Trump’s Cabinet Of Men Accused Of Sexual Misconduct | EUROtoday

President-elect Donald Trump, who has repeatedly and infamously been accused of sexual assault and misconduct, is now filling his Cabinet with a number of males who’ve allegedly dedicated the identical sort of violence.

At least 4 of Trump’s introduced nominations for his administration have been accused of sexual misconduct starting from sexual harassment to assault and rape. Trump himself has been accused by two dozen ladies of sexual assault and rape, and simply final 12 months a federal jury discovered him accountable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll within the Nineteen Nineties.

His rampant misogyny and disrespect for ladies’s humanity has been a signature of his political profession. The whole nation heard him endorse sexual assault on the notorious “Access Hollywood” tape leaked forward of the 2016 election. Even his makes an attempt to appease feminine voters over a lot of his anti-woman rhetoric is laughably sexist. Five days earlier than the 2024 election, he pledged to “protect the women of our country … whether the women like it or not.” His unabashed sexism has labored as a canine whistle to lots of his most ardent supporters, together with a number of of these arrested for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 who HuffPost discovered had a historical past of violence in opposition to ladies.

“When we elect a president, we expect that president to provide security to women,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), vice chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, advised HuffPost. “When he appoints men who have been accused of sexual violence against women … he is betraying the women who voted for him, and he is betraying all women in America.”

Trump shocked even Republicans when he chosen now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz for lawyer common. Gaetz has been the main focus of two investigations launched by the Justice Department and House lawmakers over allegations of intercourse trafficking, sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The DOJ dropped their investigation final 12 months with out fees.

The public obtained a sneak peek of the House Ethics Committee’s findings on Monday when an lawyer representing two ladies who testified earlier than the committee mentioned Gaetz paid the ladies for intercourse in 2017. One of the ladies testified that she witnessed Gaetz having intercourse with an underage lady at a celebration, which occurred the identical 12 months Gaetz was sworn into Congress.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Trump’s transition staff denied the lawyer’s accusations on Monday, describing the allegations as “baseless.”

Trump additionally mentioned he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth, a Fox News TV host and veteran, to be the subsequent secretary of protection. Hegseth was investigated for sexual assault for a 2017 incident in Monterey, California, during which he allegedly raped a lady working on the California Federation of Republican Women convention. He reportedly later paid the girl to remain quiet as a part of a 2020 nondisclosure settlement.

Hegseth maintains that the encounter was consensual. Hegseth can also be recognized for his push to pardon convicted conflict criminals, his elimination from President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration over his allegedly white nationalist tattooand for publicly advocating in opposition to ladies serving in fight roles.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s decide for HHS secretary, was accused of sexually assaulting his household’s nanny within the late Nineteen Nineties when Kennedy was married with 5 kids. It was reported earlier this 12 months that Kennedy texted an apology to the girl and mentioned he didn’t recall the incident. When requested concerning the allegation later, Kennedy mentioned: “I am not a church boy… I have so many skeletons in my closet.”

Billionaire Elon Musk, tapped by Trump to spearhead a brand new initiative to chop federal spending known as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” was accused of exposing his genitals to a flight attendant in 2016 and tried to bribe her with presents to carry out sexual acts, in response to a Business Insider report. Musk’s firm SpaceX paid her $250,000 in 2018.

“If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light,” Musk advised Business Insider, including that the report was a “politically motivated hit piece” and there may be “a lot more to this story.” The Wall Street Journal revealed a report earlier this 12 months concerning the “boundary-blurring relationships” Musk has had with a number of feminine workers at SpaceX.

Both Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the opposite billionaire Trump selected to move DOGE, have allegedly fired workers who raised issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at their respective corporations.

This pattern of welcoming males accused of violence or misconduct in opposition to ladies started this 12 months even earlier than he gained the White House. Trump’s first marketing campaign supervisor, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with misdemeanor battery over a 2021 incident during which he allegedly stalked and touched a lady at a charity occasion. Despite being let go from the primary marketing campaign over the incident, Lewandowski was again at Trump’s aspect this August as a senior adviser on his presidential marketing campaign. The 2021 case was later dismissed in change for Lewandowski doing group service and paying a $1,000 high-quality.

When folks accused of violence are put in energy, they use that energy to bury their alleged crimes and keep away from accountability. Trump’s presidential win doubtless means he’ll skirt any accountability for being convicted on 34 felony fees earlier this 12 months. Gaetz hasn’t even been formally nominated for lawyer common but, and the Republican powers that be are making an attempt to bury the House ethics investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct.

Some of those nominations, like Gaetzcould face difficulties in acquiring Senate affirmation. Jennifer Simmons Kaleba, vp of communications at RAINN, known as on members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to not vote for Gaetz till they’ve reviewed the House Ethics Committee report, urging the Judiciary Committee to collect all of the information and permit accusers to testify in any affirmation hearings.

“In these nominations, we are seeing what survivors already know — when high-profile, high-powered individuals accused of sexual assault are promoted without fully considering the allegations, everyone suffers,” Simmons Kaleba advised HuffPost.

No matter the end result, Trump’s determination to nominate males like Gaetz and Hegseth to among the strongest positions in his administration sends a transparent message to survivors of sexual violence.

Trashelle Odom, the girl who accused Lewandowski of undesirable touching, summed up the sensation in an October interview with CBS News. “I just broke down. I was very, very upset,” she mentioned of Lewandowski’s return to Trump’s orbit. “He has his power back.”