Pete Hegseth's nomination for Secretary of Defense passed a party-line vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee. It could be up for a final confirmation vote as early as Thursday. Democrats have had their sights set on Hegseth since President Trump nominated him.
During his confirmation hearing, committee Democrats have grilled Hegseth on allegations of sexual misconduct, infidelity, alcohol abuse, and mismanagement of funds. Most claims of misconduct have come from anonymous sources. The allegation of sexual misconduct was investigated by police, who did not press charges, citing a lack of evidence.
In TV interviews and across social media, Democrats have been smearing Hegseth's character in an attempt to kill his nomination. Now, in a last-ditch effort to sway Republicans to vote against Hegseth's confirmation, Senator Jack Reed is circulating an affidavit claiming that Hegseth's 'Volatile and Threatening' behavior made his ex-wife, Samatha Hegseth, feel unsafe during their marriage. A claim Samatha Hegseth denies.
Senators have received affidavit containing new allegations against Pete Hegseth, who denies the claims. https://t.co/bmKydwMgxT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 21, 2025
Hegseth's ex-sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, made the claims. She was previously married to Hegseth's brother.
The former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, submitted the affidavit in response to a Jan. 18 letter from Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., seeking “a statement attesting to your personal knowledge about Mr. Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position.”
Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Danielle Hegseth to detail what she knew of “instances of abuse, or threats of abuse, perpetrated against any other person” and “mistreatment of a spouse, former spouse, or other members of his family,” among other requests.
Reed said in a statement Tuesday, “As I have said for months, the reports of Mr. Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation. I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this sworn affidavit confirms that fact."
He added that “the alleged pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth is disturbing. This behavior would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”
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Both Hegseth and his ex-wife, Samatha, have denied the allegations.
Two days before Congress received the affidavit, NBC News asked Hegseth's second wife, Samantha Hegseth, to comment on details of some of the allegations in the affidavit.
In an email response Monday, Samantha Hegseth said: “First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc.”
She added, “I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer.”
Asked what information was not accurate and for comment on the affidavit, she replied on Tuesday: “There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
Hegseth's Lawyer, Tim Parlatore, dismissed the allegations.
"Sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview. Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that," he said in a statement.
"After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family," he added. "Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying to both the Court and to the FBI because of private, undocumented statements that she allegedly made 10 years ago."
Both Pete Hegseth and Samantha Hegseth signed a 2021 court document that said neither parent claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.
The fact that Samatha Hegseth has denied the claims hasn't slowed the Democrats' onslaught. They are desperate for a win, any win, after the trouncing they took in November.
More lies. It's an allegation not from a wife but from a sister in law. The supposedly abused wife says it is a lie.
— Marie (@HadassehMarie) January 21, 2025
Why are you spreading lies?
Democrats would love nothing more than to defeat one (or more) of Trump's cabinet nominees. They're not going to let something as trivial as the truth get in the way of that.
Danielle Hegseth stated that she came forward because she was 'Assured' that certain Senators would vote against Hegseth if she did so.
Danielle Hegseth says in the affidavit, a redacted copy of which has been reviewed by NBC News, “I have chosen to come forward publicly, at significant personal sacrifice, because I am deeply concerned by what Hegseth’s confirmation would mean for our military and our country.”
She adds that part of her reason for coming forward is “because I have been assured that making this public statement will ensure that certain Senators who are still on the fence will vote against Hegseth’s confirmation. But for that assurance I would not subject myself or others referred to in this statement to the public scrutiny this statement is likely to cause.”
If it looks like a smear campaign and sounds like a smear campaign...
You still ran this hit piece EVEN THOUGH HIS OWN EX-WIFE DENIED IT?? You know it’s not true and yet you still chose to do this? It is things LIKE THIS that make us not watch you all anymore.
— Roma (@RomaB) January 21, 2025
We can only hope Republican Senators see through the charade.
Next up they’re going to bring in Simone to say her best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Hegseth pass out at 31 Flavors last night. https://t.co/Ubtx2dXbun pic.twitter.com/LqKy9XbekN
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) January 21, 2025
If Simone is willing to sign an affidavit, we wouldn't put it past them.
The game's almost over, and the Democrats are losing. The 'Hail Mary' is the only hope they have left.
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