New Details Released On Sexual Assault Allegation Against Hegseth

INSIDE: Matt Gaetz ... Rudy G ... Jasmine Crockett

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 05: Host Pete Hegseth as Nick Lachey Visits "Fox & Friends" to discuss the "American Kennel Club" show at Fox News Channel Studios on February 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.

Police Report Lands As Hegseth Heads To Hill

Fox News host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, is on the Hill today meeting with senators (many of whom he has previously disparaged) – after the city of Monterey, California released late yesterday the police report on the 2017 sexual assault complaint against Hegseth.

The police report contains accounts given to officers from the alleged victim, who is referred to as “Jane Doe,” and from Hegseth himself. Hegseth denies a sexual assault took place and claims it was a consensual sexual encounter. He was never charged with a crime.

• “The documents offer the most detailed account yet of the steps police took to investigate Hegseth as part of an incident that has been roiling Trump’s team since the former president announced the former Fox host was his pick to run the military.”–WaPo

• “The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican women gathering at which Hegseth spoke, told police that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him stroking multiple women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a “creeper” vibe, according to the report.”–Associated Press

• “A California woman told police that Trump Cabinet pick Pete Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone, and then sexually assaulted her even though she “remembered saying ‘no’ a lot,” a police report obtained by CNN shows.”–CNN

• “The woman, referred to throughout the report as Jane Doe, said Mr. Hegseth took her phone, blocked his hotel room door when she tried to leave, and sexually assaulted her, ejaculating on her stomach. She said that her memory was hazy, and that she had drunk far more alcohol than usual throughout the day.”–NYT

Gaetz Twists On The Vine

The Gaetz nomination is probably the most imperiled of any of Trump’s current nominees, which is saying a lot considering the Pete Hegseth revelations and the laughable Tulsi Gabbard nomination. But there’s still no public opposition to Gaetz among GOP senators, so there’s no predicting how this goes.

With Vice President-elect JD Vance in tow, Gaetz made the rounds to Senate offices Wednesday. Among the day’s developments:

• On the evenly divided House Ethics Committee, the Republican members reportedly voted against releasing the committee’s report on Gaetz’s ethical wrongdoing, including allegations of under-age sex and illicit drug use. Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-MS) incensed committee Democrats by suggesting publicly that they had somehow gone along with Republicans or had merely failed to reach an agreement.

• “Federal investigators have established a web of payments among Matt Gaetz and dozens of friends and associates who are said to have taken part with him in drug-fueled sex parties, according to a document obtained by The New York Times.”–NYT

• “[A] strategic divide has emerged between Trump’s transition team and his biggest Senate boosters. Sources familiar with the process say the Trump team has yet to articulate a clear plan for winning the confirmation fight, as even some public Gaetz supporters in the Senate tell us there’s no path to 50 votes.”–Punchbowl

Absurdity Of The Day

Politico paints this fantastical scene at the Capitol, featuring none other than ousted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) searching for the fading limelight:

In a manifestation of the tumult, expelled Rep. George Santos, the recent subject of another Ethics Committee report, stopped by the Capitol to get in on the action, threatening to yell at Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) in defense of Gaetz.

“If he runs away from me, I’ll go stand in front of his office and scream at him, through his door,” Santos said, standing outside the Capitol looking for Guest.

So Much For Trump Distancing Himself From Project 2025

Trump has picked or is leaning towards picking five people connected by name to the notorious Project 2025 that he spent the last stretch of the campaign disclaiming any knowledge of:

• former Trump OMB Director Russ Vought in a repeat performance as OMB director;

• former Trump DNI John Ratcliffe as CIA director;

• Tom Homan as White House “border czar”;

• Brendan Carr, as head of the FCC;

• former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), as ambassador to Canada

The Trump II Clown Show

• former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker: ambassador to NATO

• former ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra: ambassador to Canada

Trump Transition Tidbits

• NYT: Trump Recruits His Season 2 Cast Straight From the Small Screen

• Dara Lind: What ‘Mass Deportation’ Actually Means

• NYT: Dr. Oz, Tapped to Run Medicare, Has a Record of Promoting Health Misinformation

The Faintest Murmur Of GOP Opposition To Trump

• “GOP Sen. Rand Paul denounced President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants upon his return to office, saying it would be a ‘huge mistake’ and a misuse of military personnel.”–Politico

• “Republican senators have balked at Trump potentially forgoing the routine FBI background checks to install former Representative Matt Gaetz as attorney general as well as other controversial nominees like Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon and Tulsi Gabbard, another former House member, to run national intelligence.”–Bloomberg

• “Nikki Haley has a blunt assessment of Donald Trump’s choices of Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for high-profile roles in his administration.”–Politico

Always Read Tressie

Tressie Mcmillan Cottom explores how Donald Trump “managed to assemble a constituency of overlapping online communities that, in particular, are listening for archetypes and aesthetics, not policy.”

TPM EXCLUSIVE

A new piece from TPM’s Josh Kovensky:

A feeding frenzy has broken out among Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and their lawyers over how to secure the long-promised clemency from Donald Trump. Even though Trump doesn’t take office for another two months, they’re scrambling to flatter him, strategize over whom to contact, and generally push their way to the front of the line — even though there may not formally be one — to ensure that they receive pardons, and receive them as quickly as possible.

Rudy G At Risk Of Contempt Of Court

Georgia election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman have moved for a civil contempt of court finding against Rudy Giuliani in their defamation case, pointing out to the federal judge in DC that he has continued to defame them in violation of the permanent injunction he agreed to in order to resolve related claims against him.

For The Record

“House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Wednesday that transgender individuals would not be allowed into restroom facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, announcing the rule change about two weeks after Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware became the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress.”–WaPo

The Election Revived The Anti-Abortion Movement

“Anti-abortion advocates are moving aggressively in the wake of the election to devise new measures to punish people and organizations that help women get abortions, feeling emboldened to crack down on the flow of abortion pills into states with bans and no longer burdened by fear of political backlash.”–WaPo

ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu

“The International Criminal Court said Thursday it has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alleging they committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the offensive in the Gaza Strip, including the use of starvation as a weapon and directing attacks against civilians.”–WSJ

Just Preach

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) goes off on Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) after he used the word “oppression” during a committee hearing on the “Dismantle DEI Act”:

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