Dem
47
GOP
53
Donald Trump's a clever fellow, eh? He knew that the problem with these independent inspectors general is that they're just too damn independent. That's why he fired 17 of them, including Department of Defense IG Robert Storch, back in January. The slight flaw in the President's plan is that between the time an IG slot is vacated, and a new IG is approved by the Senate, the job is handled by an acting IG. In short, despite Trump's best efforts, someone is still watching.
That someone is Steven Stebbins, who just sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth advising the Secretary that he will be investigated, with the question being whether he violated DoD policies when he used Signal to discuss classified information. We have no doubt that when Hegseth got that letter, he hit the roof. Or the bottle. Or maybe both.
We don't presume to know what is going to happen here, but we can point out a few things that might be useful. First, the facts here are extremely well known, since they were all made public in The Atlantic. It is hard to see how Hegseth could possibly be cleared of all wrongdoing. Second, if Trump tries to fire Stebbins, not only will that be terrible optics, but the post will just be assumed by some other acting IG. So, no "Get out of Jail Free" card, here. Third, and finally, the investigation was requested by... Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and ranking member Jack Reed (D-RI). That makes it rather harder to shout "partisan witch hunt," and also suggests there is substantial consternation here on the Republican side of the aisle, very possibly including many of the 13 Republican members of that committee.
There's also another story from yesterday that may be related to this one. Some heads did roll, but they weren't those of Hegseth or NSA Mike Waltz. Instead, and to the surprise of pretty much everyone, Trump fired the director and deputy director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Timothy Haugh and Wendy Noble. Four other, lower-ranking, folks were also fired.
It is also not clear why Trump ordered the firings. Was he trying to create a distraction? Did he confuse one NSA with a different NSA? Was there some, not-publicly-known connection between the Signal disaster and Haugh, Noble, et al.? These are good questions. At the moment, there are only two things that are clear. The first of those is that Haugh is generally seen as a neocon, which means he was/is aligned with the philosophy of Waltz (and, to an extent, Hegseth).
The second, meanwhile, is that the person who convinced Trump that the six fired people have to go was far-right bigot and raving loony Laura Loomer. What she really wanted was the heads of Waltz and his principal deputy, Alex Wong, on pikes, along with 10 other "disloyal" folks. Obviously, she did not get the full purge that she wanted, but she got half of it, at least for now. Maybe, once Trump has had more time to stew about this alleged disloyalty, others will be cashiered. At very least, it's a reminder that he is extremely susceptible to suggestion, particularly from people who know how to push the right buttons. (Z)