WHY PETE HEGSETH WILL SURVIVE THAT EMAIL FROM HIS MOTHER

This New York Times story was published a couple of days ago, and it already seems like old news:

The mother of Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, wrote him an email in 2018 saying he had routinely mistreated women for years and displayed a lack of character.

“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.

She also wrote: “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”

When I read the story and the email, it seemed possible that Hegseth would quickly withdraw his name from consideration for the job. But he hasn't done that, and there are no signs that he might.

And between then and now -- remember, it's been only two days -- Trump has given us two utterly batshit appointments: Jared Kushner's felon father, Charles Kushner, as ambassador to France, and Kash Patel as a replacement for Christopher Wray at the FBI, even though Wray was a Trump appointee and his term has three years to go. Kushner's awfulness has been attested to by Chris Christie, who prosecuted him as a U.S. attorney:

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he prosecuted more than a decade ago when he was a US attorney was committed by the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner....

Christie was referring to an elaborate revenge plot that the older Kushner hatched in 2003 in order to target his his brother-in-law, William Schulder, a former employee turned witness for federal prosecutors in their case against Kushner, who was under investigation at the time for making illegal campaign contributions.

As a part of the plot, Kushner hired a prostitute to lure Schulder into having sex in a Bridgewater, New Jersey, motel room as a hidden camera rolled. A tape of the encounter was then sent to Kushner’s sister and Schulder’s wife, Esther.

Ultimately, the intimidation stunt failed. The Schulders brought the video to prosecutors, who tracked down the call girl and threatened her with arrest. She promptly turned on Kushner.

In a plea deal negotiated by Christie, Kushner pleaded guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness – his brother-in-law – and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission.

Trump pardoned Kushner in 2020.

Patel has made support for Trump his entire personality. He's written three children's books about Trump. He's made clear that he'll use the job to punish Trump's enemies, both within the Bureau and elsewhere in politics, law enforcement, and the media.

Presto! We've all forgotten about the Hegseth email. If it's brought up in his hearings, it'll seem like a tired old tale that's been litigated and forgotten.

The Times seems to have done the responsible thing with this story: it was apparently run as soon as it was ready. But if the parties were reversed and Fox News had a story like this on a Democratic appointee, I don't believe it would have run the piece on the Friday of a four-day holiday weekend. I think Fox would have saved the story until Monday morning.

I don't think the Times ran this story over a holiday weekend as a favor to Hegseth or the incoming Trump administration. The real favor would be not running the story at all. But the timing means the story will be lost.

Maybe this wouldn't be happening if some Democrats were making noise about the unfitness of Trump's worst picks -- Hegseth, Patel, Kushner, Robert Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard. But they seem to be waiting until next year. It really might be too late then.