According to The Washington Postreporting, U.S. Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military’s second-highest-ranking officer allegedly was quizzed by Melania Trump about the location of the United States’ ICBMs.
“I also spent a lot of time talking to Melania Trump about the locations of all our intercontinental ballistic missile fields. She was more inquisitive and smarter than the president.”
My question is: why? Why would the first lady be asking about America’s ICBMs? And why would an Air Force general entertain such questions from her?
The Post’s report comes from notes taken by retired U.S. Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser who has accused Hyten of sexual assault. Hyten refused to comment on the story and an anonymous White House source denied knowledge of such a discussion.
“We are unfamiliar with any conversation like this,” said a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters related to how private conversations are conducted with the president. “Discussions like this would not be had casually around a dinner table.”
Spletstoser has accused Hyten of “sexually assaulting her more than half a dozen times while she was under his command and then retaliating against her — accusations that he has vigorously denied during a military investigation and in front of the Senate.”
The assault allegations did not prevent the Senate from confirming Hyten as vice chairman. Spletstoser’s legal team has filed a civil lawsuit against Hyten in federal court. More background on the lawsuit with details of the assault allegations can be found in an article, “Why This Veteran Is Suing One of the Joint Chiefs for Sexual Assault”, at the Daily Beast.