“Yesterday’s hearing was one of the most depressing aspects of politics in Washington that I have witnessed in a long, long time,” said Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle about the tense confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, after a report that the FBI background check on Hegseth does not include interviews with Hegseth’s ex-wives or the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a California hotel room in 2017. “Sitting there watching Pete Hegseth take questions from both sides—all I could think of was that most of the panel, both Republicans and Democrats, apparently have never seen the full FBI report….I’m also thinking that the principal client of the FBI was the Trump transition committee, which is shocking because the principal client of the FBI ought to be and is the American taxpayers, you and me, all of us here; but no, not in this case.”
Jan 15, 2025
