SEND IN THE CLOWNS

Trump Goon Has Nomination Pulled After He Insulted the President

The president’s DOJ pick, Kosta Ligris, also called police “dumb as dirt”.

exclusive

Donald Trump has quietly killed off his own Justice Department pick—three weeks after it emerged he’d called the president a “clown”. Kosta Ligris, a tech entrepreneur and former real estate lawyer, was nominated by Trump to run the DOJ office that funds state, local and tribal police. The Senate Judiciary Committee then unearthed more than 300 archived posts from an X account appearing to be his, as Courthouse News Service reported, which mocked judges, cops and lawmakers from both parties. Senators read them aloud at his June 24 confirmation hearing. Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse noted that Ligris had once dismissed Trump, 80, and Kamala Harris as “two clowns.” He had also gone after the police he would have funded, writing in a 2024 reply to dashcam footage: “typical cop … dumb as dirt.” Ligris said he wiped his posts every 90 days for cybersecurity reasons. Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin pressed him on it. “That’s it?” Durbin said. Trump signed the withdrawal letter on July 14, the Daily Beast’s investigative Substack PunchUp reports. The Senate logged it that day. PunchUp contacted Ligris, the White House, and the DOJ for comment.

Tom Latchem exposes the secrets, scandals, and stories that powerful people and institutions want to keep under wraps. Follow all of his reporting at PunchUp on Substack.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Tom LatchemLead Global Correspondent

Will NealReporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.