Democratic senators on the Armed Services Committee are reviewing an affidavit accusing defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth of making his second wife fear for her safety.
Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth's former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, in which she claims Hegseth had a drinking problem that sometimes caused his ex-wife, Samantha, to fear for her safety. Danielle Hegseth is married to Pete Hegseth's brother. She is not the sister of Pete Hegseth's second wife, Samantha.
The affidavit was received by the Senate Armed Services Committee and members are reviewing it.
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Hegseth denies all charges. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
Pete Hegseth's attorney, Tim Pratall, said in a statement to Fox News: "Sam has never alleged any abuse. She signed court documents admitting there was no abuse and recently Danielle belatedly reiterated this in the FBI interview, alleging that Dietrich was an anti-Trump far-left Democrat who was divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and was in a relationship with Mr. Hegseth. The Si family never got along, but he did nothing to change that.
"Following an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich harbored ill will toward the entire Heggs family. Ms. Dietrich admitted she saw nothing but now wrongly accuses Sam of having a private, undocumented She allegedly lied to the court and the FBI about the statements she made ten years ago."
Danielle Hegseth provided an anecdote in the document, recalling that Samantha once hid in a closet to avoid her husband.
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Reed is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. (Reuters)
But Danielle Hegseth added that she herself never witnessed Pete engaging in any physical or sexual abuse of Samantha.
The affidavit provides more anecdotes about Hegseth's alleged drinking, mentioning several specific occasions, including one at a strip club.
Danielle Hegseth also said in the filing that her former brother-in-law was unfit to serve as defense minister.
Jack Reed, the committee's ranking member, said in a statement, "As I have said for months, Mr. Hegseth's alleged history of sexual assault, drunkenness and public misconduct requires reporting. Thorough Background Checks “I was concerned that the background check process was inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my concerns.
"Mr. Hegseth's alleged abuse and misconduct are disturbing. Such conduct would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, let alone being confirmed as Secretary of Defense."
Samantha Hegseth denied any physical abuse in a statement first reported by NBC News.
She reportedly said: "There was no physical abuse that occurred in my marriage. This is the only further statement I make to you. I have let you know that I do not and will not speak about my marriage to Pete. Please respect that." decision." said.
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Rosen said the affidavit confirmed what they already knew. (Tom Brenner)
"This just confirms what we already know about Mr. Hegseth's behavior, his lifestyle and his views on women," Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., a member of the committee, told reporters. .
"So, we'll let the Republicans make their own statement, but I think this just confirms what we already knew he was absolutely 100 percent unfit for the job, his character, his conduct, what we've faced in terms of sexual abuse, finances issues were mismanaged," she said.
Another member of the committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told reporters: "I'm telling you, there's a lot in this affidavit, any part of which would disqualify a candidate from leading our military."
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Republicans on the committee, however, are not necessarily swayed by the accusations.
Freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., who also sits on the committee, wrote on X: “This is a desperate last-minute attempt by Democrats and the media to discredit Pete Heger Pete's ex-wife has a record of saying these claims are false, but the media doesn't care because it hurts Republicans."