03-09-2025, 01:30 PM
Apologies if you’ve already heard this, but an Air Force major general and lobbyist-in-all-but-name had affairs with 5 women on Capitol Hill, says ProPublica. (An official ethics investigation carried out by the Air Force IG says the same thing). And one of them appears to have been Senator Jodi Ernst (R-IA), who sat (and sits) on the “Senate’s Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Pentagon and plays a crucial role in setting its annual budget.”
Can you say “conflict of interest”?
The major general’s lawyer says it’s all okay, because the women were all unmarried (although this appears to be untrue, says the IG report (see above)). Whether they were or not, he appears to have been using these affairs to push Air Force legislative priorities:
In the case of Ernst, the PP report notes:
Based on the IG report’s official findings (again, heavily redacted), the randy, busy Major General was demoted by the Air Force, and retired shortly thereafter.
Ernst, it was noted, reversed course on the Pete Hegseth nomination earlier this year when this report, completed back in 2023, was finally released earlier this year in response to a records request. Ernst initially opposed Hegseth but eventually voted to confirm. And of course, the budget blueprint from the GOP House, while planning to cut nearly a trillion dollars from Medicare, Medicaid and other unspecified areas, increases military spending.
Says Ernst’s spokesperson (in a distinctly Trumpian tone):
And even if true (which it appears by all accounts to be), IOKIYA (”family values”) R, right?
Can you say “conflict of interest”?
The report about Finerty is heavily redacted but provided the following details about the inspector general’s findings. Two of the five women worked for the Pentagon. They include a civilian employee who was married to another officer and an Air Force enlisted member significantly lower down the chain of command than Finerty. Finerty interacted with the three other women on Capitol Hill as part of his legislative affairs work, “mixing his professional and personal roles, thus creating the perception of a conflict of interest.” Finerty sexted two of those women in 2021. He sexted and had an “intimate relationship” with the third, though the report does not say exactly when.
The nature of his relationship with the women varied, from suggestive messages to graphic sexting and photos to physical sex, according to the report. Sources told ProPublica that the inspector general asked witnesses about Ernst, but because of the redactions in the report, it’s unclear which sections, if any, refer to the senator.
The major general’s lawyer says it’s all okay, because the women were all unmarried (although this appears to be untrue, says the IG report (see above)). Whether they were or not, he appears to have been using these affairs to push Air Force legislative priorities:
In June 2021, Finerty texted the woman “I was distracted by you being distracted.” Then he sent her a list of “top 5 things to protect if possible,” including a particular fighter jet, radar technology and a system to improve interoperability across the military’s branches.
“What distraction?” the woman texted back. “If I was [redacted] would it be distracting?” She followed up with a series of what the inspector general report described as pornographic pictures.
In the case of Ernst, the PP report notes:
Six sources who worked for the Air Force or in Congress told ProPublica that they had heard about a relationship between Ernst and Finerty and there had been concerns about it for years. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to speak publicly or feared for their jobs. One source said that they were told about the relationship by one of the two participants.
Based on the IG report’s official findings (again, heavily redacted), the randy, busy Major General was demoted by the Air Force, and retired shortly thereafter.
Ernst, it was noted, reversed course on the Pete Hegseth nomination earlier this year when this report, completed back in 2023, was finally released earlier this year in response to a records request. Ernst initially opposed Hegseth but eventually voted to confirm. And of course, the budget blueprint from the GOP House, while planning to cut nearly a trillion dollars from Medicare, Medicaid and other unspecified areas, increases military spending.
Says Ernst’s spokesperson (in a distinctly Trumpian tone):
“The fake news media is clearly too busy gossiping to report the real news that Senator Ernst is focused on cutting waste at the Pentagon… Any insinuation otherwise by tabloid ‘journalism’ is a slanderous lie”.
And even if true (which it appears by all accounts to be), IOKIYA (”family values”) R, right?
