Violation of 5 USC 3116(b)

[James48]

So Pete Hegseth’s brother now has a job in the DoD?


That violates 5 U.S. Code § 3110 - Employment of relatives; restrictions

and
(3) “relative” means, with respect to a public official, an individual who is related to the public official as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.


(b) A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official. An individual may not be appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a civilian position in an agency if such appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement has been advocated by a public official, serving in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who is a relative of the individual.

[kimbutgar]

1. Come on rules don't apply when it comes to Republican administrations!

Hillary’s email server, Benghazi and Hunter Biden’s Laptop are more scandalous

[scipan]

2. Receipts! So someone has to sue? And show standing? Nt

[Buddyzbuddy]

3. If only there were a position in the Dept. or Gov't. that could have advised against it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. MaddowBlog-As allegations against Hegseth mount, the Pentagon chief faces a new kind of problem

As Pete Hegseth flails, there are apparently Pentagon insiders eager to talk about the defense secretary’s struggles.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3llopdxucnk2a

Hegseth's big problem: There's fresh evidence of his incompetence, failures, and abuses.

Hegseth's other problem: There appear to be Pentagon insiders who are willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence, failures, and abuses

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/allegations-hegseth-mount-pentagon-chief-faces-new-kind-problem-rcna198856

The Associated Press reported on Friday, for example, that Hegseth tapped his younger brother, Phil Hegseth, to serve as senior adviser to the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Defense Department — a title that has meant, among other things, a trip to Guantanamo Bay and traveling on the Pentagon’s 747 aircraft as the Cabinet secretary makes his first trip to the Indo-Pacific. The AP’s report added:

It’s common for the Defense Department and other federal agencies to have liaisons. Each military branch sends liaisons to Capitol Hill. The Pentagon, State Department and others all use interagency liaisons to more closely coordinate and keep tabs on policy. But it is not common for those senior-level positions to be filled by family members of the Cabinet heads....

Despite Hegseth’s apparent preoccupation with merit-based employment decisions, his younger brother received a position of influence at the Pentagon despite a background as the founder of a podcast production company.

Around the same time, The Wall Street Journal published another report about the defense secretary that raised eyebrows:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing scrutiny over his handling of details of a military strike, brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions.

The Journal’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that a Defense secretary “can invite anyone to meetings with visiting counterparts, but attendee lists are usually carefully limited to those who need to be there and attendees are typically expected to possess security clearances given the delicate nature of the discussions.”....

The reporting from the AP and the Journal dovetailed with a Politico report that said while Donald Trump has expressed public support for Hegseth, “behind the scenes, administration insiders are starting to express doubts about the Pentagon chief’s judgment.” CNN had a related piece that said, “Interviews with multiple current and former national security officials this week, including career military and civilian officials, reflect growing concerns about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.”

Taken individually, the revelations about his brother’s job and his wife’s access are certainly important in their own right. But let’s not overlook the story behind the stories: It appears increasingly obvious that there are some people at the Pentagon who’ve learned some unfortunate things about Hegseth, and they’re suddenly eager to share that information with journalists.

Or put another way, two months into Hegseth’s tenure, he’s generating the kind of chatter that his respected and qualified predecessor didn’t have to worry about at the department he ostensibly leads.

It’s a problem for the Pentagon chief that there’s evidence of his incompetence, abuses and failures, but it’s just as notable a problem that there are DOD insiders who are apparently willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence, abuses and failures.