One of President Donald Trump's fiercest loyalists appeared to play a key part in burying the administration's latest scandal, according to two experts.
Last week, it was reported that Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer's husband, Shawn DeRemer, had been barred from the agency's office in Washington, D.C., after he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee. That step is extraordinary in and of itself, but even moreso considering that DeRemer has not been charged with a crime.
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department concluded its investigation on Thursday and found insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations against DeRemer. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host, also declined to bring charges against DeRemer
Even so, Pirro appeared to play a central role in making the whole thing go away, according to Legal "Diva" Melba Pearson and former Florida state attorney Dave Aronberg, who discussed the scandal on the latest episode of the "Legal AF" podcast.
Pearson noted that Pirro's decision not to bring charges was questionable, given that the agency had decided to prohibit DeRemer from being on the premises.
"What perturbs me is that Jeannie Piro ... she's like, 'Yeah, I saw the tape. Nothing doing.' which under normal circumstances, I would take the prosecutor's side," Pearson said.
"Why would you ban him from the building if there was nothing to see?" she added.
Pearson added that the Department of Labor did not bring in an outside investigator to look into the allegations against DeRemer. Instead, that duty fell to the agency's Inspector General, she said.
Aronberg said the episode made him question how the accuser could get a fair shot at justice at all.
"The number one criterion for Trump is not job performance, it's loyalty," he said.
"Hope is not a method," Hertling wrote. "A regime-change strategy without a phased-action plan is not a strategy at all. It’s an aspiration untethered from reality, and it will quickly lose support, either from the rest of the government or our citizens or both."
Early Saturday morning, Trump posted a more than eight-minute video on his Truth Social account where he described the action against Iran as a "war" that sought to topple former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a brutal dictator who had ruled the country since 1989. Khamenei was killed in the assault, but what comes next appears less clear, Hertling argued.
He added that the move could cause foreign nations to trust the U.S. less than they already do. A report by the Washington Post revealed that Trump's decision likely came at the behest of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"When U.S. policy appears driven by another state’s security priorities, even an ally’s, it complicates coalition-building," he wrote. "European partners may question whether they are being drawn into a regional conflict that does not align with their threat assessments. Gulf states may cooperate tactically while resisting deeper political alignment. In the long term, perceived policy capture—however inaccurate—erodes confidence in American strategic independence."
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"The combined effort helped lead Trump to order a massive aerial campaign against Iran’s leadership and military, which in its initial hour led to the death of [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials," according to the report.
"The attack came despite U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran’s forces were unlikely to pose an immediate threat to the U.S. mainland within the next decade," it added. "Saturday’s attack on Iran was a break from decades of U.S. decision-making to hold back from a full-scale effort to depose the regime of a country of more than 90 million people. It also marked a stark shift from Trump’s own previous military forays, which until now have been far narrower in scope."
Early Saturday morning, the U.S. and Israel launched a coordinated attack against multiple Iranian sites. The move sparked protests across both countries and prompted a testy exchange between the United Nations Ambassadors from both countries.
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“Every member of Congress should go on record today on how they will vote on Thomas Massie and my War Powers resolution,” Khanna added, referring to the Kentucky Republican who is co-leading the measure.
If passed, the resolution would require the president “to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran.”
The White House reportedly only notified some members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees after the US-Israeli military assault on Iran began. According to Reuters, an Israeli defense official said that “the operation had been planned for months in coordination with Washington, and that the launch date was decided weeks ago.”
Days prior to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the House Democratic leadership announced it would force a vote next week on the Khanna-Massie War Powers resolution following reports that top Democrats were slowwalking the measure behind closed doors.
Senate Democrats also said they planned to vote next week on a War Powers resolution led by Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
In a statement on Saturday, Kaine called the US attacks on Iran “illegal” and said that “every single senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action.”
“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of US meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East? Is he too mentally incapacitated to realize that we had a diplomatic agreement with Iran that was keeping its nuclear program in check, until he ripped it up during his first term?” Kaine asked. “These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives. The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers resolution.”
The chances of a War Powers resolution getting through the Republican-controlled Congress are virtually nonexistent, even though the American public overwhelmingly opposes US military action against Iran. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) both issued statements applauding Trump for the unauthorized Saturday attacks.
Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy adviser to the advocacy group Demand Progress, said that “Trump has no authority to launch another war on his own.”
“The Constitution is clear. The need for a War Powers resolution is clear. Congress decides when this country goes to war, not the president,” said Kharrazian. “Next week, every member of Congress will have to choose. Side with illegal, endless war, or side with the American people and reject yet another regime change war in the Middle East. Like with Iraq, the choice they make will echo loudly for years to come.”
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