So Pete Hegseth’s personal security guard has a “dark episode in his past.” You’re probably thinking, “OK, and?” But The New York Times wants you to know that you should be shocked and appalled.

The guard, an Army ex-special forces master sergeant named John Jacob Hasenbein, left the military after a 2019 incident where he allegedly roughed up an Iraqi-American “civilian role player” in a training exercise that went a bit too far. The incident led to a courtroom circus and an eventual mistrial, after which Hasenbein decided to just cut his losses and retire. He then went into private security, which is how he eventually linked up with Hegseth.

Alright, let’s assume all the accusations are true on the merits, that the alleged beating was egregiously........

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