Donald Trump’s selection to lead the Department of Defense faces damning new allegations after a scathing whistleblower report reveals repeated bouts of excessive drinking and sexual harassment while running a nonprofit advocacy group for veterans.
Pete Hegseth was reportedly forced out of leadership roles at two prominent nonprofit advocacy groups after serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and intoxication on the job, according to The New Yorker.
In one particularly egregious incident at a Louisiana strip club, Hegseth allegedly attempted to join dancers on stage and needed to be physically restrained.
According to the report, his reckless behavior extended beyond public settings, fostering a workplace rife with sexism and impropriety.
Female staffers reportedly endured a toxic environment under Hegseth’s leadership.
The new revelations add to a growing firestorm, raising pointed questions about his fitness to oversee the Pentagon with a budget of $857 billion and three million employees.
Trump has recently doubled down on his nomination of Hegseth, despite an avalanche of allegations that threaten to overshadow the appointment.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Hegseth, 44, as his nominee for Defense Secretary on November 14
The whistleblower report detailed Hegseth’s tenure at the Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) between 2013-2016.
Hegseth, 44, is accused of frequently being intoxicated at official events, to the extent of requiring assistance to even stand up.
One whistleblower recounted how women were categorized into ‘party girls’ and ‘not party girls,’ perpetuating a sexist culture of favoritism and exploitation.
Hegseth is described as having ‘a history of alcohol abuse’ and had “treated the organization funds like they were a personal expense account – for partying, drinking, and using CVA events as little more than opportunities to ‘hook up’ with women on the road.’
In one shocking case, a female employee accused a male colleague of attempting to sexually assault her during a CVA event.
The whistleblower claimed the incident was dismissed by management, further solidifying a culture of intimidation and fear.
‘I’ve seen him drunk so many times. I’ve seen him dragged away not a few times but multiple times,’ the whistleblower told the publication.
‘I’ve seen him drunk so many times. I’ve seen him dragged away not a few times but multiple times,’ one whistleblower told The New Yorker
Hegseth can often be seen showing off the patriotic lining to his jackets
Pete Hegseth has shared this image of himself on social media from his time serving in Iraq
‘To have him at the Pentagon would be scary. When those of us who worked at CVA heard he was being considered for SecDef, it wasn’t ‘No,’ it was ‘Hell No!”.
By early 2016, Hegseth resigned from CVA in what was publicly described as a ‘mutual decision.’
However, insiders revealed that mounting concerns over his behavior and leadership style left the organization with little choice but to push him out.
The revelations about Hegseth’s past have drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, labeled the allegations ‘alarming and disqualifying.’
‘Entrusting national security to someone with a history of such issues is a risk we cannot take,’ Blumenthal asserted.
Blumenthal added, ‘The Secretary of Defense must be beyond reproach. This is the individual responsible for life-and-death decisions, including the deployment of troops and the authorization of drone strikes. We cannot afford any uncertainty about their judgment.’
Trump’s communications director staunchly defended Hegseth, claiming he has not been charged with any crime.
‘President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his administration,’ Steven Cheung proclaimed.
But critics argue that Hegseth’s past paints a far less flattering picture.
Adding to the controversy is a recently unearthed allegation of sexual assault against Hegseth, which he has denied.
Pete Hegseth and his current wife, Fox News producer Jennifer Hegseth
Hegseth was investigated for an alleged sexual assault in 2017 but no charges were filed
In 2017, a woman accused him of rape following a political conference in California.
Investigators were first alerted to the alleged assault by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam.
The patient told medical personnel she believed she was assaulted five days earlier but couldn’t remember much about what had happened.
She reported something may have been slipped into her drink before ending up in the hotel room where she said the assault occurred. Police collected the unwashed dress and underwear she had worn that night, the report said.
The woman’s partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told police that he was worried about her that night after she didn’t come back to their room. At 2 a.m., he went to the hotel bar, but she wasn’t there.
She made it back a few hours later, apologizing that she ‘must have fallen asleep.’ A few days later, she told him she had been sexually assaulted.
The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican Women gathering at which Hegseth spoke, told police that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him stroking multiple women’s thighs.
She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a ‘creeper’ vibe, according to the report.
After the event, the woman and others attended an after-party in a hotel suite where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him that she ‘did not appreciate how he treated women,’ the report states.
A group of people, including Hegseth and the woman, decamped for the hotel’s bar. That’s when ‘things got fuzzy,’ the woman told police.
She remembered having a drink at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report states.
Pete Hegseth with Donald Trump in the Oval Office from when Trump was president
Trump is interviewed by Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in April 2017
Pete and Jennifer now have a blended family of seven children, three from his second marriage to Samantha Deering, three from her marriage to Dennis Rauchet and one together
She also told police that she argued with Hegseth near the hotel pool, an account that is supported by a hotel staffer who was sent to handle the disturbance and spoke to police, according to the report.
Soon, she told police, she was inside a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so that she could not leave, according to the report. She also told police she remembered ‘saying `no´ a lot,’ the report said.
Her next memory was of lying on a couch or bed with a bare-chested Hegseth hovering over her, his dog tags dangling, the report states. Hegseth served in the National Guard, rising to the rank of major.
After Hegseth finished, she recalled he threw a towel at her and asked if she was ‘OK,’ the report states. She told police she did not recall how she got back to her own hotel room and had since suffered from nightmares and memory loss.
No charges were filed following the police report, and he entered into a private settlement with the alleged victim.
According to sources spoken to by The New Yorker, Hegseth agreed to pay the accuser an undisclosed amount in exchange for her silence under a nondisclosure agreement.
Hegseth has vehemently denied the accusation, with his attorney, Tim Parlatore, dismissing it as ‘outlandish claims’ and an attempt at blackmail.
‘As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple: The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it,’ Hegseth told reporters on Capitol Hill where he met with Republican senators to build support for his nomination last month.
Hegseth has been married three times, divorcing his first wife in 2009 following an ‘irretrievable breakdown’ and ‘infidelity’.
His second wife filed for divorce in September 2017, one month after he had a baby with a Fox News producer whom he subsequently married.
While navigating his way through the divorce, his own mother, Penelope Hegseth, emailed him calling him out as ‘an abuser of women’ who ‘belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego.
‘Get some help and take an honest look at yourself,’ she urged. The excoriating letter was published in the New York Times.
Nevertheless, the revelation has reignited scrutiny of Hegseth’s past and raised fresh doubts about his judgment and character.
Pete Hegseth’s mother sent the nominee for Secretary of Defense an email in 2018 referring to him as ‘an abuser of women,’ a claim she says she immediately took back and regretted making. Pictured: Pete and Penelope on Fox News, Mother’s Day 2019
Hegseth’s mother sent the email as he was divorcing his second wife Samantha (pictured left)
Penelope posted this photo of her son’s third wedding to Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet to Facebook
Hegseth’s professional history reveals a troubling pattern. As the head of Veterans for Freedom, he faced accusations of financial mismanagement and improper use of donor funds.
Reports suggest that the organization’s eventual collapse was, in part, due to his leadership failures.
Former colleagues have described him as reckless and self-serving, prioritizing personal gain over the mission of the organizations he led.
The whistleblower report from CVA paints an even grimmer picture.
It accuses Hegseth of leveraging organizational resources for personal indulgence, including lavish parties and inappropriate relationships.
‘There’s a long pattern, over more than a decade, of malfeasance, financial mismanagement and sexual impropriety,’ a former associate remarked. ‘To think he could run the Pentagon is alarming.’
As the Senate Armed Services Committee prepares to scrutinize Hegseth’s nomination, the controversy surrounding his past looms like a dark cloud.
For those preparing to question him during committee hearings next year, his history of misconduct and poor judgment may cast serious doubt on his ability to lead the Department of Defense, the largest and most consequential department in the federal government.
For Hegseth, becoming defense secretary would mean leading the institution where he had dedicated his life before he felt it spurned him. He served tours of duty with the National Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded two Bronze Stars.
But he said he was told by his superiors to stand down from guard duty during President Joe Biden’s inaugural in 2021 over concerns that his tattoos symbolized white supremacy. Hegseth has denied the interpretation, and has said he felt rejected by the military.
Senate Republicans will be under pressure to hold hearings once they take office in January and confirm nominees as soon as Trump is inaugurated, despite questions if Trump’s choices will be properly screened or if some, like Hegseth, have enough experience for the job.
Pete Hegseth following meetings on Capitol Hill on November 21. He is under a microscope for his writings, claiming women should not serve in combat and allegations of sexual assault which he denies
Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, who will be the top Democrat on the panel next year, said the reports on Hegseth ’emphasized the need for a thorough investigation by the FBI on the background of all the nominees.’
As secretary of defense, Hegseth could make good on Trump’s campaign promise to rid the U.S. military of generals whom he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have railed against.
It could also set up a collision course between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, whom Hegseth accused of ‘pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians.’
His supporters argue Hegseth’s military service and media presence qualify him for the role, but either way the allegations alone have sparked a fierce and deeply polarized debate over his accountability and fitness for public office.
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