Trump faucets far-right troll and podcaster to guide ethics workplace

On Thursday night, President Donald Trump tapped one other far-right extremist for a key publish in his administration, nominating former right-wing podcast host Paul Ingrassia to guide the U.S. Workplace of Particular Counsel.

“Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on his Fact Social platform. “Paul holds degrees from both Cornell Law School and Fordham University, where he majored in Mathematics and Economics, graduating near the top of his class. Congratulations Paul!”

Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to present a tv interview outdoors the White Home on March 21.

And when he’s not recruiting from his favourite cable channel, he’s filling high posts with sycophants who lack {qualifications} however by no means query his authority. Enter Ingrassia.

At simply 30 years previous, Ingrassia is wildly unqualified to guide an company liable for defending federal whistleblowers and implementing the Hatch Act, a legislation designed to maintain partisan politics out of the federal workforce. Certain, he’s at the moment a White Home liaison to the Division of Homeland Safety, however operating the U.S. Workplace of Particular Counsel is a unique beast solely.

That workplace has already been below siege since Trump returned to energy. In February, he fired then-head Hampton Dellinger. Dellinger sued to maintain his job, however a federal appeals court docket sided with the administration in March.

It’s no thriller why Trump wished Dellinger—whom former President Joe Biden appointed—gone. Throughout Trump’s first time period, the workplace investigated his aides for violating the Hatch Act and located that 13 of them had illegally used their positions to marketing campaign for his reelection. In different phrases, the workplace embarrassed Trump, and now he’s ensuring that gained’t occur once more.

Ingrassia, a far-right Trump loyalist, is simply the person for that job. And his report makes clear the place his loyalties lie.

A police officer escorts Andrew Tate, left, handcuffed, from the Courtroom of Enchantment in Bucharest, Romania, in March 2024.

He was a part of the authorized workforce representing Andrew Tate—the far-right influencer charged with rape and human trafficking—in a defamation case in Florida. In accordance with the BBC, Ingrassia additionally acted as Tate’s publicist and helped guide him on Tucker Carlson’s present. On social media, Ingrassia has known as Tate “an extraordinary human being” who provided “a dying West some hope for renewal.” And in July 2023, Ingrassia described Tate as “the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.”

That’s not all. Ingrassia can also be an apologist for Nick Fuentes, an notorious white nationalist and antisemite. Ingrassia as soon as revealed a Substack publish titled “Free Nick Fuentes” and wrote on X that “dissident voices” like Fuentes ought to have a spot within the conservative motion.

Ingrassia additionally co-hosted a podcast known as “Right on Point,” and in December 2020, one among its social media accounts known as on Trump to “declare martial law and secure his re-election”—whereas spreading the lie that Trump gained the 2020 election.

So sure, placing somebody like him in an ethics watchdog function isn’t simply disturbing—it’s harmful.

After Trump’s publish, Ingrassia wrote on X that, as head of the workplace, he’d “make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch,” with a concentrate on “eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse” and “revitaliz[ing]” Hatch Act enforcement.

Clearly, that’s arduous to take critically. The Hatch Act has already been trampled by Trump and his allies, particularly throughout his first time period. Trump didn’t face penalties then, and with Ingrassia in cost, he definitely gained’t now.

Trump is stacking his Cupboard with extremists and trolls. And we’ll all pay the value.

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