The confirmation of Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the White House Office of Special Counsel, is in doubt after the publication of private text messages attributed to Ingrassia that said, among other things, “I do have a Nazi streak within me from time to time” and used racial slurs.
The messages were published by Politico, which earlier this month released a trove of incendiary messages exchanged among some members of Young Republicans groups. They also come as the Democratic candidate for attorney general in Virginia, Jay Jones, is under fire for violent text messages he has acknowledged he sent.
Edward Andrew Paltzik, an attorney representing Ingrassia, gave Politico a statement suggesting that the texts might not be authentic. But if they were, the statement said, “they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’”
In a follow-up statement to Politico, Paltzik said, “In this age of AI, authentication of allegedly leaked messages, which could be outright falsehoods, doctored, or manipulated, or lacking critical context, is extremely difficult. What is certain, though, is that there are individuals who cloak themselves in anonymity while executing their underhanded personal agendas to harm Mr. Ingrassia at all costs. We do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages.”
Republican leaders, however, were quick to distance themselves from Ingrassia, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
“He’s not going to pass,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters, per Politico.
PBS also reported that Ingrassia, 30, does not have the support of two Republican senators who serve on the committee with jurisdiction over the nomination for the Office of Special Counsel job: Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
“I’m a no. It never should have got this far,” Johnson said, per PBS, adding that the White House should withdraw the nomination.
The Politico article, written by Daniel Lippman, said that the sources were granted anonymity because they were concerned about “personal and professional repercussions.” One person, who was part of the text chain, saved the messages and showed them to Politico. The other no longer had the messages in question but confirmed their substance, Lippman wrote. Politico said it had independently verified that the phone number in the chat belonged to Ingrassia.
The 2024 texts attributed to Ingrassia include: “MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs” and racially derogatory language.
They were the latest controversy to embroil Ingrassia, who has also been accused of sexual harassment, according to Politico.
Trump nominated Ingrassia, a former podcaster and a graduate of Cornell Law School, in May, after firing Hampton Dellinger.
According to PBS, “The Office of Special Counsel is an investigative and prosecutorial office that works to protect government employees and whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting wrongdoing. It’s also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers.”