During his first presidency, Donald Trump often clashed with traditional non-MAGA conservatives he chose for his administration—some of whom he fired, including former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton. But since returning to the White House five and one-half months ago, Trump has made a point of surrounding himself with ultra-MAGA loyalists — from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Trump's critics often accuse him of valuing loyalty over experience. Now, according to CNN, his nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is drawing scrutiny for a variety of reasons.

The nominee is Paul Ingrassia, a 30-year-old MAGA attorney known for promoting far-right conspiracy theories.

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CNN reporters Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck and Dalia Abdelwahab, in an article published on July 2, explain, "Ingrassia would mark a sharp departure from previous heads of the OSC — a role designed to be politically independent and protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Rather than a long record of managerial or prosecutorial experience, typical of those who previously held the job, Ingrassia brings a fervent loyalty to Trump and a lengthy record of inflammatory statements, only a small portion of which have been previously reported."

CNN's KFile, according to the journalists, "reviewed hundreds of Ingrassia's comments between 2019 and 2024" and found that he wasn't shy about promoting conspiracy theories.

"Last year, on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks," Kaczynski, Steck and Abdelwahab note, "Ingrassia shared a video of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones claiming the U.S. government planned the attacks or let them happen, with Jones boasting in his tweet, 'I've been exposing 9/11 since before it even happened.' Ingrassia had defended Jones several months earlier, writing, 'WE ALL STAND WITH ALEX JONES!!' in June 2024. He was commenting on a video of Jones crying on his broadcast over fears that his InfoWars media platform could be shut down due to $1.5 billion in judgments against Jones for spreading false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax."

The CNN reporters add, "Ingrassia and his podcast's X account have also shared comments from notorious white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Ingrassia has argued publicly that 'straight white men' are the most intelligent demographic group and should be prioritized in education."

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Ingrassia, they point out, "once co-hosted a podcast that called for martial law and secession after Trump's 2020 defeat if all legal efforts failed."

"On the night of January 6, 2021," Kaczynski, Steck and Abdelwahab recall, "the podcast account also posted a quote from President John F. Kennedy, reading, 'Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, (will) make violent revolution inevitable.' Ingrassia, a longtime defender of January 6 participants, was later present for the release of convicted January 6 rioters after Trump commuted their sentences."

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Read the full CNN article at this link (subscription required).

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