicly laughing at him.
          Who alway knew the beta cuck is going to respond by putting on a display of performative alpha shamelessness.

    • xyxyxyxy says:

      Can’t he just do “acting” over and over?
      Or is there a limit to how many acting consecutive appointments can be made for any one position?

    • Hemienu_16NOV2024_0203h says:

      Not since Caligula appointed Incitatus as Consul of Rome.

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  3. 2Cats2Furious says:

    There has been some speculation in the pundit community that Trump is making all of these absolutely terrible nominations (Noem for DHS, Gabbard for DNI, Gaetz for AG, RFK Jr. for HHS) as some kind of “loyalty test” for Senate Republicans to see if they’ll just roll over for him and expose their bellies. Or, alternatively, that he’s setting up batshit crazy first picks, so if they aren’t confirmed, the GQP Senators will feel obliged to confirm his 2nd equally awful, but more competent, picks.

    I think these hot takes are giving Trump more credit than is due – aka more “sanewashing.” Personally, I tend to agree with Jimmy Kimmel’s assessment last night of a 3rd option: Trump is just dumb.

        • CaptainCondorcet says:

          Only barely helps if these clowns get shot down. Assuming Trump doesn’t pull picks and the Senate gives the thumbs down, any next candidate will have it made abundantly clear that they’re second pick and had better model themselves as closely to first pick as they can, or else

    • PeteT0323 says:

      And if an R Senator does not obey they get primaries in 2026? I’d like to think that might be a fear inducing lever, but if you re-up in 4+ years out…not as much.

      But then I don’t think like a R/MAGA Senator – or Congressperson for that matter.

      • GolfPopper says:

        They, and their families, get death threats from Trump loyalists if they don’t keep in line. That’s what it was back in 2021, when they didn’t vote to impeach him. [1] And was still happening in 2024 for those who failed to go all-in on the party line. [2]

        Even if these politicians don’t find the threats credible (and I don’t know whether they ought to or not), I can certainly see how they’d be disturbing. Particularly with the incoming administration unlikely to see protecting the “disloyal” as a priority.

        1. https://www.vox.com/2021/1/13/22229052/capitol-hill-riot-intimidate-legislators
        2. https://www.vox.com/23899688/2024-election-republican-primary-death-threats-trump

        (I believe I’ve posted before, under a different name which I can’t recall. I’ve stored this one in my password manager and will use it if I post again.)

        [Moderator’s note: You published a comment July 2023 as “TheCrimsonHat.” Because you have changed names, auto-moderation will continue to trigger until it “recognizes” you as an established commenter. Thanks for your patience. /~Rayne]

      • Bombay Troubadour says:

        Like an episode from The Sopranos. Donald on the burner phone to Elmo with a list of insufficiently loyal Republican primary candidates,
        “Take these guys out, use your ‘special’ funding source”.

    • Yargelsnogger says:

      I would take these picks at face value. Trump is an undoubtedly gifted attention, um, seeker, but I don’t think he is as strategic as people give him credit for. He knows he has two months before any hearings. That is plenty of time for him to beat up on those senators in public, and for Fox/RW Media to launder the insanity into something appealing to the base. I expect the senate to cave on pretty much all of his selections (I hope Gaetz can be blocked by releasing the ethics report, but that might be a fantasy).

      This isn’t going to be a jujitsu move, just the usual clubbing over the head with his power over the base.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        You’re ignoring that there are dozens of advisers, Miller, Bannon, Epshteyn among them, and hundreds of wannabe top aides, who have long been working on how to manage Trump’s transition to autocracy.

  5. allan_in_upstate says:

    With a very crypto-friendly US Attorney in the SDNY to make sure that Wall Street is a safe space for crypto:

    Trump picks Jay Clayton to serve as Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor
    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-picks-jay-clayton-serve-attorney-southern-district-new-york-2024-11-14/

    From September:

    Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton says the crypto industry is ‘pushing US market infrastructure forward’
    https://www.theblock.co/post/315035/the-scoop-jay-clayton

  6. Konny_2022 says:

    Is there any safeguard against purging the departments from not only staff but also records? I imagine as one of Gaetz’s (if confirmed) first orders to delete all records of pending cases against Trump’s people of any kind (politicians as well as remaining J6 offenders).

  7. harpie says:

    FBI Seizes Polymarket Founder’s Phone in Raid of Home Prediction-market startup accuses Biden administration of retaliation for calling the election for Donald Trump https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/fbi-polymarket-ceo-investigation-75472d18 Alexander Osipovich Updated Nov. 13, 2024 7:30 pm ET

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the phone of the founder and chief executive of Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market that was a popular platform for bets on the U.S. presidential election, a person familiar with the matter said.

    Federal agents woke Shayne Coplan at his Manhattan home early Wednesday morning to carry out the search, the person said. The raid was earlier reported by the New York Post. [paywall]

  8. Memory hole says:

    Is it possible (?) that these completely incompetent picks could be at the orders or behest if Mr. Putin? He wants to see America weakened or collapsed. And these appointments look like that would be the results. Were the Melania nudies a stern warning to Trump?

    • Amicus12 says:

      At the risk of stating the obvious, the appointments seem like a coordinated, collective effort to destroy or compromise: US defense, intelligence, and counterintelligence capabilities; the US economy, US law enforcement capabilities; and the health, well-being, and prosperity of the US citizenry.

      It’s all rather transparent. As are the Russian connections.

    • SteveBev says:

      This latest piece from Tim Snyder is apposite here

      https://open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/decapitation-strike
      Decapitation Strike
      Preserving America from Trump’s Appointments
      TIMOTHY SNYDER 15 Nov 24

      …..Each appointment is part of a larger picture. Taken together, Trump’s candidates constitute an attempt to wreck the American government.

      In historical context we can see this. There is a history of the modern democratic state. There is also a history of engineered regime change and deliberate state destruction. In both histories, five key zones are health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence. These people, with power over these areas of life, can make America impossible to sustain.
      …
      Imagine that you are a foreign leader who wishes to destroy the United States. How could you do so? The easiest way would be to get Americans to do the work themselves, to somehow induce Americans to undo their own health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence. From this perspective, Trump’s proposed appointments — Kennedy, Jr.; Gaetz; Musk; Ramaswamy; Hegseth; Gabbard — are perfect instruments. They combine narcissism, incompetence, corruption, sexual incontinence, personal vulnerability, dangerous convictions, and foreign influence as no group before them has done. These proposed appointments look like a decapitation strike: destroying the American government from the top, leaving the body politic to rot, and the rest of us to suffer

      …However and by whomever this was organized, the intention of these appointments is clear: to create American horror
      …
      This is no longer a post-electoral moment. It is a pre-catastrophic moment. Trump voters are caught in the notion that Trump must be doing the right thing if Harris voters are upset. But Harris voters are upset now because they love their country. And Harris voters will have to get past the idea that Trump voters should reap what they have sown. Yes, some of them did vote to burn it all down. But if it all burns down, we burn too. It is not easy to speak right now; but if some Republicans wish to, please listen.

      Both inside and outside Congress, there will have to be simple defiance, joined with a rhetoric of a better America. And, at moments at least, there will also have to be alliances among Americans who, though they differ on other matters, would like to see their country endure

      • Obansgirl says:

        Timothy Snyder Jelani Cobb, jia Tolentino and a host of other New Yorker writers have some well written short articles under – Dispatches- what DJTs reelection reveals About America – in the November 14 issue of the magazine.

    • drhester says:

      Of the picks that have been named so far, I believe Tulsi Gabbard is a Putin plant. She’s cozied up to him and also al-Assad.

      From Politico

      ““The only reason people know who Tulsi Gabbard is, particularly on the right, is because she has become a darling of the alt-right because of her statements on Russia,” said Heath Mayo, a conservative activist who founded the advocacy group Principles First. “They’re saying they like her pro-‘America First’ views, when she’s primarily known by most of the American electorate for having met with Assad and partially blamed America for him gassing his citizens, and blamed America for Putin invading Ukraine.”

  9. Inner Monologue says:

    “According to Politico, a key player in Trump’s assault on the Constitution, on the Capitol, is the guy who picked Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General (or who suggested Matt Gaetz be proposed for Attorney General, creating an impossible loyalty test for the Senate).”

    If past is prologue, the loyalty test is not impossible. Its outcome has become predictable. The choice is between rubber stamping and playing for time (not, that’ll be game, senators) or maintaining established checks and balances power (the stuff they swore to maintain). Blocking Trump’s flex re appointments = immediate unpredictable, combustible events. Caving to him on his opening salvos = delayed unpredictable, combustible events.

    • Rugger_9 says:

      Churchill’s opinion about Neville Chamberlin’s Munich appeasement is also appropriate here:

      Neville ‘had a choice between war and dishonor. He chose dishonor, he will get war.’

      Remember that the 30-35% MAGA voters are very active in GOP primaries where they’re a majority. No way any GOP senator will stand tall against them.

  11. Krisy Gosney says:

    Trump has bankrupted every venture he had supervision over. The US govt is his newest venture. And we are seeing how Trump has bankrupted his companies. Only this is not a Trump Corp. I think and hope America, as a venture and idea is too established and powerful to be another Trump Corp.

  12. Sussex Trafalgar says:

    Excellent and timely piece on how the 2025 Trump Administration will work. And many good responses to this piece as well.

    I believe it is imperative that Biden declassify and publicly release all documents related to Trump, Putin, MBS, Netanyahu, Xi, Orbán, Musk, Thiel, Jong Un, the JFK assassination, RFK assassination, MLK assassination, Malcom X assassination, Bay of Pigs, US Mafia and CIA relationship with the Cuban exile community, J. Edgar Hoover involvement with Meyer Lansky and Lewis Rosenstiel, and William Sessions’ involvement with Semion Mogilevich. And there’s plenty more he could declassify and release centered around others not mentioned here.

    Get everything out before the Trump Administration can destroy or sell this information for propaganda purposes and for a profit.

    And Jack Smith’s two reports on his investigation of Trump must be written and released as well.

    Such a release by Biden is necessary to help people around the world, most importantly US citizens, understand how organized crime syndicates work, including how they infiltrate the media and lay the foundations for an totalitarian society to grow and flourish.

    • Konny_2022 says:

      I agree, but doubt that Biden will complete such a far-reaching declassification process during the remaining weeks.

      Or what do you think should or just could be done to convince Biden to issue the necessary orders?

      • Sussex Trafalgar says:

        One way to defeat an incoming totalitarian loving organized crime administration is release all documents that shed light on how the crime syndicate was established, when it was established and identify all associated with the syndicate.

        So, in the interest of preserving the participatory republic democracy we currently enjoy, Biden will need to release all this information and more to stymie Trump’s ability to sculpt history, create propaganda and sell information for a profit.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      LOL. I believe Joe’s administration already has its hands full. If they haven’t already started doing that, now is not the time to begin. Pretty sure Jack Smith and Merrick Garland, for example, have already working on the process that might release all or portions of Smith’s report.

      • Sussex Trafalgar says:

        Timing is irrelevant now.

        Biden has a fleet of attorneys he pays and a lot more who will work for free to help him and his administration release this information.

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          Joe Biden has a “fleet” of govt attorneys who are already busy as hell. Your angst is not his priority.

        • Sussex Trafalgar says:

          “earlofhuntingdon
          November 15, 2024 at 4:08 pm
          Joe Biden has a “fleet” of govt attorneys who are already busy as hell. Your angst is not his priority.”

          How do you know he has a fleet of government attorneys and how do you know they are busy? Are you Biden’s agent or representative? Do you know anyone in the Biden Administration or who works in the Biden Administrative?

          And I don’t have any angst so he’s not working on curing my angst.

    • SteveBev says:

      “JFK assassination, RFK assassination, MLK assassination, Malcom X assassination, Bay of Pigs, US Mafia and CIA relationship with the Cuban exile community, J. Edgar Hoover involvement with Meyer Lansky and Lewis Rosenstiel, and William Sessions’ involvement with Semion Mogilevich”
      WTAF????
      Is your plan that Biden should induce MAGATS to drown in all manner of conspiracy theories so will forget about supporting Trump’s shift to autocracy???

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        No, It is to preserve the information for history. There is already someone in the archives who has taken it upon herself to remove any references to pesky racist behavior down thru the ages.

        “America’s Top Archivist Puts a Rosy Spin on U.S. History—Pruning the Thorny Parts
        Plans for new exhibits at the National Archives Museum included swapping a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. marching for Civil Rights for former President Nixon greeting Elvis”

        unfortunately behind a paywall

        https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/national-archives-history-colleen-shogan-f8512bc3

        • SteveBev says:

          Ah. I understand now. It seems Colleen Shogan has a strange attitude to curating exhibitions— choosing to take Republican sensibilities into account when making selections for display during a presentation. Which I accept is not an appropriate way of presenting history.

          But that’s not quite the same as pruning the archive itself. So I don’t quite see the point SussexT was trying to make about releasing archive material to preserve it.

      • SteveBev says:

        @ Rayne
        Re
        SteveBev
        November 15, 2024 at 4:19 pm
        Apologies for inconvenience

        [No problem — it wasn’t a network issue in this case for which I am keeping my eyes peeled. /~Rayne]

  13. Magnet48 says:

    Rayne I need to change email to [removed for privacy]. I hope you can do this for me. Thanks in advance.

    [Moderator’s note: use your new email address on all future comments. Until the system recognizes you, your comments may trigger auto-moderation. /~Rayne]

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      PLEASE NOTE:

      It’s best to communicate this sort of thing by using the e-mail Rayne has posted in her entry in the “About” section, rather than publish your e-mail in plain view.

      Magnet48 may want to consider changing their e-mail address. Every comment here is available to any data broker on the Internet.

    • SteveBev says:

      Jurecic, unlike Rosenstien it would seem, has more than a passing familiarity with the extent to which B&B did or did not allow themselves to be constrained by professional ethics in their advocacy on behalf of Trump. And Blanche in particular lent himself to Trump publicly besmirching the rule of law in the hallways of court houses and elsewhere.

    • P-villain says:

      Worth noting that IIRC, at least a half-dozen people occupied this post in the last Trump admin. For him, communications directors are like goldfish.

      That said, I find Cheung grimly amusing. As someone said, Oddjob without the charm…

      Edit: for the last week or so, every one of my comments has gone to moderation. Am I messing something up at my end?

      [Moderator’s note: It’s possible the site’s algorithm has been tighter than usual; you are not the only person who has noticed increased auto-moderation. Based on your comment history over the last 48 hours it’s possible you need to use a different IP address. Try rebooting or reattaching to your network. /~Rayne]

  16. Bungergrunch says:

    DOJ just abject failures. Kash Fucking Patel to FBI? just a joke.

    [Welcome back to emptywheel. Please use the SAME USERNAME and email address each time you comment so that community members get to know you. You attempted to publish this comment as “Alex” triggering auto-moderation; it has been edited to reflect your established username. Please check your browser’s cache and autofill; future comments may not publish if username does not match. /~Rayne]

  18. Matt Foley says:

    Off topic:

    Dave McCormick who is trying to stop counting votes despite a margin over Casey of only 0.4% or about 24,000 votes with 80,000 votes still uncounted.

    Here Dave, this is for you:

    In 2020 in Georgia Trump trailed Biden by 0.23% or 11779 votes. All votes were counted but Trump never acknowledged his defeat.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Under PA law, recounts are mandatory if the initial vote tallies are within 0.5%. As you say, the vote tallies here are within the margin requiring a recount.

      How nice of McCormick to reveal what he really thinks of laws that do not personally serve him. I expect he’ll get a sub-Cabinet appointment with the Don before the recount is finished.

      • Matt Foley says:

        Dave says a recount won’t change the results and will waste taxpayers’ money.

        Isn’t he adorable?

  19. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Joe Stalin was infamous for many things. One of them was how he helped his enemies reveal themselves. Renowned for his crackdowns, he would occasionally call a truce and attempt to encourage free speech.

    A few youngsters, feeling immortal, like they do, would take him at his word. A few followers came with them. A few people who knew better would follow, too. They would write, speak, meet in public. After a few months, Stalin would round them up. The lucky ones were sent to Lubyanka and then the morgue. The unlucky ones were shipped to the Gulag.

    Trump riffs off this, rather, the aides who study these things do. Trump adopts their proposals, because they fit so well with his vindictive and cruel personality. He gives his followers opportunities to prove their loyalty. Voting for his cray-cray nominees is probably an example. Get with the program. If not, the lucky ones enjoy more time with their family. The others fight endless rounds of litigation and IRS audits.

  20. harpie says:

    Just want to put this here about HESGETH:

    https://bsky.app/profile/rgoodlaw.bsky.social/post/3lazhmgpo722m
    November 15, 2024 at 5:50 PM

    Chilling. Internal email that led to identifying Pete Hegseth as potential “Insider Threat” in National Guard.

    It was clearly due to his tattoo “associated with Supremacist groups.”

    On air, Hegseth has FALSELY claimed the reason was for a different (religious) tattoo. [AP link][screenshot]

    Next comment in moderation… see Marcy’s post about HESGETH and comments there.

    • harpie says:

      Sent: 1/14/21 5:55 PM
      Subject: MAJ Hegseth
      Importance: High
      MG Walker: Good evening, Sir, as a member of the District of Columbia National Guard ATFP [Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection] Team it’s my duty to provide you information regarding our service members. I received the attached information today from a former DC Guard member regarding MAJ Hegseth of the MAC and this information is quiet disturbing Sir, MAJ Hegseth has a tattoo of “Deus Vult” on his inner arm (bicep area). The phrase “Deus Vult” is associated with Supremacist groups […]

      MG Walker, Sir with the information provided this falls along the line of Insider Threat and this is what we as members of the U.S. Army, District of Columbia National Guard and the Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Team strive to prevent.

      Thank you for your time and attention to this matter Sir!

      MSG DeRicko D. Gaither
      Physical Security Manager
      District of Columbia Army National Guard […]

      Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection says NO to HEGSETH

      Putting HEGSETH in charge of DOD is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

        • harpie says:

          Yes, you were!
          I meant to connect this thread with your comment when I posted, but something wonky was going on with the site at the moment, so thanks!

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          Criticizing Matt Hegseth or imposing professional consequences for his extreme white supremacist and religious views is what JD Vance calls discriminating against religion and the white race.

          In case you read that quickly, it was not from a 1963 speech by Gov. George Wallace.

        • SteveBev says:

          https://religiondispatches.org/christian-nationalists-and-the-holy-gun-crusade/

          A Florida gunmaker, Spike’s Tactical, makes an AR-15-style rifle they call the “Crusader.”

          The name is chosen deliberately and with care, and the company knows exactly what they’re selling. As their website says:
          ‘Spike’s Tactical created a balanced reliable rifle that would bring an excellent fighting rifle to people of all abilities and resources. The every man fighting rifle.

          We named it Crusader and engraved Psalm 144:1*
          on the lower receiver to hoist the flag of our faith and to make a statement, reminding our customers that we are with you. The war is here. We have a duty to defend our homeland and our way of life’

          *”Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me”

          The rifle—which is popular with the far right—features an engraved Templar shield logo opposite the Psalm.

          The rifle has three settings on it: safety, single fire and semi-auto; but named: “Pax Pacis, Bellum, & Deus Vult,” or“Peace, War, and God Wills It,”

      • Thequickbrownfox says:

        Sorry PJ, but majors (O-4) are field grade officers (O-4 through O-6). Captains (army O-3) and below are junior officers (O-1 through O-3), including all senior company grade officers.

        Typically, an O-4 will be a battalion executive officer, or equivalent position. That’s a looooong way from telling a O-10 what to do, which I think is what you are saying.

        • P J Evans says:

          Yep. Most of my family was NOT higher than O-3. (A few did get up to higher ranks; a lt colonel in the Army corps of Engineers – he started as enlisted – and a rear admiral (lower half). We really aren’t good at that stuff, I think.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        In the Navy, a lt. cmdr is not considered field grade. The other services changed that, and include O-4s as field grade. But it was one reason scrambled eggs were and are reserved for O-5s and up.

        Hegseth is a major in army the national guard, so he’s considered field grade. But, no, that does not remotely qualify him to be SecDef.

        Apart from his woeful lack of appropriate professional experience, his extreme political and religious views, and his unrestrained sexual habits, would normally preclude a senior appointment and the matching security clearance.

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          The Marines and Coast Guard follow the Navy’s definition that field grade starts with O-5.

          The debate only highlights how marginal Matt Hegseth’s military service is, regarding his nomination to be SecDef, regardless of how laudable it may be for other purposes.

  21. Zinsky123 says:

    I read the comments here, trying to discern Trump’s intent or motive for naming these abominable choices for key positions in his Cabinet and I think of a scene in the movie, The Exorcist. The young priest is trying to tell the old priest which demons are possessing Regan. He begins naming and articulating them and the old priest stops him and says, “there is only one Evil”. It’s the same with Trump. He is Pure Evil. His intent is only to do evil – and Matt Gaetz is just an instrument of that Evil. Trump is the embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins.

  22. harpie says:

    https://bsky.app/profile/jkbjournalist.bsky.social/post/3lb2ydq62i22t
    November 16, 2024 at 8:22 AM

    Now is a good time to point out that an investigation revealed that the DOJ showed deference in 2006 to a politically connected, wealthy & powerful man — and let him off the hook —even with evidence he had sex with at least three dozen teen girls. That evidence remained sealed for over a decade…1/2

    2/2- Jeffrey Epstein was successful in hiring a dream team of lawyers, and a group of aggressive private investigators who threatened the girls and their families, dug into every part of their lives, forcing them into silence. Point here is we now know the justice dept didn’t do its job.

    So, WHO at DOJ might have been responsible for that [2006-2016]?
    Are those people involved in this current GAETZ situation?
    Are these things related?

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