Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleges abuse against second wife in Senate affidavit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators consider nomination of Pete Hegseth The defense secretary received an affidavit Tuesday from a former sister-in-law alleging that the former Fox News host was violent toward his second wife, to the point that she feared for her safety. Hegseth denies the allegations.

The sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, was once married to the candidate’s brother and, in a sworn statement obtained by The Associated Press, said she believed Pete Hegseth was “unfit” to lead the Department of Defense , based on what she had seen and heard. . She said she first took her allegations to the FBI in December, but was concerned that the information had not been shared with Congress. senators consider Hegseth nomination to run the Pentagon.

The affidavit describes Hegseth’s treatment of his second wife, Samantha, and alleges repeated drunkenness and a domestic situation in which Samantha Hegseth had a safe word to indicate if she was in danger at home. Danielle Hegseth said Samantha sent her the safe word in 2015 or 2016, prompting her to call a third party for help.

“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,” she said.

A lawyer for Pete Hegseth vehemently denied the allegations. Tim Parlatore said the affidavit was filled with “belated claims” from an ex-parent with “an ax to take against the entire Hegseth family.”

“Sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reiterated the same during her interview with the FBI.” Parlatore said in a statement. “The late assertions of Danielle Dietrich, a far-left, anti-Trump Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do not change that.”

The affidavit was filed in response to a request from Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who said he was seeking his statement to gain “personal knowledge of the activities of Mr. Hegseth.” ability to occupy this important position.

In the affidavit, Danielle Hegseth says she believes Hegseth’s marriage to Samantha was abusive. She said Samantha told her in 2014 that she once hid in her closet because she feared for her safety. She acknowledged that she had “not personally witnessed any physical or sexual abuse” by Pete Hegseth towards his wife.

“I believe what Samantha told me because what she told me is consistent with what I have personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years,” she said.

Neither Samantha Hegseth nor the attorney who represented her in the divorce proceedings immediately responded to requests for comment. An attorney for Danielle Hegseth said she would not comment beyond the affidavit.

In a statement to NBC News, which first reported On the affidavit, Samantha Hegseth said there had “been 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.

Samantha Hegseth and Pete Hegseth both signed a Minnesota court document in 2021 during their divorce claiming that neither claimed to be victims of domestic violence.

The affidavit came just a day after Hegseth’s appointment. advanced out of the Senate Armed Services Committee despite initial skepticism from many Republicans. A final vote confirming him as defense secretary could take place this week.

Republican leaders have said they doubt the new allegations will change the votes of support they are lining up for Hegseth.

“This looks like a desperate ploy by the Democrats who are led by the far left because they know we have the votes to confirm,” said Senator John Barrasso, number two in the Republican Party.

Asked if the new allegations changed votes in Hegseth’s favor, he said, “No.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was aware of the reported allegations and likened the situation to allegations made against Brett Kavanaugh during his own confirmation hearing, before he was ultimately confirmed as a judge at the Supreme Court.

“I really don’t have anything to offer,” Cornyn said. “I participated in the Kavanaugh hearings, where people came out and made all kinds of false allegations.”

Questions were raised before Hegseth’s hearing last week about the scope of the FBI’s background check, which some said did not include interviews with those who raised allegations against him. Democrats have called for a deeper review of the FBI that could be shared more broadly with senators.

During the hearing, Hegseth did not answer directly yes or no to questions about his drinking, instead saying the issue was part of an orchestrated smear campaign against him.

At the time, it was up to Trump’s transition team to decide how much additional information to seek out and share about Hegseth.

Information in the affidavit was not passed to Armed Services Committee leaders when FBI officials briefed them earlier this month about the results of Hegseth’s background check, according to a person familiar with the contents from the briefing who was granted anonymity to discuss it. .

“As I have said for months, reports of Mr. Hegseth’s alleged history of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and public misconduct require a comprehensive investigation into his background,” Reed said in a statement. communicated Tuesday. “I was concerned that the background check process was inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my fears.”

Hegseth was questioned by senators during his hearing about his behavior, including his excessive drinking, extramarital affairs and allegations of sexual assault, which he denied.

Hegseth has I promised not to drink at work and denied a sexual assault allegation in 2017 but admitted paying a settlement to the woman. He was going through a divorce at the time after having a child with a Fox News producer who became his current wife, according to court records and his social media posts.

In the affidavit, Danielle Hegseth also alleges that Pete Hegseth, while under the influence of alcohol and they were both leaving a bar, repeatedly yelled “no, that’s yes!” »

“I took that to mean that, in his opinion, non-consensual sex was OK,” Danielle Hegseth said in the affidavit.

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AP reporters Eric Tucker and Lolita C. Baldor contributed from Washington.