Democrats Say F.B.I. Did Not Interview Critical Witnesses About Pete Hegseth
Senate Democrats on Monday said that an F.B.I. background check on Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, omitted key details on major allegations against him, in part because it did not include interviews with critical witnesses.
One missed opportunity came when the bureau did not interview one of Mr. Hegseth’s ex-wives before its findings were presented to senators last week, according to people familiar with the bureau’s investigation.
“My understanding is that some of them would like to be contacted by the F.B.I. investigative team, or the vetters, and they have not been talked to,” Ms. Duckworth added in the MSNBC interview.
A spokeswoman for the F.B.I. declined to comment.
Mr. Trump's transition team commissioned the F.B.I. background check on Mr. Hegseth last month after initially floating the idea of hiring private contractors to look into the president-elect’s cabinet picks. As the client, presidential transition teams are traditionally able to set the parameters for background checks into cabinet picks, and potentially dictate which witnesses are interviewed and what questions are asked. The transition team’s directions to the F.B.I. for its investigation of Mr. Hegseth are unknown.
The bureau did not interview an ex-wife of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for defense secretary before the findings on his background check were presented to senators.
www.nytimes.com
Just like.........
Report says Trump White House obstructed FBI probe into allegations against Kavanaugh
The Senate report is a damning rebuke to Trump’s claim he gave the FBI “free rein” to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.
www.msnbc.com
For her part, Sen. Duckworth has noted Dems were not given the same access to Hegseth as Repubs prior to today's hearing.
Duckworth: Trump’s Pentagon pick has less experience than Applebee’s manager
Duckworth held the press call to lay out her concerns about Trump’s nominee, insisting that her objections to Hegseth aren’t motivated by politics but by what his confirmation would mean for national security.
She complained that Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, will likely be the only Senate Democrat who will meet with Hegseth before his hearing.
Duckworth also noted that rank-and-file Democrats on the Armed Services panel may not have a chance to fully review the FBI background check on the nominee, an investigation Democrats believe will be critical to assess a sexual assault allegation from 2017 and alleged mismanagement of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), an advocacy group.
Can anyone think of a reason why trump's transition team would limit the scope of Hegseth's background check as his WH limited the scope of Kavanaugh's? Are they trying to hide his lack of qualifications for the job, his heavy drinking, his abuse of women, his mismanagement of funds for the partisan vets organizations he ran, the reasons he was let go by them, or his bizarre statements on everything from women to religion?
www.bbc.com
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