Trump isn't the Only One Carrying Out a Purge of his Enemies: Meet Pete Hegseth

Here's why weird things are happening in the Department of War Defense.

Pete Hegseth (ex-Fox News host and infamous drunk) barely got nominated as Defense Secretary nine months ago. He was so hurt by the bad press revealing his sordid past (a sexual assault case while he was in the military) that he embarked on a revenge tour remarkably like Trump's.

It's been Hegseth versus the mainstream media and military Judge Advocate Generals who reprimanded him on the use of rocket-propelled grenades, since he slid into a position to exact revenge on his perceived enemies. (Sound familiar?) His latest attack against the press involves sweeping restrictions on journalists' ability to report at the Pentagon.

The 21-page policy requires credentialed reporters who sign the document to acknowledge they understand Hegseth's view that by requesting any information - including unclassified material that has not been preapproved for release by the Pentagon, they are "soliciting or encouraging government employees to break the law."

Putting an Orwellian twist on the attack against the free press journalists were told to leave the building and not to come back until they agreed to Pete's outrageous restrictions.

I have to admit I was surprised to see Fox News, Newsmax, The New York Times, Washington Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Axios, The Hill, Reuters, NPR, ABC News, and CBS News rejected the ridiculous demand.

Only one news organization agreed to Hegseth's policy. The cable news network One America News has indicated they plan to sign the policy.

Note. It's unclear on what's going to happen next.

Meanwhile Pistol Pete has been dismantling our military services by firing all of the top leaders in every branch of the US military. He fired three senior political appointees in April, shrinking a small group of senior advisers and putting his trust into infamous mob lawyer Tim Parlatore.

Tim Parlatore's dual status as a mid-ranking military officer and legal fixer for Hegseth has defense officials concerned. His part-time arrangement allowed Parlatore to remain Hegseth's lawyer in a sexual assault case that almost upended his confirmation.

Helping Hegseth on his revenge tour Parlatore played a leading role in the use of polygraph tests to scrutinize officials suspected of disclosing to the news media embarrassing details about the dysfunction among the secretary's senior aides.

The fix is in because Parlatore wormed his way into the Defense Department Office of Inspector General as its investigators conducted a review of how Hegseth and his senior aides handled sensitive information in what has become known as the SignalGate affair. 

Beside Hegseth, Parlatore has taken on a lot of high-profile clients, like accused mobsters, and, for a time, Trump as he faced prosecution by the Justice Department in a case scrutinizing his handling of classified documents.

As it Stands, everything is circular in Trump world. Revenge tours, crooked lawyers, and the distain for the rule of law.