Tulsi Gabbard’s Own Ex-Staffers Expose Her as a Russian Stooge

Tulsi Gabbard’s ex-aides say that the former congresswoman, whom Donald Trump has nominated as the next director of national intelligence, used to regularly consume Russian state media.

ABC News, citing interviews with three of her former staffers, reported Thursday that Gabbard regularly read and shared articles from RT (formerly Russia Today), a state-run media outlet, even after being advised that RT wasn’t a credible source.

Gabbard has defended Russia at least since she represented Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district. In 2017, she sent a memo to her staff with her views on foreign policy, blaming the U.S. and NATO for provoking Russia and complaining about America’s “hostility towards Putin.”

“There certainly isn’t any guarantee to Putin that we won’t try to overthrow Russia’s government,” Gabbard wrote in the memo. “In fact, I’m pretty sure there are American politicians who would love to do that.”

In her 2020 run for president, she attacked the U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war as a “regime change war” on Russia-backed Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard blamed Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, drawing the ire of America’s national security establishment. Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, has never worked in intelligence, another obstacle to Senate confirmation.

As a result of her pro-Russia views, Republicans in the Senate say Gabbard might have the toughest path of Trump’s nominees to confirmation, even as his secretary of defense pick, Pete Hegseth, faces sexual assault allegations and his FBI pick, Kash Patel, expresses a desire to prosecute Trump’s enemies.

“Behind closed doors, people think she might be compromised. Like it’s not hyperbole,” one Republican Senate aide told The Hill. “There are members of our conference who think she’s a [Russian] asset.”

Trump has already had two of his nominees drop out: his attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz, and his pick to run the DEA, Chad Chronister. Hegseth is drawing more negative news attention each day, and Patel is not winning over many supporters with his open threats to go after the so-called “deep state.” For now, Gabbard has flown under the radar, but that seems to be changing.

Donald Trump is reportedly railing against Pete Hegseth behind closed doors.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman appeared on CNN Wednesday to discuss Hegseth’s standing within the Trump administration.

“Trump has been complaining privately to people that he feels like Hegseth should have been more upfront with him, that he gave him opportunities,” Haberman told the network. “We also know … some of these things didn’t come up in a vet that the Trump folks said that they did of Hegseth.… It’s hard to see why senators who are already skeptical would be like, oh, OK, now I’m going to go along with this.”

Hegseth has been hit with allegations of rape, sexual harassment, alcoholism, and workplace misconduct, all since 2017. The Christian nationalist and former Fox & Friends Weekend host has been trying to rally support for himself, even sending his own mother out to make personal pleas to female senators on his behalf. But things aren’t looking great, and Trump knows it.

The CNN segment also included a clip of Hegseth’s appearance on the Megyn Kelly Show, where compared himself to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearing was roiled by accusations of sexual assault. Hegseth said that Trump stood by his nominee then and Trump could stand by him too. But Haberman noted some key differences.

“Trump really put a lot of skin in the game on [Kavanaugh]. That is a big difference here,” she said. “Trump, as far as I know, is not making a ton of calls on Pete Hegseth’s behalf. He’s telling Pete Hegseth, ‘Go fight.’”

Republicans are scrambling to protect Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, by trying to keep the sexual misconduct allegations against him under wraps.

On Fox News Wednesday night, Senator Lindsey Graham attempted to brush off the allegations as baseless because they come from “anonymous sources.”

“I’m not going to make any decision based on an anonymous source. If you are not willing to raise your hand under oath to make the accusation, it doesn’t count,” Graham told Sean Hannity. “None of it counts, no rumors, no innuendo.”

“But you were there for the Kavanaugh hearings!” Hannity interjected, referring to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, prompting Graham to reply with a chuckle, “And I’ve seen this movie before!”

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday, Senator Rick Scott echoed Graham’s complaints about anonymous sources, asking why Hegseth’s accuser wasn’t “willing to go on your show or some show and have you ask them all the questions.”

Tapper called Scott’s bluff, noting that Hegseth had paid the woman and she signed a nondisclosure agreement. He asked the Florida senator if Hegseth “should release her from the NDA so that I can ask her the questions that you want me to.”

Scott balked immediately, saying, “Absolutely not.” He claimed that many NDAs are signed “just to eliminate something” and noted that Hegseth wasn’t charged with a crime.

Scott then doubled down further, citing Trump’s victory and saying, “We have to make a change at the Department of Defense.”

Tapper pressed Scott further, who retreated into insinuating that Hegseth’s military service was under attack.

“Why don’t people respect these people who defend our freedom?” Scott complained, citing his own father’s military service to a bemused Tapper, who raised his eyebrows and concluded the interview.

It’s pretty clear that Scott and Graham believe that Hegseth’s misconduct allegations are damaging and need to be hidden or discredited. Graham had the benefit of a friendly conservative on Fox News, but Scott was clearly caught by Tapper with his own words. With Trump’s team already suggesting alternative candidates for secretary of defense, Hegseth’s nomination might collapse. It already happened with Matt Gaetz.

Republicans are already bickering over how to pass major parts of President-elect Donald Trump’s platform.

There is serious disunity regarding how and when to pass Trump’s legislative agenda, Politico reported Wednesday. Senator John Thune told his fellow senators that he wanted to accelerate the president-elect’s plans via budget reconciliation so that both the border policy and tax policy portions can pass within the first 30 days of Trump’s presidency.

Some House Republicans don’t think that’s the right approach, though, as passing border policy so early could make it harder for their committee to pass tax law later on. And then there’s also the fact that Republicans already have some significant disagreements on tax policy in general.

While Republican House leaders Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise have been in Trump’s ear in Mar-a-Lago, dissent has been fomenting in D.C.

“Our members need to weigh in on that. This doesn’t need to be a decision that’s made up on high, OK?” said Texas House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington. “We’re all unified around the objectives, [but] how we roll it out, the tactics and strategies, still under discussion.”

Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene noted that Republicans ought to rebuke Thune if he doesn’t approve the entire bill, while Freedom Caucus member Chip Roy also thinks that reconciliation should be forced through and then they can “maybe do a second version that gets at true long-standing permanent tax reform.”

Republicans have a very slim majority in the House that may make it difficult to pass some of their most extreme plans, as we’re seeing here. Sometimes they fall in line, but they’ve also squandered a congressional majority before—like when they dramatically failed to kill the Affordable Care Act in Trump’s first term. Let’s hope they haven’t learned from those mistakes.

Crypto bros rejoice: Trump has selected Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World,” President-elect Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”

That “digital assets” part of Trump’s statement is particularly important. Atkins has been a staunch advocate of the cryptocurrency market, even criticizing current SEC Chair Gary Gensler for having too many restrictions on what he thinks is a market that the United States should be dominating instead of regulating. 

Trump changed his tune on crypto very recently. Once referring to the currency as a “scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen,” Trump has more recently vowed to make this country the “crypto capital of the planet.” This switch pleased the crypto industry and led to a surge in the market. Trump’s selection of Atkins will make the market even happier. 

“Paul Atkins at the helm of the SEC will bring common sense back to the agency,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X in reaction to the nomination. “It’s time to swiftly and definitively end the prohibition era on crypto, restoring freedom of choice, economic growth, and innovation.”

“Paul Atkins’ nomination as SEC Chair is a huge win for financial innovation,” pro-crypto Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis also wrote on X. “President Trump promised to have the most pro-digital asset admin in U.S. history, and I am looking forward to working with both of them to promote innovation and make our economy strong again.”

Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, is also notoriously  anti-union, has spoken in favor of “stand your ground” laws, and has been very critical of social activism more broadly.

Donald Trump is now trying to have his Georgia election interference case dismissed because he will be “completely immune” from criminal proceedings when he is president.

The president-elect argued in a legal filing to the Georgia Court of Appeals Wednesday that Fulton County’s case against him for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state should be thrown out “well before” he is sworn in as president on January 20, 2025.

Both the state and district court “lack jurisdiction to entertain any further criminal process against President Trump as the continued indictment and prosecution of President Trump by the State of Georgia are unconstitutional,” Trump attorney Steven Sadow argued in the filing.

The Georgia Court of Appeals is currently reviewing Trump’s case, with a hearing scheduled to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be allowed to continue as prosecutor, with oral arguments scheduled for December. Trump successfully managed to delay his Georgia case until after November’s election.

Trump and his co-defendants are accused of launching a fake elector scheme, seizing voting machines, intimidating election workers, and intimidating Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger by asking him to “find” the 11,780 votes Trump needed to win the state in 2020.

If Trump’s motion for dismissal in Georgia is accepted, it will be yet another criminal case in which he escapes any consequences. The president-elect’s federal case for mishandling classified documents was dismissed by his appointee, Judge Aileen Cannon, in July. Special counsel Jack Smith successfully moved to have the remaining deadlines in his federal election interference case vacated last month, effectively ending that case. And the sentencing for his hush-money conviction in New York on 34 felony counts was canceled indefinitely a few weeks ago.

Trump will now almost certainly head into his second presidential term free from any legal judgments and, thanks to the Supreme Court, may be immune from any criminal acts he commits in the next four years. His new administration will be full of people all too willing to skirt the law on his behalf and give him unprecedented power.

Trump just picked the billionaire who did the first private spacewalk for Elon Musk’s SpaceX to head NASA.

Jared Isaacman, a processing card company CEO and close friend of Musk, was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.

“I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”

Isaacman thanked Trump on X while previewing some of his plans, writing, “Space holds unparalleled potential for breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and perhaps even pathways to new sources of energy. There will inevitably be a thriving space economy—one that will create opportunities for countless people to live and work in space.”

Isaacman’s close business relationship with Musk has raised red flags for some.

“Trump has nominated billionaire Jared Isaacman to be the next head of NASA. Isaacman is a close associate of Elon Musk and lacks government experience. And he has been to space, but only on SpaceX missions,” wrote More Perfect Union on X.

“This is a VERY pro SpaceX pro Elon pick. Isaacman has been financing Spacex missions and is a huge champion of the company,” said Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Max Chafkin.

Musk’s influence in Trump’s inner circle seems to only be growing.

Donald Trump’s choice to run the FBI, Kash Patel, is already demonstrating how he’d use the country’s top law enforcement agency to crack down on his critics. 

Jesse Binall, Patel’s attorney, sent a letter Wednesday to former Trump White House staffer Olivia Troye, threatening legal action against her for her criticism of Patel on MSNBC Monday. The letter accused Troye of fabricating her criticisms of Patel previously lying about intelligence matters and putting U.S. service members at risk. 

Troye and Patel worked in the White House during Trump’s first term as president, and Binall’s letter threatens litigation against Troye unless she retracts her criticisms of Patel, which include calling him a “delusional liar.” 

It’s a clear sign of Trump and Patel’s plans to attack critics of the MAGA agenda, whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or members of the media. Patel has threatened to prosecute members of the so-called “deep state” in addition to the “entire fake news media,” publishing a long enemies list in the back of his 2023 book, Government Gangsters.

Patel has just three years working in the Justice Department as his law enforcement experience, and his appointment has already drawn opposition from senators in both parties, who would prefer that Christopher Wray serve out the rest of his 10-year term as FBI director. Trump’s choice also has opposition from within Trump’s team.

Despite the backlash, Trump has seemingly stood by his choice of Patel, even as his other nominees, such as Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Chris Chronister for DEA chief, have dropped out. For now, Patel only has to get through the Senate to begin Trump’s authoritarian takeover. 

While Pete Hegseth makes his last hurrah on Capitol Hill Wednesday to convince senators that he’s a worthy nominee for Donald Trump’s secretary of defense, the Fox News star’s former colleagues are coming out in droves to flag down his past indiscretions.

One former colleague who preferred to remain anonymous told NPR’s David Folkenflik that the ex-anchor was known to be “handsy” while inebriated and that he once groped her at a Manhattan bar.

Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, told the radio network that the allegation was a “false claim.” Fox News denied having any knowledge of the groping accusation.

Ten other current and former Fox employees alerted NBC News on Tuesday that Hegseth’s drinking was concerning. Two sources told the outlet that they had smelled alcohol on Hegseth on more than a dozen occasions while he hosted Fox & Friends Weekend. Another source said they had smelled alcohol on Hegseth as recently as last month.

“Everyone would be talking about it behind the scenes before he went on the air,” one of the former Fox employees said.

Hegseth’s rampant drinking could be the last nail in the coffin for the inexperienced nominee’s chances at Trump’s Cabinet. On Wednesday, Republican Senator Kevin Cramer told CNN that the former anchor needed to offer a promise of sobriety before taking the reins of the Pentagon.

“One of the things I’d love to hear is that he’s committed to not drinking,” Cramer said. “Being familiar with the problems of alcoholism and the dumb things we do when we drink too much, it’d be really nice if he could set that one aside for good, if not at least through his term as secretary.”

Still, Hegseth is under the impression that he’s going to be fine. Speaking with reporters outside Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Hegseth said that Trump was still fully behind him—despite reports that the president-elect is apparently looking at other candidates, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“He supports me fully,” Hegseth said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

But crossing boundaries with his co-workers would be just one part of the picture behind Hegseth. Last month, a shocking 2017 police report revealed that the Army veteran had been accused of raping an attendee at a Republican women’s conference in Monterey, California. Since those allegations surfaced, Hegseth has admitted to several other scandals, including five affairs that he had during his first marriage.

Even Hegseth’s own mother couldn’t defend the white nationalist–connected conservative, accusing her son in a scathing 2018 email following his separation from his second wife of “using women for his own power.”

“On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” Penelope Hegseth wrote in the email, obtained by The New York Times Friday. (Hegseth’s mother has since publicly changed her tune—on Wednesday morning, she appeared on Fox News to beg people to support her son for defense secretary.)

President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social Wednesday to deride The Wall Street Journal for reporting on his transition team’s travails.

The Journal had reported the previous evening that Trump’s pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hillsborough County, Florida, Sheriff Chad Chronister, had withdrawn from consideration. The paper also covered the controversy surrounding Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defense secretary pick, whose future is uncertain as he faces a raft of misconduct allegations.

“The Wall Street Journal is becoming more and more obnoxious and unreadable. Today’s main headline is: ‘Trump’s DEA Pick Pulls Out In Latest Setback,’” Trump wrote.

“With all that’s happening in the World, this is their Number One story of the day,” he complained, before challenging the Journal’s characterization of Chronister’s withdrawal, which Chronister announced on social media Tuesday.

“As the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister posted.

Trump insisted that Chronister “didn’t pull out, I pulled him out, because I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters”—seemingly referring to the Hillsborough County sheriff arresting and criticizing a Florida megachurch pastor in 2020 for violating Covid-19 lockdown orders. That incident led “the MAGA corner of the Republican Party” to sour on his pick this week, according to CNN.

Further, Trump chided the Journal for describing the incident as his “latest” challenge. “But, more importantly, what’s my ‘latest’ setback???” Trump wrote. “I just won the Presidency of the United States! They haven’t written a good story about me in YEARS.”

Of course, the reasoning behind the Journal’s word choice becomes evident upon reading the report in question, or any number of news items since Trump’s win earlier this month.

After all, the Journal article covers Chronister’s withdrawal but also details the numerous other scandals bedeviling “some of Trump’s high-profile picks”—such as Hegseth facing scrutiny for sexual misconduct allegations, Matt Gaetz withdrawing from consideration for attorney general “under pressure in the midst of sexual-misconduct and drug-use allegations,” and lawmakers questioning Trump’s other picks, including Kash Patel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard.