Hegseth on the threat of impeachment: A political spectacle

 

 

Joakim Magnå/TT

 

Published 14:12 | Updated 15:01

 

Pete Hegseth made an unusual appearance in the Pentagon press room on Tuesday. Photo: Nathan Howard/AP/TT

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addressed the threat of impeachment proceedings during a press briefing on Tuesday.

He maintains that he has done nothing wrong.

“A political spectacle and a farce,” he calls the accusations.

Thomas Massie, a fellow Republican and member of the House of Representatives, has introduced a resolution to initiate impeachment proceedings against Pete Hegseth, citing his role in US wars and military operations in Iran, Yemen, and Venezuela.

Hegseth describes Massie as a “disgruntled congressman” whose impeachment proposal is misguided. He characterizes it as a “political spectacle” rooted in political disagreement rather than any actual wrongdoing.

“A manifesto driven by ego and resentment,” the Secretary of Defense stated during the press conference—his first at the Pentagon, the defense headquarters, since May—adding:

“The proper remedy for political disagreement is legislation, debate, and the next presidential election.”

Defending the war in Iran

Among other things, Hegseth is accused of being responsible for a war “without a declaration of war” against Iran, as well as an “illegal war” in Yemen. The accusations also include the United States’ numerous lethal attacks on suspected drug-smuggling boats, as well as the abduction of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“No one has ever been impeached for carrying out successful military operations,” says Hegseth, emphasizing that he is “proud” of having executed these missions and that he would do so again.

He defends the war with Iran as a “historic endeavor,” made possible by the nation’s “courageous commander-in-chief”—President Donald Trump.

Vote expected this week

According to Pete Hegseth, none of the allegations against him constitute grounds for impeachment.

“These are not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery—not the type of offenses the nation’s founders had in mind when they drafted the impeachment clause.”

Shortly after the press briefing, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he gives Hegseth an “A PLUS, PLUS, PLUS” for his defense against the “disgruntled, angry, defeated” Massie.

A vote on impeachment could take place as early as this week in the House of Representatives, the AP reports.

Thomas Massie is one of the Trump administration’s most vocal critics within the Republican Party. However, he will leave Congress in January, having lost the party’s primary election earlier this year to a candidate backed by Trump.
 

Mamdani’s Move – Aiming to Be a Kingmaker 

 

 

Isak Lundholm Larsson

 

Published 07:46 | Updated 08:37

 

Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York. Photo: Pamela Smith / AP / TT

The Democrats’ “blue tsunami” swept across the U.S. during the midterm elections.

Zohran Mamdani is one person looking to capitalize on this momentum.

The Mayor of New York now aims to take on the role of kingmaker ahead of the 2028 election, reports Axios.

Since he was not born in the U.S., Zohran Mamdani cannot run for president himself. Instead, he intends to position himself as a kingmaker for the 2028 election and help bring forward a progressive candidate, according to several sources who spoke to the outlet.

Mamdani is reportedly not entirely confident that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—a close political ally previously mentioned as a potential contender—will actually run for president.

Furthermore, several Democrats have expressed concern that there is no clear left-leaning candidate for 2028.

The Attack: “Not Serious”

Following the successes in the midterm elections, several new names have been floated within the Democratic Party. Axios mentions, among others, Abdul El-Sayed—a newly elected senator from Michigan—and Ro Khanna, a member of the House of Representatives from California.

El-Sayed recently became the first Muslim senator. Throughout much of his campaign, the Democrat found himself in Donald Trump’s crosshairs; according to *The Washington Post*, the President labeled him a “jihadist” and falsely claimed that El-Sayed sought to implement Sharia law.

In response, the Democrat has repeatedly fired back. As recently as Sunday night, El-Sayed called Trump "unserious" and a "fool" for starting the war with Iran.

"Every president before him had refrained from starting such a war, because it is simply a stupid idea," El-Sayed told ABC News.

Wants more of the Epstein files released

Ro Khanna, the other Democrat mentioned by Axios, has gained attention—among other things—for being a staunch opponent of the war with Iran and for pushing to have more information from the Epstein files made public.

Jon Ossoff won the Senate election in Georgia by 18 percentage points and is another name being floated for the Democrats. According to *Puck*, Ossoff has garnered significant attention on social media, partly due to his appearance and his attacks on the MAGA movement.

According to Axios, Zohran Mamdani helped recruit several progressive congressional candidates in New York. The self-styled kingmaker has reportedly already met with union representatives ahead of 2028 to begin discussing potential candidates.

 

California Rejects “Billionaire Tax”

 

 

TT-AP

 

Published 04:45

 

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is among those who opposed the tax. Image from October. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP/TT

Voters in California have rejected a tax targeting the state’s dollar-billionaires.

Had it been approved, the tax would have been the first of its kind in the United States.

The proposal sought to introduce a one-time 5 percent tax on net wealth exceeding one billion dollars—roughly ten billion Swedish kronor.

The referendum took place alongside last week’s midterm elections, but a result could not be determined until Monday, according to the AP.

Critics of the proposal warned that it could prompt extremely wealthy taxpayers to leave the state.

According to the AP, the campaign against the measure raised nearly ten times as much funding as the campaign in its favor, partly through donations from high-net-worth individuals. For instance, Google co-founder Sergey Brin spent just over 100 million dollars to defeat the proposal.

 

The Price of Infidelity: 1.9 Trillion

Andreas Cervenka

This is a commentary text. The analysis and viewpoints expressed are those of the author.

Published 18.26

In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs are worshipped like gods.

But what happens when they mess up?

The infidelity scandal involving the head of Nvidia highlights the risks of placing our future in the hands of a handful of "tech bros."

1.9 trillion kronor—that is how much Nvidia’s market capitalization dropped on Monday. The revelation that CEO and founder Jensen Huang had an affair with a suspected Chinese spy has sent shockwaves through the financial world.

According to President Donald Trump—who is close to Jensen Huang—the FBI is now also investigating the matter. Nvidia has launched its own internal investigation.

The scandal has reached such a scale because Nvidia is no ordinary company. It is arguably the most important company in the world right now. Not only does Nvidia manufacture the highly advanced chips required for AI, but the firm also helps fund other AI companies, with its reach extending into almost every corner of the current boom.

What happens to Nvidia involves vast sums of money, geopolitics, and the race between the world’s two superpowers to become the leader in AI.

And that’s not all: if one heeds the warnings about the potential consequences of AI, the very survival of humanity could be at stake.

That is a lot to rest on the shoulders of one guy in a leather jacket, one might think.

And it is.

The Nvidia scandal exposes the problem with the cult of personality that has become the norm in Silicon Valley. It is hardly surprising that China appears to have identified Jensen Huang as a suitable target for a classic "honey trap." It was likely only a matter of time.

The woman with whom he had an affair—Alice Huang, who is suspected of having been recruited by Chinese intelligence—worked for a Singapore-based company called Megaspeed, a major client of Nvidia. Through this connection, China was allegedly able to obtain chips that are otherwise prohibited from being exported to the U.S. rival. China, for its part, denies everything.

While it is certainly not unique for a middle-aged male executive to have an extramarital affair, doing so with a client—in the most sensitive part of the world, within what is currently the most significant industry—is exceptionally foolish.

Jensen Huang is no ordinary figure. As the founder and CEO of Nvidia since its inception in 1993, he has become synonymous with the company. Both of his children work for the firm, and there are no clear successors. Sixty people report directly to him.

Despite its massive scale—with a market capitalization of 43 trillion kronor—Nvidia is, in effect, something of a one-man show.

In Silicon Valley, this has become the norm. As someone once put it: capitalism is our new religion, the iPhone is our cross, and Steve Jobs is Jesus.

Apple’s legendary CEO helped craft the image of "The Great Entrepreneur."

This has evolved into a cult of personality that has taken root throughout the entire tech world.

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. 

All of them wield enormous influence over their companies—in several cases, through shares with superior voting rights that make it impossible to oust them.

This Model has been adopted by the subsequent generations of entrepreneurs. At Spotify, the founding duo—Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon—maintain a firm grip on power through a specific class of shares.

At the AI ​​company Anthropic—which is eyeing an IPO—the seven founders have secured a structure that grants them control over the company, regardless of what happens.

The rationale behind this model is that the unfettered power of these "geniuses" will ensure continued success.

Yet, this naturally entails a significant risk. What would happen to SpaceX or Tesla if Elon Musk were to somehow disappear? Their share prices would plummet.

It also poses a risk to the world at large. These "tech bros" are more powerful than the vast majority of the world’s heads of state. Above all, they collectively hold power over AI—arguably the most potent technology humanity has ever invented.

Consequently, if—or when—it becomes clear that these "supermen" possess flaws and shortcomings as significant as (or perhaps even greater than) those of anyone else, the situation could quickly become problematic.

Had Jensen Huang been the CEO of a different major American corporation, he would likely have been fired by now. His actions also invite lawsuits from shareholders—a process that has, in fact, already begun.

Unlike some other tech companies, Jensen Huang does not hold controlling voting power at Nvidia, even though he is the largest individual shareholder, with a 3–4 percent stake.

Nevertheless, Nvidia’s dependence on him means the board is likely hesitant to pull the trapdoor.

In a letter sent over the weekend, Jensen Huang apologized to his family and employees, and within the AI ​​world, a lobbying campaign appears to be underway to keep him in his position.

Jensen Huang is vital not only to Nvidia but to the entire industry; he has the ear of Donald Trump and is one of the most influential voices among business leaders who oppose excessive regulation that might slow down the development of AI.

It remains to be seen whether all of this will be enough for him to retain his role.

History shows at least one thing: even those who claim to be the smartest people in the world do not always think with their heads. 

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