Today the Washington Post published a long hit piece on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s security detail. The article is based on interviews with “more than a dozen” people, all of whom, of course, are anonymous. This is the gist:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s unusually large personal security requirements are straining the Army agency tasked with protecting him as it pulls agents from criminal investigations to safeguard family residences in Minnesota, Tennessee and D.C., according to numerous officials familiar with the operation.
The Post’s thesis is elaborated on in great detail. We have, for example, this account of a Washington Nationals baseball game:
In late July, for instance, the Hegseths wanted to take their family to a Washington Nationals baseball game but didn’t purchase seats in a private suite, which could have lessened the burden on those assigned to protect them, said two people familiar with the matter.
Typically, the Pentagon can arrange for a complimentary suite if the event is an official appearance and part of Hegseth’s duties as defense secretary. But even though it was “Space Force Day” at the ballpark, Hegseth was not part of the official program and initially did not have a suite, these people said.
Instead, the family purchased seats in a section of the ballpark that did not allow for private access, which required the protective detail to cover a larger and more exposed area, people familiar with the matter said. A video taken by the news site the 812 shows in one frame multiple agents watching after the family. The security team can be seen creating a barrier around the Hegseths as the family leaves their seats and walks through a crowded concourse before exiting into a stairwell.
Ultimately, the Nationals offered Hegseth an empty suite on the recommendation of the team’s security, according to a person familiar with the process. Photos of the event released by the Defense Department show that Hegseth and his family did interact with the troops who were recognized during the game.
It’s unclear whether Hegseth paid for his family to use the suite. His office did not address the question, and the Nationals did not provide comment.
Breaking news! We can only imagine what the Secretary of Defense makes of this account of a family outing.
The Post grudgingly acknowledges the reason for heightened security measures:
CID’s protective service has been under strain since at least 2020, after Trump, during his first term in office, ordered the killing of a prominent Iranian general. Top national security officials at the time faced death threats for years afterward.
It’s Trump’s fault!
A [Defense Department] spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that “any action pertaining to the security of Secretary Hegseth and his family has been in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.”
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Citing unspecified safety concerns, the [Army CID] said, “specific details regarding threat assessments, security protocols, resource allocation, and budgetary matters related to either investigative or protective operations are considered sensitive and cannot be publicly disclosed.”
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Shortly after Hegseth was nominated to become defense secretary, a bomb threat was made against his home in Tennessee, two people told The Post. The incident prompted an increase in security, these people said.
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Trump’s homeland security secretary, Kristi L. Noem, also has boosted the size of her protective detail and, in an unusual move, taken up residence rent-free at a military base in D.C. Her spokeswoman has said that Noem requires additional security because she regularly receives death threats as a result of the agency’s counterterrorism and counternarcotics mandates.Even the U.S. Marshals Service, which protects members of the federal judiciary, has assigned security details to judges and their families at levels not seen in decades amid a rise in threats, current and former officials said.
And of course, the fact that President Trump has actually been shot makes people jumpy.
What is going on here is that increasing violence by the political Left has placed prominent conservatives in jeopardy. The Army responded angrily to the Post’s attempted hit job on Hegseth:
Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman, called it “astonishing” that the news media would examine this issue and, in emphasizing his point, falsely…
Falsely!
…accused The Post of revealing sensitive personal information about Noem, the homeland security secretary. In his statement, Parnell called Hegseth’s security protection “appropriate” and said that when the media scrutinizes “cabinet secretaries’ security protocols and movements, it puts lives at risk.”
Is the Post actively trying to get Secretary Hegseth killed? That is what John Nolte thinks. While liberals in general don’t seem to mind seeing conservatives get shot at–if they have shown any remorse over the attacks on Donald Trump, Steve Scalise and Brett Kavanaugh, I missed it–I think what is going on here is mere politics.
Secretary Hegseth has been a particular target of the Left ever since he was nominated by President Trump. The Democrats made their strongest effort to block a cabinet nominee with Hegseth, and nearly succeeded. They have attacked him on various trivial grounds throughout his brief tenure, and have studiously ignored his signal successes–skyrocketing enlistment and the brilliantly executed attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. So I think the Post’s hit piece is just one more instance of the Left’s effort to bring down a cabinet officer whom they see, rightly or wrongly, as vulnerable.
Finally, it is always amusing to see liberals waxing eloquent on excessive government spending. OMG! Keeping the Secretary of Defense safe costs too much money! Just don’t touch the amounts devoted to outright fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, which probably add up to $200 billion or more annually. Somehow, in a $6.75 trillion budget, I think they can find the money needed to protect senior government officials from assassination by enemies, foreign and domestic.