According to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner on Friday, Donald Trump is making America “felonious again” as several of his Cabinet picks to serve in his upcoming administration have faced legal troubles including the president-elect himself.
Trump, who won this year’s presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, is to make history in January by entering the White House as a convicted felon following his hush money trial in New York. Trump, who was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied any wrongdoing.
The president-elect was indicted three other times on the federal and state level regarding the 2020 election and classified documents. However, those cases are moving toward dismissal or are winding down ahead of Inauguration Day next month. Trump has said those cases were all part of a “political witch hunt” and has maintained his innocence.
However, since winning the election, Trump has faced backlash over several of his choices in nominees and appointees for his upcoming administration including Charles Kushner, Peter Navarro, Tom Barrack, and Linda McMahon as they have all faced legal troubles.
Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, spoke in a YouTube video about several of the president-elect’s picks as he referred to an article from The Hill that outlines Kushner, Navarro, Barrack, and McMahon’s respective legal troubles as Kirschner suggested Trump’s popular slogan for his supporters “Make America Great Again” should instead be “Make America Felonious Again.”
“Make America Great Again? Given Donald Trump’s 34 felony guilty verdicts together with the criminal accomplishments of some of his Cabinet picks, some of the people he wants to populate his administration with, maybe the more accurate slogan would be Make America Felonious Again,” Kirschner said.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s transition team via email for comment.
The legal analyst then outlined how Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the founder of the real estate firm Kushner Companies, was picked to serve as the U.S. ambassador to France. However, Trump controversially pardoned Charles in 2020. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2005 after he pled guilty to 18 counts, including tax evasion and witness tampering.
Navarro, who previously served as White House trade adviser in Trump’s first administration and has since been tapped to serve as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing for Trump’s second term, served a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Navarro, who was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress and released from prison in July, has described his conviction as the “partisan weaponization of the judicial system.”
In addition, Barrack, who was named U.S. ambassador to Turkey in the next administration, was previously charged in 2021 for acting as an unregistered lobbyist for the United Arab Emirates. He was accused of using his influence on the Trump campaign and in the Trump White House to further Emirati interests. Barrack’s lawyers strongly contested the charges, challenging the government’s interpretation of the evidence. Barrack was then found not guilty on all counts by a jury in 2022
Meanwhile, McMahon, who was tapped to serve as Department of Education (DOE) secretary, was named in a lawsuit last month along with her husband, Vince McMahon, accusing the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) leaders of allowing years of sexual abuse of young boys by a ringside announcer in the 1980s. Linda McMahon denies the allegations as the lawsuit has been paused until the Maryland Supreme Court can hear arguments on the case.
Kushner’s, Barrack’s and McMahon’s nominations all require confirmation from the U.S. Senate.
“These are just some of the people that Donald Trump has chosen to populate our federal government, to represent us to foreign countries, to head up government agencies, to be economic advisors. Does that really feel like we are making America great again?” Kirschner said Friday in his YouTube video.
According to The Hill, Trump-Vance transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt defended the president-elect’s choices, stating that they reflect Trump’s “priority to put America first.”
“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail — and his Cabinet picks reflect his priority to put America First,” Leavitt said. “President Trump will continue to appoint highly-qualified men and women who have the talent, experience, and necessary skill sets to Make America Great Again.”
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