The Hammer of the Oligarchy What did you expect, America? Charlie Sykes Dec 1 Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director. What could go wrong? I was pretty happy with "enshittification" as the word of the year, though we may have to go with "kakistocracy." But even that doesn’t fully capture the dazzling craptacularity of this moment. Last night, DJT named his father-in-law, a convicted felon he pardoned in 2020, to be ambassador to France. And then followed it up with the Gaetz-like FU appointment of MAGA conspiracy theorist Kash Patel to be the director of the FBI. Meanwhile, his pick to run the Pentagon is called a skeevy chode — by his own mom. But, of course, these are all merely footnotes to history, a mere gloss on the voters’ decision to elect a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist to the presidency. If only they had been warned. The fear is the point. The idea that a fanatic like Kash Patel will run the FBI is genuinely scary. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Other presidents (with mixed success) may have tried to sell hope or unity; they’ve promised the return of happy days; called the nation to higher purpose; even made pleas to the better angels of our nature. Trump is selling fear. And it’s working. Watch as they all kiss the ring (a euphemism for the actual rituals of abasement performed nightly at Mar-a-Lago). Instilling fear is the point of Trump’s (ill-fated) appointment of Matt Gaetz as AG and of Patel to run FBI. It’s the message that Trump’s best-buddy-cum-co-president, Elon Musk sends out in a steady stream on social media: Be afraid. We are coming after you. We are the law now. Musk, who has a weird psycho-sexual fascination with the comic book character, Judge Dredd, repeatedly invokes the character — who has the power to arrest, convict, and execute miscreants — to describe his fetish for retribution. Expressing his enthusiasm for Gaetz, Musk posted on X that the former congressman had “three critical assets that are needed for the AG role: a big brain, a spine of steel and an axe to grind. He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison.” Since the election he has repeatedly posted threats against critics of Trump, warning that “The Hammer of Justice is coming.” So, he is predictably tumescent over the prospect of Patel taking on the same role at the FBI. This weekend, we saw what the oligarch’s resentment and retribution looks like: Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man and President-elect Donald Trump’s “first buddy,” took to his social media platform X to ominously accuse [Alexander Vindman] the key witness in Trump’s first impeachment of treason while calling for him to “pay the appropriate penalty.” The appropriate penalty? 18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. Vindman responded on X: “Elon, here you go again making false and completely unfounded accusations without providing any specifics.” That’s the kind of response one would expect from a conspiracy theorist. What oligarch? What treason? Let me help you out with the facts: I don’t take/have never taken money from any money from oligarchs Ukrainian or other otherwise.” “You, Elon, appear to believe you can act with impunity and are attempting to silence your critics. I’m not intimidated.”¹ Senator Tim Kaine had his own message to Musk— “The Vindman family embodies patriotism and public service. You know nothing about either.” Here’s Kara Swisher: Joyce Vance puts this into context: “Musk’s words are just words,” she wrote, “But they highlight the irregularity and danger of what’s to come.” By tradition, presidents don’t comment on ongoing criminal cases, so there can be no argument on appeal that they might have influenced a jury. If it comes to revenge prosecutions, it’s enormously unlikely Trump would honor that norm. And even if he did, his buddy would be there to do his bidding. ** If any doubts lingered about the Musk-Trump agenda, it was erased by his selection of Patel to replace (Trump appointee) Chris Wray atop the FBI. Nota Bene: Ruth Marcus: Kash Patel is a dangerous and unqualified pick for the FBI - The Washington Post “Kash Patel Will Do Anything for Trump” - The Atlantic “A New Trump Administration Will ‘Come After’ the Media, Says Kash Patel - The New York Times Why Kash Patel May Be Trump's Scariest Pick Yet — Rolling Stone Tom Nichols: Donald Trump’s choice for FBI director speaks volumes about his real second-term agenda. For Trump, naming Patel to the post serves several purposes. First, Trump is taking his razor-thin election win as a mandate to rule as he pleases, and Patel is the perfect nominee to prove that he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. Even knowing what they know, Americans chose to return Trump to office, and he has taken their decision as a license to do whatever he wants—including giving immense power to someone like Patel. Second, Trump wants to show that the objections of senior elected Republicans are of no consequence to him, and that he can politically flatten them at will. Some of his nominations seem like a trollish flex, a way to display his power by naming people to posts and daring others to stop him. Trump has always thought of the GOP as his fiefdom and GOP leaders as his vassals—and if the Senate folds on Patel and others, he may be proved right on both counts. Exit take: I posted on Bluesky last night that there is an underappreciated angle to the appointments of Patel, Gaetz, Bondi & Co. They are, of course, a massive Fuq U to institutions like the DOJ and FBI. But they are also a huge FU to the Supreme Court, because Trump doesn’t think they will be a check on his campaign of lawless retribution. Nice work, John Roberts. Skeevy Chode Update Pete Hegseth is a pig. This is known. But it is one thing to be condemned by critics, quite another to be called out — in the most graphic and direct way possible — by your own mother. Clearly, she knew who and what her son was. Undoubtedly, you’ve seen the story — “Pete Hegseth’s Mother Accused Her Son of Mistreating Women for Years — but the actual details are dazzling. “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, stating that she still loved him... Mr. Hegseth’s mother, who is a longtime executive business coach, wrote her email three months before the final divorce decree. It began: “Son, I have tried to keep quiet about your character and behavior, but after listening to the way you made Samantha feel today, I cannot stay silent.”… “It’s time for someone (I wish it was a strong man) to stand up to your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women,” she wrote. “We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character.” If the email “damages our relationship further,” she added, “so be it.” She described his abusive behavior over the years as “dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling” women. She told him not to bother to reply, because “you twist and abuse everything I say anyway.” Well, ooooooof.² ** On Earth 2.0, all of this [waves hands around] would be disqualifying. In the MAGAverse, it is just another opportunity to grift. Right on cue, I received a text message urging me to: SAVE PETE: PLEASE SAVE PETE HEGSETH! The plea for cash warns that “The Woke Mob will do whatever they can to REMOVE Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense from President Trump’s Cabinet.” And then it goes on to make this world-historic claim: If Pete is gone we can say GOODBYE to America as we know it. Perfect. Chef’s kiss perfect. ** But, wait there’s more. The fund-raising note says “Your contribution will benefit God, Family, and Country PAC.” Near the bottom, in the smaller print, there appears this box…. Which is pre-checked… committing Hegseth fans to “monthly recurring donations.” Exit take: Look elsewhere for expressions of sympathy for the dupes who actually think that if the randy Pete is gone, “we can say GOODBYE to America as we know it.” Justice, we think, is served. Update on the wretched hive of scum and villainy Trump Names Charles Kushner as Pick for Ambassador to France - The New York Times Mr. Kushner, 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 16 counts of tax evasion, a single count of retaliating against a federal witness and one of lying to the Federal Election Commission in a case that became a lasting source of embarrassment for the family. As part of the plea, Mr. Kushner admitted to hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, a witness in a federal campaign finance investigation, and sending a videotape of the encounter to his sister. David Frum notes on Bluesky that Kushner’s appointment is a “Huge break-the-glass-ceiling moment for the Convict American community.” David Rothkopf‬ ‪@djrothkopf.bsky.social‬: “The Charles Kushner appointment to be ambassador to France is a Trump trifecta: nepotism, criminality, and incompetence.…” Frum puts it into context: When making a MAGA cabinet, it's very important to strike a careful balance between billionaires, sex criminals, Russian assets, anti-vaxxers, and just plain unpleasant people. Mission accomplished. You may need a scorecard to keep track of Hegseth’s marital history and penchant for impregnating women not his wife. Mr. Hegseth married Meredith Schwarz [wife #1], his high school sweetheart, in 2004, one year after they both graduated from college. Ms. Schwarz sued for divorce less than five years after their wedding. The 2009 court judgment cited Mr. Hegseth’s infidelity as the reason for the breakdown of the marriage. The following year, Mr. Hegseth married Samantha [wife #2]. Within five years, they had three boys. By late 2016, Mr. Hegseth, a Fox News contributor and aspiring anchor, was having an affair with Jennifer Rauchet, an executive producer at Fox News…. Ms. Rauchet, who has three other children, delivered a baby girl in August 2017, one month before Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce. Mr. Hegseth married Ms. Rauchet [wife #3] in 2019 at a ceremony at Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in New Jersey. The acrimonious divorce from Samantha took 10 months to finalize and led to the appointment of a parenting consultant to help negotiate disputes over dividing time with the children… You may recall that in 2017 — after impregnating the woman who would be his third wife — Hegseth was accused of raping another woman. He claims the sex was consensual.