A Marine Corps colonel who appeared on a podcast in which a co-host later called for now-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to be shot has been promoted to brigadier general.
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The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to approve Thomas Siverts’ promotion after Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) released his hold on the nomination. Wyden said his concerns were addressed when he listened to Siverts’ March 2023 interview on the Berm Pit Podcast, and didn’t hear anything objectionable. He also cited a letter Siverts wrote to him “unequivocally condemning antisemitism and racism.”
Siverts received his promotion to brigadier general on June 10, a Marine Corps spokesperson told Raw Story.
Roughly 18 months after Siverts appeared on the Berm Pit Podcast, the podcast’s co-host stated that Hegseth deserved to be shot for his support of Israel. At the time, Hegseth had recently been named by then-President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Defense.
During the exchange, Scott Siverts, who is the younger brother of the Marine Corps brigadier general, asked his co-host, Matt Wakulik, to rate Trump’s Cabinet appointments.
“Why don’t we grade them on a scale of how many bullets I put in their head?” Wakulik suggested, as previously reported by Raw Story. The underlying premise of the exchange, based on the antisemitic views of the two men, was that support for Israel is treasonous.
Working through a list that also included Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Border Czar Tom Homan, Scott Siverts eventually queried Wakulik on how he would rate Hegseth.
“Six bullets,” Wakulik responded. “I’d have to put another one in there after I emptied the whole chamber.”
Siverts could not be reached for comment for this story, but he said in his letter to Wyden that at the time of his appearance “the podcast had no association with the hateful ideologies expressed by others on different episodes many months later.
“The ideologies of antisemitism and racism are antithetical not only to the values of the Marine Corps, but to the core of who I am as a person,” Siverts wrote. His letter did not specifically address Wakulik’s “six bullets” comment, either to condemn it or clarify his own views on the matter.
“Col. Siverts clearly stated in his letter to Sen. Wyden that he does not share the views of these hosts,” acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez told Raw Story. “Shame on those attempting to smear his name after writing this letter to a senator in good faith.”
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Wyden told Raw Story, “I condemn anyone who uses their platform to openly discuss murdering government officials, or to amplify antisemitism. The Berm Pit hosts have done both.”
Hegseth, who has vowed to root out “woke garbage” from the military while deriding efforts to remove extremists from the ranks, announced Siverts’ nomination for promotion last December, after the Marine Corps Inspector General declined to open an investigation in response to a complaint against the officer.
Wakulik died of cancer in April. The X account for the Berm Pit Podcast, which appears to be operated by Scott Siverts, has continued to circulate old clips of Wakulik’s inflammatory rants, including ones that discourage service in the U.S military.
In May, Scott Siverts re-posted a clip of Wakulik saying, “Let me tell you this, American people: Your government hates you.” Using an antisemitic acronym that stands for “Zionist Occupied Government,” Wakulik continued, “How much are our veterans getting for being blown up fighting ZOG wars which they’ve got nothing from?”
ZOG stands for Zionist Occupied Government.
And in April, Scott Siverts posted a clip of Wakulik saying, “I would have to support the draft-dodging. Why should you have to fight for ZOG?”
Scott Siverts wrote in an X post earlier this month that he supports his brother “condemning any views shared on the show.”
“He’s still at the Pentagon and he got promoted to a 1 star,” Scott Siverts continued. “When we go golfing this summer we’ll cheers to a couple cigars. A for effort to all the r—-ds that tried hard to harm his career. You lost.”
In contrast to Brig. Gen. Thomas Siverts, who is white and linked to a blatantly antisemitic and racist podcast, Black and female officers have found themselves blocked from promotion to one-star general through repeated interventions by Hegseth. Since taking office, Hegseth has “fired or sidelined nearly three dozen senior military leaders,” nearly 60 percent of whom are Black or female, the New York Times reported.
Scott Siverts, the colonel’s podcaster brother, has taken note of the pattern.
“Credit where it’s due,” he posted on X.
Matt Wakulik gives his assessment of President Trump’s cabinet appointments, including Pete Hegseth, in an episode of the Berm Pit Podcast that was released in late 2024. roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms
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