>>6781171 lb
>>6781242 lb
>>6781666 lb
The prevailing thought on the news channels before this morning implied that Acting SecDef Shanahan was the perp in the domestic violence incident that eventually resulted in his withdrawing himself from consideration to confirmation as SecDef.
What struck me this morning was the AP story below. It says court records indicate the acting SecDef was NOT the perp. So why is he being trashed? Why should this result in his withdrawal from the confirmation process unless there's something going on behind the scenes?
To my eyes, he looked like a very competent guy (although my opinion is based strictly on the media reporting - no personal experience with him - I trust POTUS's judgment for choosing him). How many people at that level have zero black marks on their life? How many people are qualified for a position like that who are "purer than Caesar's wife"?
Another narrative of "men bad, women innocent"? Fake News? FBI incompetent? Another reason to move background investigations of personnel from OPM?
First, his son was 17 years old at the time of the incident in 2011. Reminded me of how the news media piled on the Covington HS kids without fully investigating the situation. Interesting that the number 17 comes up again as it so often does.
Second, the ex-wife blamed Shanahan for punching her while he denies it ( >>6781666 lb). Given her history as shown below by the AP and based on IRL incidents from many different people over the years, it's common for people like the ex-wife to claim they were the victims and prey on public sympathy in hopes of diverting blame while the innocent spouse is unfairly trashed.
Third, the media made it sound like the FBI skipped over this incident in his background, while in reality the FBI "is still in the middle of Shanahan's background check, and has reportedly been investigating violent disputes involving Shanahan and his wife and son that date back nine years" ( >>6781171 lb) .
Fourth, the timing. So I wonder if the FBI or someone else notified POTUS of the 2011 incident? Why now, right before the Orlando rally? What took the FBI so long to investigate Shanahan for his clearance when he's been Acting SecDef since 1/1/2019 and was DepSecDef from 2017 to 2019 (and previously at Boeing for 30 years)? Even if he was undergoing a periodic reinvestigation or one for a higher level of clearance, it's strange that the FBI couldn't have resolve this 2011 incident before now. Surely he had a clearance while at Boeing, where he was "vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, overseeing the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, Airborne Laser and Advanced Tactical Laser; and as vice president and general manager of Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, overseeing the Apache, Chinook and Osprey." Sauce: https://dod.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography-View/Article/1252116/patrick-shanahan/
Interestingly, neither archive.li nor archive.is nor the Wayback Machine would accept the above DOD link as a new save, but the Wayback Machine had one from late May and archive.li had two from today:
http://archive.li/t0A8W
https://web.archive.org/web/20190531023754/https://dod.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography-View/Article/1252116/patrick-shanahan/
Personally, I think Shanahan and his son were victimized all over again by the media.
Excerpt from AP story:
https://apnews.com/1268d4a04f6b4062a2e5da675fbac192
The acting defense secretary did not provide specifics, but court records show a volatile family history around the time of his 2011 divorce. The couple had been married since 1986.
His ex-wife, Kimberley, was arrested several times on charges that included burglary, property damage and assault. The assault charge was a misdemeanor for domestic violence in August 2010 when, according to police records, she hit Shanahan a number of times, giving him a bloody nose and black eye. The police report said she was not injured, and he was not charged.
There was also a separate November 2011 incident in which the couple’s son, who was 17 at the time, struck his mother with a baseball bat in the home where he lived with her in Sarasota, Florida, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to four years of probation.