Well, isn’t this just a textbook case of bureaucratic incompetence wrapped in political opportunism? The U.S. Military Academy at West Point found itself at the center of a firestorm after falsely claiming Pete Hegseth—President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense—was never accepted to the prestigious institution. ProPublica was all too eager to run with this juicy “gotcha” moment until, surprise, Hegseth produced his acceptance letter from 1999. Awkward.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just a harmless “error,” as West Point later claimed. The academy initially told ProPublica—on the record, no less—that Hegseth didn’t even apply. Twice. Not only was this false, but it conveniently aligned with what can only be described as a coordinated smear campaign against Trump’s nominee. It smells more like a bad-faith attempt to undermine Hegseth’s credibility than an innocent mix-up in the archives.
Once Hegseth shut down the narrative with hard evidence, ProPublica quietly shelved the story. No exposé on West Point’s apparent failure, no follow-up investigation into why the public relations office got it so wrong—just radio silence. Funny how that works. As Vice President-elect JD Vance quipped, “You were misled by a bureaucrat. That’s actually a story, just not the one you wanted to print.” Nailed it.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) wasn’t having it, either. He fired off a scathing letter to West Point’s superintendent, pointing out the likely violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 and demanding an investigation. Cotton’s critique is spot on: why is a taxpayer-funded institution feeding demonstrably false information to left-wing journalists about a high-profile nominee? This isn’t just a lapse in judgment—it’s a breach of trust that reeks of partisan gamesmanship.
Officials at the U.S. Military Academy should not be feeding lies to left-wing reporters about President Trump’s nominees.
West Point needs to thoroughly investigate this egregiously bad judgement and potential violation of the Privacy Act immediately. pic.twitter.com/gQpFjLbLaS
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) December 11, 2024
And Cotton wasn’t alone in calling out the nonsense. Sean Davis of The Federalist cut to the chase: “West Point lied to you about the incoming SECDEF and you didn’t think it was worth a story? That’s not journalism. You were looking to run a partisan hit, and when it failed, you tried to slink away and pretend it never happened.” Davis even suggested cleaning house at West Point to send a message that such “errors” won’t be tolerated. Hard to argue with that logic.
What’s truly alarming is the implication that someone within the military might have deliberately tried to sabotage Hegseth’s nomination. As Sean Parnell noted, this raises the disturbing prospect of a military officer or bureaucrat undermining a duly elected president’s nominee. If true, that’s not just unethical; it’s a threat to the integrity of civilian oversight of the military. And let’s not forget this fiasco only strengthens the case for Hegseth. A staunch advocate for military reform, Hegseth represents the kind of leadership needed to root out the very rot this debacle has exposed.
Jesse Eisinger was transparent about what happened, claiming that West Point said he was never accepted, but when they saw the letter, the school apologized; however, they didn’t report on the obvious misleading reports from West Point, which has some on the right up in arms.
1/ Here’s a story about how journalism works.
Spoiler Alert: This is how we decide *not* to publish.
We were recently looking at Pete Hegesth’s different statements over the years about West Point, where he has said he was admitted.
First stop: West Point. https://t.co/TceZdglkmL
— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) December 11, 2024
West Point lied to you about the incoming SECDEF and you didn’t think it was worth a story? That’s not journalism. You were looking to run a partisan hit, and when it failed, you tried to slink away and pretend it never happened. https://t.co/KeGsZcxl4X
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) December 11, 2024
West Point eventually issued an apology, blaming the whole mess on an “administrative error” after “further review” of archived records. Right. If Hegseth hadn’t kept that letter for 25 years, this “error” would have been used to tank his nomination. The timing and the initial insistence on his non-acceptance are just a little too convenient to chalk up to clerical incompetence alone.
The bottom line? This wasn’t just a hit on Pete Hegseth—it was a hit on the integrity of the nomination process itself. ProPublica, West Point, and anyone else complicit in this debacle owe more than an apology. They owe the American people answers. Let’s hope this investigation doesn’t disappear into the same black hole where accountability often goes to die.
