Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, is already under fire for several notable controversies, including ties to right-wing extremism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and his defense of mercenaries that killed civilians. But new reporting has revealed more allegations of abuse toward women and public drunkenness that are likely to come up at future Senate confirmation hearings—if the former Fox News pundit makes it that far.
The New York Times reported on Friday that in a 2018 email Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, described her son as an abuser of women. “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” she wrote. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”
The behavior described in the letter echoes other reporting on Hegseth’s past behavior. A recent report by the New Yorker that detailed behavior from Hegseth that led to him stepping down from leading conservative veterans groups, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. A whistleblower report says that Hegseth was so drunk while doing public events for Concerned Veterans of America that he had to be carried out. The report also alleges that Hegseth sexually pursued staffers at the group and he and other men in the organization divided the women staffers into groups labeled “party girls” and “not party girls.” The report also notes that an allegation of sexual assault by Hegseth was made, involving an employee while the two were at a strip club in Louisiana.
Hegseth is also accused in the document of chanting “Kill All Muslims! Kill All Muslims!” while drunk at a bar in 2015, while on an official tour. An email sent by whistleblowers also accused Hegseth of treating the organization’s funds “like they were a personal expense account” and said he used money donated to advocate for veterans “for partying, drinking.”
The new revelations about Hegseth come on the heels of the release of a police report in which a woman accused Hegseth of raping her at a Republican women’s event in 2017. Hegseth was not charged following a police investigation.
Disclosures about Matt Gaetz, Trump’s former pick to be U.S. attorney general, led to Trump giving up on the nomination when it became clear even Republicans would oppose him. Those allegations included sex with a minor and accusations of sex trafficking. The disclosures about Hegseth seem even more severe, but so far there has been no indication that Trump will back away from the pick.
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