A leaked group chat between Republicans has revealed shockingly racist and hateful messages allegedly from Donald Trump’s already-embattled nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel.
Paul Ingrassia, 30, allegedly sent messages that included racial slurs, an admission that he has a “Nazi streak,” and a claim that Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” Politico reported on Monday.
Ingrassia, who has a Senate confirmation hearing scheduled Thursday and who is currently the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, did not respond to request for comment.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Politico interviewed two people in the chat, both granted anonymity due to fears over their careers and personal repercussions. One participant said he came forward because he wants “the government to be staffed with experienced people who are taken seriously.” The group reportedly includes six Republican operatives and influencers.
In July, Ingrassia’s testimony for Trump special counsel was delayed over his alleged ties to antisemitism and online extremism. Now, Ingrassia’s messages, sent throughout 2024, provide a chilling glimpse of the Trump-nominee’s views.
“Blacks behave that way because that’s their natural state … You can’t change them," he allegedly wrote during one discussion on why some Republicans believe Democrats portray Black Americans as victims.
“Proof: all of Africa is a shithole, and will always be that way.”
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs,” Ingrassia wrote in January 2024, according to the outlet.
During another conversation, he allegedly wrote: “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.” One of the people in the text group told Politico that Ingrassia’s comment was not taken as a joke, and three people pushed back against Ingrassia during the text exchange that day.
“Paul you are coming across as a white nationalist which is beneficial to nobody,” one participant wrote in the chat.
This is the second scandal Ingrassia has faced in recent weeks. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Trump-nominee was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint earlier this year, though it has since been withdrawn.
In July, Ingrassia and others in his department went to check in at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Orlando, Florida, Politico first reported.
When a lower-ranking female colleague discovered she didn’t have a room, Ingrassia reportedly told her she would stay with him. Three administration officials with knowledge of the incident told Politico that Ingrassia had canceled her reservation in advance so that they’d be placed in the same room. Ingrassia has denied any wrongdoing.
A statement from Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, also categorically rejects the allegations.
“Politico’s hit piece about Mr. Ingrassia is calculated to cause maximum harm to his promising career—and torpedo his nomination for Special Counsel," the statement, which Ingrassia posted on LinkedIn, reads. “This vexatious political attack masquerading as ”journalism" is defamatory and will be addressed in forthcoming litigation.“
The Daily Beast has reached out to Paltzik.
The Trump-nominee’s texts are being revealed during a moment of major upheavals for prominent young Republican men across the country.
Last week, a leaked Telegram group chat between Republican operatives in their 20s and 30s provided another glimpse into how racist some of the party’s up-and-coming figures act behind closed doors.
The chat, complete with 251 slurs—including the N-word, “f----t,” and a declaration of love for Hitler—included “Young Republican” leaders from around the United States, reports Politico, which obtained and reviewed thousands of private messages.
