President Donald Trump has nominated Paul Ingrassia, a former right-wing podcast host who has expressed admiration for the criminally charged influencer Andrew Tate and promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged, to lead the Office of Special Counsel.
The Office of Special Counsel is a federal watchdog agency responsible for protecting whistleblowers and enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activities of government employees. In a social media post on Thursday, President Trump described Ingrassia as a “highly respected attorney, writer and Constitutional Scholar.” Ingrassia has recently served as the White House liaison for Homeland Security after a brief stint in a similar role at the Justice Department.
Ingrassia hailed his nomination as the “highest honor.” In a social media statement, he wrote, “As Special Counsel, my team and I will make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch — with priority on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal workforce and revitalize the Rule of Law and Fairness in Hatch Act enforcement.”
Notably, Ingrassia has ties to Andrew and Tristan Tate, the influencer brothers facing rape and human trafficking charges in Britain and Romania, as he previously worked for a law firm that represented them. Ingrassia has publicly praised Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer known for his misogynistic views, as an “extraordinary human being” and “the ancient ideal of excellence.” In a 2023 social media post, Ingrassia described the Tate brothers as “public enemies number one and two in the eyes of the Matrix, the deep state, and the satanic elite.”
Ingrassia also has a history of promoting controversial figures and conspiracy theories. In the same year, he published a Substack post titled “Free Nick Fuentes,” criticizing the suspension of the far-right activist’s account on then-Twitter. Fuentes has a record of espousing antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric online. Ingrassia was also reportedly seen at a rally where Fuentes spoke in 2024.
When previously questioned by NPR about his appearance at the Fuentes rally, Ingrassia stated that he had not intended to attend and was only observing for a short time, adding, “I had no knowledge of who organized the event, observed for 5-10 minutes, then left.”
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Ingrassia suggested on social media that the “war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day.” Days later, he further wrote that the Israel/Palestine issue, like Ukraine, BLM, and COVID-19/vaccines, was “yet another psyop.”
Ingrassia has also amplified the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. In a November post, he argued that President Trump’s supposed win over Kamala Harris proved “beyond all doubt” that the 2020 race was “fraudulent.”
The Office of Special Counsel operates independently from Justice Department special counsels. President Trump previously fired the special counsel, Hampton Dellinger, in February, which led to a legal battle. While a federal judge initially ruled the firing was illegal, an appeals court later allowed the Trump administration to replace Dellinger. Ultimately, Dellinger abandoned his efforts to regain his position.
Ingrassia’s nomination now awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
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