‘I know the blackmail’: MAGA influencer’s cryptic post about Hegseth sparks frenzy

A MAGA influencer who was unmasked as a secret Pentagon employee caused a stir after hinting at blackmail as President Donald Trump reportedly weighs the future of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Software engineer Jennica Pounds, who posts on social media as DataRepublican, was revealed in August to be a special government employee at the Defense Department after she seemingly botched an exclusive a State Department official had offered her. Pounds said she started the job in July, after her Pentagon press credential expired in June, and she announced in early October that she was resigning.

Pounds drew attention Wednesday after Democrats seized control of both the House and Senate in the midterm elections, first with a post reacting to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, warning Trump allies to “lawyer up.”

“Behold their true face,” Pounds posted. “It was never about cheaper groceries or health care.”

“Reminder: [She] lied about being an independent journalist while working for the government and made a system to track its political opponents, who she characterized as terrorists,” wrote journalist Pedro L. Gonzalez. “Dems should not spare her or anyone else on the right like her who collaborated with this admin against Americans at a time when the White House made it very clear that it was willing to defend harassing, intimidating, and even killing people, as we saw in Minnesota.”

Reports emerged in August about a database Pounds built mapping connections among groups and activists on the left, which critics said could be turned against dissenters.

But her post implying a blackmail scheme raised additional questions about the embattled defense secretary and her own role in the Pentagon.

Her later post hinting at blackmail drew even more attention, coming as questions swirl around the embattled defense secretary.

“I’m a team player. Not many things will make me go scorched earth,” Pounds posted. “Setting up @PeteHegseth as scapegoat is one of them. And, yes, I know the blackmail. You know who you are.”

Trump has asked advisers whether Hegseth should stay on after the midterm losses, CBS News reported, though Trump denied reports that he was replacing him, and the White House said the president “has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth.”

In a separate post, Pounds defended Hegseth’s handling of the war with Iran.

“You know perfectly well that the military is subordinate to civilian control,” Pounds posted. “Hegseth destroyed Iran’s military and did so magnificently. Hegseth is not in any reason, shape, or form responsible for carrying out Iran in the first place.”

Nearly 11 hours later, she tried to clear up the confusion without naming anyone.

“And because people are misreading the ‘blackmail’ part - it is not Pete who’s being held hostage,” she posted.