Trump’s Pentagon loyalists, the Russian hack, and the Pentagon’s sudden transition stall-out

| 11:45 pm EST December 18, 2020
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Shortly after Donald Trump lost the election, he installed a number of partisan loyalists in civilian positions at the Pentagon. At the time, the move made no sense, even from a villain standpoint. It wasn’t as if these loyalists were in a position to magically start a war as a distraction or anything. So why did Trump make a point of putting them there?

Then this week we learned that Russia hacked into several key U.S. agencies several months ago, and has since gained access to an unknown but potentially devastating amount of secret intel. Then on Friday, the Pentagon suddenly stopped cooperating with the Biden transition, in a move that was such a panic drill, it couldn’t even get its excuses straight for the holdup.

This could all be one big coincidence. But it’s starting to feel like it isn’t one. What if Trump knew about the hacking before the public did, and that’s why he sent in his loyalists? It could be that the U.S. government discovered the hacks last month and briefed Trump on it. It could also be that Putin realized his hack was about to be discovered, and tipped off Trump that action needed to be taken.

To that end, what if Trump’s loyalists at the Pentagon are now suddenly panicking and making up excuses to stall, because they’ve realized they can’t cover it up before Team Biden gets a look at it? Trump has consistently shown that protecting Putin’s interests is his top priority, even at the expense of his own interests. As Trump runs out of time and circles the drain, perhaps he’s still frantically trying to help Putin out as the clock strikes zero.