The person chosen by Donald Trump to head the US agency in charge of ethical issues in public service announced on Tuesday, October 21, that he was withdrawing his candidacy, after the spread in the press of racist messages in which he hoped to have “a Nazi tendency.”
The American media Politico published on Monday these messages sent according to it by Paul Ingrassia, who currently holds the position of liaison in the White House for the Ministry of National Security, to a private group: he claims in particular to have “a Nazi tendency” and uses the term “moulignon”, a racist insult from Italian-American slang directed at blacks.
“Unfortunately, at this time I do not have a sufficient number of Republican votes,” explained Paul Ingrassia in X, ensuring that, therefore, he would not attend the confirmation hearing scheduled for Thursday before a Senate committee.
Messages “taken out of context”
The Republican Party, President Donald Trump’s camp, has a narrow majority in the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the agency for which Paul Ingrassia was a candidate, is responsible for protecting public officials from various abusive practices, including discrimination.
Among the messages spread by Politico is a diatribe against the holiday that commemorates Martin Luther King, hero of the fight against racial segregation. This day “should be abolished and thrown into the seventh circle of hell, where it belongs,” Paul Ingrassia wrote in January 2024, according to Politico.
Questioned by the media, Paul Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, mentioned, without confirming their authenticity, messages “taken out of context” and marked with “self-deprecation and satirical humor.”
Source: BFM TV
