(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump Appointments and Disasters from Yesterday, Nov. 21 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-22 A new theory of the Republican case is that Trump’s Access Hollywood tape has given Republicans the idea that they have permission to behave as badly as he boasted of, forcibly kissing and groping any women in sight because he’s a star. Then he was found to have committed rape, as part of a defamation trial, and then he defamed the woman again. And he has held off numerous criminal trials, and survived two impeachments. So they think he’s invulnerable, and it should rub off on them. Similarly Trump gives permission for hate crimes of various kinds, up to and including shootings, while claiming that he bears no responsibility for the effects of his words and deed. IOW, they can FA as much as they like, and can tell themselves that they can never be Found Out. Until they can’t. Appointments Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his nomination to be Attorney General after a futile 8-day campaign to win over REPUBLICAN Senators, including those on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from consideration for attorney general after being selected by President-elect Donald Trump last week.“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many," Gaetz said in a social media post. "While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. … There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general.” On Thursday, Trump said Gaetz "was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect."In nominating Gaetz to lead the Justice Department, Trump had said that he would "end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.” But the nomination came under heavy scrutiny in part because Gaetz, a loyal Trump supporter, had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct, sharing inappropriate media on the House floor and using campaign funds for personal use. The question of whether the committee will release its report has been in a deadlock between the five Democrats and five Republicans who run it. Gaetz was previously under investigation by the Justice Department as part of a sex trafficking probe, but was not charged.Photo by Mike Blake via Reuters. x Former Rep. Matt Gaetz announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from consideration for attorney general after being selected by President-elect Donald Trump last week. “I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the… pic.twitter.com/osw8IO9axQ — PBS News (@NewsHour) November 21, 2024 Trump immediately replaced Gaetz with former Florida AG Pam Bondi, who has a few actual qualifications for such a job. The following is not among them. x .@PamBondi is a stellar selection by President Trump for Attorney General. Pam and I worked closely together when she was Florida’s Attorney General and I chaired Criminal Justice in the state house. She’s a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all… https://t.co/K86sK7WkPf — Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 22, 2024 Nor is this. x BREAKING NEWS: Trump has picked Pam Bondi to take the place of Matt Gaetz as his attorney general pick. Bondi is one of the most crooked state AG’s in history, dropping Trump’s University case in 2013 in Florida, after receiving a $25,000 donation from Donald Trump. Horrible. pic.twitter.com/RqbtDJvJnQ — CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) November 21, 2024 Infighting x Republicans on Tuesday ripped JD Vance, Marco Rubio and others for their absences from the chamber, which allowed Senate Democrats to ram through key Biden judicial nominees. https://t.co/H7miGlpVVO — The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) November 20, 2024 These are no longer rumored allegations. NYT: Police Report Offers Graphic Details of Sexual Assault Claim Against Hegseth The woman, referred to throughout the report as Jane Doe, said Mr. Hegseth took her phone, blocked his hotel room door when she tried to leave, and sexually assaulted her, ejaculating on her stomach. She said that her memory was hazy, and that she had drunk far more alcohol than usual throughout the day. x Some real questions here about why these allegations weren't pursued. https://t.co/0r4kGqwU1M — Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) November 21, 2024 Rumor There are reports that Gaetz withdrew in large part because another accuser has come forward with accusations about sex with underage girls, aka statutory rape. As noted above, some of the rumors about Pete Hegseth have been confirmed by the release of the full police report on his alleged sexual misconduct. This has sparked a flood of new rumors. WaPo [paywalled]: Defense pick Hegseth paid accuser but denies sexual assault, attorney says The memo sent to the Trump team, the details of which have not been previously reported, said that the woman identified in the memo only as "Jane Doe” was there with the California Federation of Republican Women. The woman was staying at the hotel with her small children and her husband, according to the memo, which laid out the woman’s complaint. Hegseth’s lawyer says that the relationship was consensual. Hegseth agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the woman because he feared that revelation of the matter “would result in his immediate termination from Fox,” where he worked as a host, the statement said. CBS News: Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for defense secretary, paid accuser to save job at Fox News, his lawyer says Remember that public statements by lawyers are not evidence. Where’s Vance? x The Times of India is asking what no U.S. media outlet seems to care about: Where TF is JD Vance? pic.twitter.com/g1E2aLGzku — Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) November 20, 2024 He isn’t hanging out with Trump, that’s for sure. After a day sherpaing Matt Gaetz around Capitol Hill, leading to Gaetz’s inglorious retreat, Vance spent a day sherpaing Pete Hegseth around Capitol Hill. x Yesterday JD Vance was trying to drum up support in the Senate for sexual predator Matt Gaetz. Today, JD Vance is trying to drum up support in the Senate for sexual predator Pete Hegseth. Icky. pic.twitter.com/prbpEhNYeM — Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) November 21, 2024 Previous Posts in this Series Search link for previous Trump Nomination posts [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/22/2287942/-Trump-Appointments-and-Disasters-from-Yesterday-Nov-21?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/