4 ms·

> nabbing the little guy Politics aside, he isn't a "little guy". He apparently holds the rank of master sergeant. That's a senior battalion-level role and som

> nabbing the little guy Politics aside, he isn't a "little guy". He apparently holds the rank of master sergeant. That's a senior battalion-level role and somewhat political. This isn't some random E-4 getting dragged.

9x39 6mo ago
Compared to a member of US Congress, or the senior executive branch, or the CEO class, they’re still nobody and the “little guy”. Not that it’s defensible behavior.
- usefulcat 6mo ago
  Is he important enough to get a presidential pardon? That's how you know whether he's a "little guy". To be fair, that bar is quite a bit lower these days, but still..
  - denom 6mo ago
    What's the going rate for pardons these days?
    - Tangurena2 6mo ago
      During the first Trump term, Giuliani said that the cost was $2,000,000 per pardon. Many went through him. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/giuliani-accused-offering-sell-trump-pardons-2-million-new-lawsuit-rcna84569 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/giuliani-accu...
herewulf 6mo ago
This might burst some bubbles but this is absolutely a little guy because anything below a field grade officer (or the CSM sidekick below brigade) is a little guy and a battalion is actually quite low on the food chain. Yes, there are some hard working NCOs and junior Os out there that make shit happen, but they are not the decision makers and make for great fall guys when shit hits the fan.
- xhevahir 6mo ago
  He may be a little guy but that doesn't mean that he's a fall guy. The Special Forces at Fort Bragg are a law unto themselves. I've just finished reading The Fort Bragg Cartel and the things some of those guys have been up to, and the leniency of both their commanding officers and the local civilian police toward them, are shocking. Drug smuggling, murder, theft of arms, coming back from deployment with tens of thousands of dollars taped to their persons...not to mention the war crimes.
dmschulman 6mo ago
I read this as "why are they going after a soldier who made $30k when they could be going after guys who made seven figures off of expertly timed trades on going to war with Iran"
- Aurornis 6mo ago
  He profited $400K. Pursuing this case doesn’t mean they’re excluding other cases. If you read the article this case was very clear because he made amateur moves and didn’t conceal his identity at all. This was an easy nab. All leaks should be pursued regardless of who did it.
  - jghn 6mo ago
    I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Trump's insiders own't be investigated
    - NicoJuicy 6mo ago
      He's actually too proud about it to hide it. A 400 million plane "donation"
  - Forgeties79 6mo ago
    There is zero chance this escalates further off this guy.
    - defrost 6mo ago
      Careful, you'll have Ka$hPatel wondering who to throw under a bus just for the giggles, the p0wn, and the extra $100 for his stripper lounge charity.
    - spydum 6mo ago
      You could place a prediction bet probably.
    - nickff 6mo ago
Forgeties79 6mo ago
A master sergeant is not remotely significant in the world of politics.
DASD 6mo ago
If he was "behind the fence", at most he would be a team sergeant or maybe even assistant team sergeant. Talking 4-6 members max.
bmitc 6mo ago
According to Google Gemini, there are over 16,000 master sergeants. Might as well be some random, especially when it's literally the president himself, cabinet members, congress, and other cronies directly doing the same and even worse things.
appplication 6mo ago
Master sergeant is a respectable rank (first of senior NCO) but it’s not exactly a high ranking position. Speaking from AF experience, you’ll have a couple of them or higher in a 50 person squadron, and levels like group/wing command they’re oftentimes among the lowest ranking person in the room. This is absolutely a low level soldier getting dragged.
notatoad 6mo ago
> he isn’t a little guy His salary this year was probably about $118k on standard pay scales. I’m not sure what your definition of little guy is, but to me that qualifies (Not trying to be condescending to anybody here, that’s not far off my salary and I’d definitely call myself the little guy)
tencentshill 6mo ago
They fired 4-star generals on a whim. The military is expected to be as loyal as the rest.
- Tangurena2 6mo ago
  Some of those generals were fired because they were women or minorities. Others because they spoke ill of Trump (meaning that they showed "insufficient loyalty").

9x39 6mo ago

Compared to a member of US Congress, or the senior executive branch, or the CEO class, they’re still nobody and the “little guy”. Not that it’s defensible behavior.

usefulcat 6mo ago
Is he important enough to get a presidential pardon? That's how you know whether he's a "little guy". To be fair, that bar is quite a bit lower these days, but still..
- denom 6mo ago
  What's the going rate for pardons these days?
  - Tangurena2 6mo ago
    During the first Trump term, Giuliani said that the cost was $2,000,000 per pardon. Many went through him. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/giuliani-accused-offering-sell-trump-pardons-2-million-new-lawsuit-rcna84569 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/giuliani-accu...

herewulf 6mo ago

This might burst some bubbles but this is absolutely a little guy because anything below a field grade officer (or the CSM sidekick below brigade) is a little guy and a battalion is actually quite low on the food chain. Yes, there are some hard working NCOs and junior Os out there that make shit happen, but they are not the decision makers and make for great fall guys when shit hits the fan.

xhevahir 6mo ago
He may be a little guy but that doesn't mean that he's a fall guy. The Special Forces at Fort Bragg are a law unto themselves. I've just finished reading The Fort Bragg Cartel and the things some of those guys have been up to, and the leniency of both their commanding officers and the local civilian police toward them, are shocking. Drug smuggling, murder, theft of arms, coming back from deployment with tens of thousands of dollars taped to their persons...not to mention the war crimes.

dmschulman 6mo ago

I read this as "why are they going after a soldier who made $30k when they could be going after guys who made seven figures off of expertly timed trades on going to war with Iran"

Aurornis 6mo ago
He profited $400K. Pursuing this case doesn’t mean they’re excluding other cases. If you read the article this case was very clear because he made amateur moves and didn’t conceal his identity at all. This was an easy nab. All leaks should be pursued regardless of who did it.
- jghn 6mo ago
  I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Trump's insiders own't be investigated
  - NicoJuicy 6mo ago
    He's actually too proud about it to hide it. A 400 million plane "donation"
- Forgeties79 6mo ago
  There is zero chance this escalates further off this guy.
  - defrost 6mo ago
    Careful, you'll have Ka$hPatel wondering who to throw under a bus just for the giggles, the p0wn, and the extra $100 for his stripper lounge charity.
  - spydum 6mo ago
    You could place a prediction bet probably.
  - nickff 6mo ago

Forgeties79 6mo ago

A master sergeant is not remotely significant in the world of politics.

DASD 6mo ago

If he was "behind the fence", at most he would be a team sergeant or maybe even assistant team sergeant. Talking 4-6 members max.

bmitc 6mo ago

According to Google Gemini, there are over 16,000 master sergeants. Might as well be some random, especially when it's literally the president himself, cabinet members, congress, and other cronies directly doing the same and even worse things.

appplication 6mo ago

Master sergeant is a respectable rank (first of senior NCO) but it’s not exactly a high ranking position. Speaking from AF experience, you’ll have a couple of them or higher in a 50 person squadron, and levels like group/wing command they’re oftentimes among the lowest ranking person in the room. This is absolutely a low level soldier getting dragged.

notatoad 6mo ago

> he isn’t a little guy His salary this year was probably about $118k on standard pay scales. I’m not sure what your definition of little guy is, but to me that qualifies (Not trying to be condescending to anybody here, that’s not far off my salary and I’d definitely call myself the little guy)

tencentshill 6mo ago

They fired 4-star generals on a whim. The military is expected to be as loyal as the rest.

Tangurena2 6mo ago
Some of those generals were fired because they were women or minorities. Others because they spoke ill of Trump (meaning that they showed "insufficient loyalty").