CNN
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Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law filed an affidavit before the Senate Armed Services Committee, accusing him of being “abusive” toward his second ex-wife, according to a copy of the affidavit obtained by CNN .
The allegations against Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, became public Tuesday, a week after his confirmation hearing and a day after the Senate Armed Services Committee approved his nomination in a party-line vote, sending it to the Senate as a whole.
Danielle Hegseth, who was married to Hegseth’s brother from 2011 to 2019, wrote in the affidavit that Hegseth was “abusive” toward his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth. She did not elaborate on the nature of the abuse and said she “did not personally witness any physical or sexual abuse by Hegseth.” Danielle Hegseth wrote that Samantha Hegseth sometimes feared for her safety and had a code word if she needed help getting away from her husband. She said she once received a text message from Samantha Hegseth with the password in 2015 or 2016. The affidavit also alleged that she saw Hegseth abuse alcohol at several family gatherings and that she was also seen drinking to excess in public on two occasions in 2013.
“I have chosen to come forward publicly, at great personal sacrifice, because I am deeply concerned about what Hegseth’s confirmation would mean for our military and our country and because I have been assured what to do this public statement would ensure that some senators who are still those on the fence will vote against Hegseth’s confirmation,” she wrote. “But for this assurance, I will not subject myself or others mentioned in this statement to the public scrutiny that this statement is likely to provoke.”
CNN has contacted Samantha Hegseth for comment. She said in a statement to NBC News, which first reported the affidavit: “There was no physical violence in my marriage. This is the only additional statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I do not and will not speak about my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.
Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Hegseth, said in a statement that Danielle Hegseth is a lifelong Democrat and used to argue with her family because she was a Democrat.
“She hates Pete and there is no truth to any of this. Most of what she says are things she did not witness, she accuses her ex-wife of lying during her divorce proceedings and of lying to the FBI,” Parlatore said in the statement. “She shared this information during her background check and the FBI followed up and was unable to find corroboration.”
Hegseth’s nomination has already been threatened by allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking in the workplace, which emerged after he was selected by Trump to lead the Pentagon in November. Hegseth has repeatedly denied all allegations of misconduct, including his drinking problem, but has said he would not drink while serving as defense secretary if confirmed.
There’s no word yet on whether the new allegations would impact Hegseth’s chances of getting confirmation, but his chances remain strong. While the vote is expected to be close, four Senate Republicans are expected to defect to prevent Hegseth’s nomination, and none emerged after his confirmation hearing last week. Two tie-breaking votes, Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have yet to take a position.
In her affidavit, Danielle Hegseth wrote that she was providing the affidavit at the request of Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She said she spoke to the FBI as part of the agency’s investigation into the nominee for secretary of defense, first in December and again last week, on Jan. 18.
On January 18, Reed wrote a letter to Danielle Hegseth asking for any information she had about allegations of abuse, spousal mistreatment or public drunkenness related to Pete Hegseth.
“It has come to our attention that you may have information relating to matters of interest to the Committee, information which would shed light on Mr. Hegseth’s suitability for this important position, particularly in the nature of his conduct personal, and possible misconduct,” Reed wrote.
In a statement, Reed said: “As I have said for months, reports of Mr. Hegseth’s alleged history of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and public misconduct require a thorough investigation into his background. I was concerned that the background check process was inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my fears. The allegations of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth are disturbing. This behavior would disqualify any military member from holding a leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as Secretary of Defense.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CNN he believes Hegseth’s ex-sister-in-law has interests to pursue.
“I have not reviewed the document. My reaction is that I have serious doubts about the merits,” Wicker told CNN, citing statements attributed to Hegseth’s ex-wife.
“I think the nomination will be brought forward by Thursday,” he said, suggesting that is when a key procedural vote would take place and a final confirmation vote could take place over the weekend, if not sooner.
But several Senate Democrats argued that the allegations demonstrated that Hegseth was not qualified to be defense secretary — and complained that it was not included in the FBI background investigation presented to the leaders of the armed forces.
“This is not an anonymous smear,” said Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii. “The fact that this person has come forward and is talking about his erratic behavior and his drunkenness, none of that was disclosed in the FBI report that was only available to the president and senior members.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, one of the Republicans who initially expressed concerns about Hegseth’s nomination but ultimately said she would support him, told CNN on Tuesday that the affidavit was “from her sister-in-law, and his wife said this did not happen. So we can move forward. »
Ernst said she believed Hegseth had the Republican votes to confirm.
“The sooner the better. We really need someone in this position,” she said.
Samantha Hegseth filed for divorce from Pete Hegseth in 2017, a month after Fox executive producer Jennifer Rauchet gave birth to Hegseth’s baby. Hegseth and Rauchet married in 2019.
Records from the Minnesota divorce case show the couple accused each other of saying hurtful things to their children about the other parent. A court-appointed parenting consultant reprimanded Pete Hegseth in a letter for his conduct with his sons, writing that he had demonstrated “hostile and degrading communication” toward Samantha.
A judge’s order filed in the divorce stated: “Neither parent claims to be victims of domestic violence.” »
In a statement to CNN, Danielle Hegseth’s attorney, Leita Walker, said: “Danielle will not comment beyond her statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, which took a lot of courage.” She asks for respect for her private life and that of those dear to her, in particular Pete Hegseth’s former wives and children.
CNN’s Paula Reid, Jim Scuitto, Natasha Bertrand, Kit Maher, Curt Devine and Ali Main contributed to this story.
