Damn, it took long enough to restore our internet! Grrrr, I’ve lost hours! Now back on topic. Yes indeedy, Petey Boy has gotten himself into another heap of trouble. Too bad it’s highly unlikely we can get rid of him (yet). He’s trying to bypass the Constitution and discriminate against any press except for that of RWNJs. Maybe we should have seen it coming, maybe not. Remember that “no pictures unless approved” nonsense recently? It just keeps getting better, or so his thinking goes. Heads up – this is long. With appreciation for Raw Story:
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been on a crusade of “subterfuge” against the Constitution by instituting stealth “viewpoint discrimination” at every turn, former prosecutor Harry Litman wrote for his “Talking Feds” Substack on Monday — and just got curb-stomped for it by an irate federal judge. Hegseth, a former Fox News personality who styles himself “Secretary of War” due to a controversial, non-congressionally approved department name change by President Donald Trump, has repeatedly been caught abusing his powers, including threats to court-martial a U.S. senator who reminded troops they have a duty to refuse illegal orders.
And we didn’t think he could get worse. Well, maybe after this action, his “getting worse” will mean being punted out of his position (finally). He’s also getting more extreme. We could say this was not one of Trump’s brighter ideas, except none of his ideas are bright, since he isn’t. If only the Senate had listened to us screaming about “don’t do it!” Gahhh.
The current drama centers on the Pentagon’s new press credentialing policy, a draconian shift that caused every mainline media outlet and even a number of right-leaning ones to hand in their press passes and let Hegseth instead staff the press corps with MAGA sycophant bloggers. U.S. Senior District Judge Paul Friedman voided the policy last Friday in a scathing opinion that called out Hegseth’s policy for what it is.
“During his tenure as Secretary of Defense … Hegseth has shown a sustained fixation on coverage he views as hostile,” wrote Litman. “He complained bitterly about reporting on his confirmation that understandably focused on his threadbare qualifications and closet full of skeletons, including allegations of alcoholism, poor management, and sexual assault.
The Pentagon’s posture hardened from there. At one point, photographers were removed from the Pentagon’s Iran War briefings after publishing images Hegseth disliked. The new credentialing policy was not an isolated move. It was part of a larger effort to use control over access to shape the story.”
It’s actually almost surprising that Petey Boy lets any press in at all. I wonder if he has to read their pieces before they can be published. Also, OMG, Laura Loomer, creepy! Is he trying to remove all press eventually? Or does he have faith that the bloggers will always, always make him look good? It seems he doesn’t trust anyone else, because they would report the truth, and it wouldn’t be his version of the truth. Let’s all roll our eyes together now.
The policy, noted Litman, prohibited “solicitation” of “unauthorized disclosures,” an act which “swept broadly enough to cover the core acts of journalism: asking questions, cultivating sources, and receiving information. Under the policy, a reporter could lose credentials not only for publishing information the Department had not approved, but for asking questions that led to its disclosure.” “Thus, the Pentagon okayed the tip line from Trump’s favorite, Laura Loomer. But it refused a similar request from the Washington Post for outreach to DoD personnel.
Same conduct; opposite result. The distinction was editorial alignment,” wrote Litman. Even more damningly, he continued, “Friedman detailed the Department’s treatment of James O’Keefe, the conservative activist and founder of Project Veritas. O’Keefe received credentials despite having pleaded guilty to federal charges for entering federal property under false pretenses, conduct that falls squarely within the kinds of offenses the policy itself lists as grounds for denial.”
The bottom line, he concluded, is that “It’s just common sense to take this administration’s assertions with a jaundiced eye. The federal courts, institutionally inclined to comity towards other branches, have lagged behind. But opinions like Friedman’s show them beginning to confront head-on the administration’s lying ways.”
My list of BadA$$ judges may explode soon if this keeps up. Wouldn’t that be a lovely thing? It’s now more than a handful of judges, that we know about, who are telling the administration “Oh, HAIL NO” in terms more polite and legal than mine. They have the power to make it stick even with the knowledge there will, *of course*, be an appeal. Many, many thanks to the judiciary for finally waking up and rightfully pushing back. Petey Boy is not going to overturn things easily, if it happens at all. He needs to be rocked back on his heels, because what he says does not necessarily mean it will go. It’s about time. And I will stop, for now, talking about BadA$$ judges.
See you soon!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Good piece susan. thank you for this helpful summary of the past few months of Pete’s ridiculousness. We are all peripherally aware of all this, but this put it all in a nice package wrapped up with a bow. :).
Thanks
Oh, my goodness gracious, thank you! He’s such a moronic child.